Reflection - The Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary

'Modello' for the Assumption of the Virgin. Photo: Europeana/canva.com

Today is the feast of the Assumption of Mary, the mother of Jesus and therefore of God. Mary was assumed into heaven at the end of her earthly life. This feast is a major feast in the Catholic Church and was officially promulgated in 1950 but celebrated since ancient times.

There is a lot of theology behind the role of Mary in the life of the Church. She was crucial in the history of salvation when Gabriel came into her presence and asked her to be the mother of Jesus. She said, 'Yes'.

In Luke’s gospel, Mary visits her cousin Elizabeth in the hill country of Judah, and we read of their exchange of joy and happiness at what was happening to them. It is left to ourselves to form an image of Mary and Elizabeth in our minds.

In the film, The Passion of the Christ, Mary is portrayed beautifully and tragically as the mother of Jesus who listens or tries to listen on her hands and knees to what is happening to her son below the flagstone floor with the soldiers after he is arrested. Flashbacks to happier days relate the happiness they enjoyed as a family.

As Jesus is carrying his cross up the Via Dolorosa, Mary walks on one side of the road and an androgynous figure, Satan, walks on the other side. They don’t look at Jesus; they look across him at each other.

Then Jesus dies, the film portrays the total indifference of the soldiers who crucified him. The mother stands with her companions at the Cross as he dies. What pain!

This inspired the extraordinary genius of Leonardo da Vinci to create the Pieta, which people can view now in St Peter’s Basilica in Rome. What power and attraction Mary has had for generations over the centuries! Even the Muslims praise her in their bible, the Koran, which contains more texts about her than the New Testament!

Mary is last mentioned in the bible in the Acts of the Apostles, where she is together with the apostles in prayer immediately after the Ascension, Acts (1:14). Pentecost has not yet happened. I must admit I wonder if Jesus met his mother after the Resurrection – it is not reported – or what the Holy Spirit’s presence at Pentecost felt like for her, in body, mind, and spirit?

Her meeting with Elizabeth in Luke’s gospel is something special; they recognise God’s actions in them, powerful creative movements of life embodied in the human life they are carrying. When Elizabeth gives birth, and both Zechariah and herself insist that his name will be John, the scriptures tell us that something important was impending. God’s irresistible plan is in motion.

Mary’s prayer of praise for God who cares for his people, especially the poor and lowly, is previously voiced by Miriam, Hannah and Judith in the Hebrew bible… Praise God who loves His people! Living in the presence of God, loving her Son – what a fit reward for Mary. 

Columban Fr Gary Walker is currently living at the Columban house in Sandgate, Brisbane.