On Aug. 15, we will observe the Solemnity of the Assumption of Mary. Of course it is a Holy Day of Obligation. That means that we are required to attend Mass on the vigil or the day itself.

 

Such a designation of a feast of the Church and the consequent need for us to attend an extra Mass is not simply an abstract rule or a left over practice from a bygone era. It is a mark of love, devotion and respect that goes to the heart of practicing our faith. But that would be a discussion for another column and another week.

 

According to the Catechism of the Catholic Church, the Assumption is, “The dogma which recognizes the Blessed Virgin Mary’s singular participation in her Son’s Resurrection by which she was taken up body and soul into heavenly glory, when the course of her earthly life was finished” (966).

 

This summary statement of our faith reminds us of several important and practical matters that help us to understand this world and ourselves.

 

First, it is a dogma. A dogma is an established element of the Church’s faith. That tells us that we can trust that the Assumption of Mary, body and soul, to heaven is not simply a pious story. It is a fact. 

 

Even now, just as Jesus is at the right hand of the Father in His glorified body, so Mary is in heaven in both body and soul.

 

The Assumption therefore links Mary to the Resurrection of Jesus. That means that she enters into what is, for us, the mystery of heaven itself. 

 

How, for example, is it possible for a body to be in heaven? Where then and what is heaven, at least to our limited understanding? These are questions we cannot answer now. But the Assumption of Mary gives us the faith and confidence of God’s final plan.

 

This feast day also reminds us that Mary was given this special privilege as a consequence of her one difference from us. That is, she was born free from sin and during her life she never committed sin. 

 

We, on the other hand, bear the wounds of the sin of Adam and Eve and we ratify that sin by our own failures to love God fully.

 

Because she was sinless, Mary was never separated from God in life. It follows then that she should not have been separated from the fullness of God at the end of life.

 

The catechism also notes that the Assumption took place “when the course of her earthly life was finished.” This wording reflects the discussion of faith over the centuries that has never been definitively resolved by the Church. That is, did Mary pass through death to get to heaven, or did she conclude her life without death?

 

The discussion there reminds us that, as St. Paul tells us, “the wages of sin is death” (Rom 6:23). Some have suggested that because Mary never sinned, she was not touched by death. Others have proposed that just as Jesus went through death for us, so Mary, to be one with her Son, also died.

 

Either way, we celebrate with great joy the Assumption of Mary. She is the glory of our human race. But personally, for each of us, she is united to us in our humanity. Therefore, we look forward to heaven enjoyed in our own glorified bodies and those of our loved ones.

 

Do go to Mass on the Solemnity of the Assumption. Perhaps make it also an opportunity for a summer confession. 

 

But above all, rejoice that Mary has followed Jesus, going before us where we are called to follow.