Solemnity of the Assumption

Reflection on the Solemnity of the Assumption

When we way the Creed, we say that we believe in the resurrection of the body. What that means is that after the Last Judgement on the last Day, our dead bodies will be reunited with our souls. Wherever our bodies will be at the time, God will make them come back together with our souls to share with our souls whatever is the reward for our lives here on earth.

Somehow God did not wait until the end of the world or the last judgement before uniting the soul and body of the Blessed Virgin Mary in heaven. That is to say, what we all shall experience at the end of the world, Mary is already experiencing before the end of the world. Her soul and body are already united in enjoying the bliss and happiness of heaven. That is what the Assumption is all about.

The reason why Mary was assumed into heaven was because she had no Sin, not even original sin. We know and we believe that Mary was conceived without sin. That is to say, from the first moment of her conception, God preserved her from every stain of sin, including the sin of our first parents. We know that death and bodily decay are the wages of original sin. If Adam and Eve had not sinned, there would have been no death, that is, the separation of soul and body, followed by decay of the of the body. Now, if Mary was not touched by the sin of Adam and Eve, then she should not suffer the consequences of a sin. It would have been a grave injustice on the part of God to allow her to suffer the consequences of a sin that the same God had preserved her from. That is the reason why, after her life here on earth, God took her body to body and soul to heaven, something that can happen to the rest of us only on the Last Day. Undoubtedly, the Assumption, like the Immaculate Conception, is a wonderful thing that God did for Mary. In our Gospel reading today (Luke 1:39-56), we hear Mary herself say that the Lord has done great things for her. The greatest thing that God did for her was to choose her to be the mother of his Son. Of all the women God has ever created and all the women God will ever create, Mary alone was chosen to be the mother of the Son of God. What honour can be greater than that? lt is a great honour for any woman to be the mother of a great man or woman, like a king, a queen, a president, prime minister, a bishop, a cardinal, a pope. But you cannot compare any of these with the honour of being the mother of the Son of God. That was Why Elizabeth said to Mary, "Of all women, you are the most blessed" because "biessed is the fruit of your womb". And she called Mary "the mother of my Lord". And she said she was highly honoured to be visited by the mother of her Lord.

The Assumption is one of consequences of the honour of being the Mother of God. God almighty decided that the Mother of his Son should not suffer death and decay in the grave. Therefore, he. took her body and soul to heaven. That is one of the great thtngs that God did for her. With today's feast, we are acknowledging what God did for Mary by taking her body and soul to heaven.