The Assumption of
the Blessed Virgin Mary
Dear friends,
Today, August 15, is the feast of the Assumption of the Blessed
Virgin Mary.
Pope Pius XII pointed to the first book of the Bible, the
Book of Genesis (3:15) as scriptural support for this teaching in terms of
Mary’s victory over sin and death, as also reflected in 1 Corinthians 15:54: “then
shall come to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in
victory.”
Interestingly,
the last book of the Bible, the Book of Revelation, also speaks, in the 12th
chapter, of a woman, clothed with the sun, who is caught up in the battle
between good and evil. Many see this woman as a symbol both of Mary and of all
God’s people. Since Mary best embodies the people of both Old and New
Testament, her Assumption can be seen as an exemplification of the woman’s
victory.
What does
this mean for us? Mary is understood as “the first among the disciples of the
Lord.” Thus, she is a sign of what God wants to do for us, and will do
for us, if we follow her direction given to the servants at the wedding of Cana
when she told Jesus that they had run out of wine: “Do whatever He tells
you.” The servants did what Jesus told them, and He turned 150 gallons of water
into wine. I’d say that wedding ended pretty well! J
Submitted by guest blogger Bart Tesoriero
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