Pastor’s Corner for the Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Year B, by Fr. Russell Pollitt SJ
The Assumption of Mary is celebrated on the 15 August in the liturgical calendar. In South Africa, the bishops translated it to the following Sunday so that all Catholics can celebrate this solemnity.
Homilies on the Assumption date back to the sixth century. In the following centuries, the Eastern Churches held steadily to the doctrine, but some in the West were hesitant. However, by the 13th century, there was universal consensus. The feast was celebrated under various names—Commemoration, Dormition, Passing, Assumption—from at least the fifth or sixth century. Today, it is celebrated as a solemnity (the highest-ranked feast in the Church).
On 1 November 1950, Pope Pius XII defined the Assumption of Mary as a dogma of faith: “We pronounce, declare and define it to be a divinely revealed dogma that the immaculate Mother of God, the ever Virgin Mary, having completed the course of her earthly life, was assumed body and soul to heavenly glory.” The pope proclaimed this dogma only after a broad consultation of bishops, theologians, and laity. What the pope solemnly declared was already a common belief in the Catholic Church.
Scripture does not give an account of Mary’s assumption into heaven. Nevertheless, Revelation 12 speaks of a woman caught up in the battle between good and evil. Many see this woman as God’s people. Since Mary best embodies the people of both the Old and New Testaments, her assumption can be seen as an exemplification of the woman’s victory.
Furthermore, in 1 Corinthians 15:20, Paul speaks of Christ’s resurrection as the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep.
Since Mary is closely associated with all the mysteries of Jesus’ life, it is not surprising that the Holy Spirit has led the Church to believe in Mary’s share in his glorification. She was so close to Jesus on earth that she must be with him in her body and soul in heaven.
In his Spiritual Exercises, St. Ignatius Loyola invites the one doing them to enter into a “colloquy” (a conversation). He suggests that the person first goes to Mary, our mother, to ask “favours” of her Son. Ignatius knows the powerful intercession of Mary. He must have been familiar with the Gospel account of the Wedding at Cana (John 2:1-12). The people went to Mary to ask her to ask Jesus to help when they ran out of wine. Mary is a powerful intercessor for us.
This Solemnity of the Assumption not only celebrates Mary’s assumed body and soul into heaven but also reminds us that Mary is the mother of all who believe; she intercedes for us and prays with us and for us.
Fr. Russell Pollitt SJ