Word to the Wise
Monday, August 15, 2022 - Aug. 15: The Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary: Day
[Rev 11:19a; 12:1-6a; 10ab; 1 Cor 15:20-27; Luke 1:39-56,56]"My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord; my spirit rejoices in God my Savior for he has looked with favor on his lowly servant. From this day all generations will call me blessed: the Almighty has done great things for me and holy is his Name." [Luke]
The dogma of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary was proclaimed by Pope Pius XII in 1950. I was in the first grade at the Catholic school in my small hometown in northwest Louisiana, where Catholics were in the minority church-wise and I can recall the ceremonial celebration. My Protestant relatives and friends were not so sure about this "Catholic thing." And, truth be known, not many Catholics understood what was proclaimed except to say that it was an example of infallibility at work! In point of fact, the Pope had inquired of bishops all over the world if this was a part of Catholic belief in their area. The expression was whether or not it had been a matter of belief "always, everywhere by everyone." The proclamation reads: "She, by an entirely unique privilege, completely overcame sin by her immaculate conception, and as a result she was not subject to the law of remaining in the corruption of the grave, and she did not have to wait until the end of time for the redemption of her body."
We are left to imagine how this event occurred but the same thing would be true of Jesus' own resurrection. THAT it occurred is a matter of faith. HOW it occurred is something that we may learn only in eternity! The historical record shows belief in the "assumption" of Mary as far back as the 3rd and 4th centuries A.D.. The words of the "Magnificat" in today's gospel scripture from the Gospel According to Luke sum things up well: "The Almighty has done great things for me and holy is his name." AMEN