Mary - Mother of the World: Introduction

It is with deep reverence that I shall blog about the Assumption of our blessed mother Mary into Heaven. I am in constant awe of Mother Mary and love her with all my heart. As the mother of the world, Mary remains for me a source of purity, strength and unfading hope.

I have seen and touched a piece of the Holy veil which once belonged to our spiritual Mother. On that day, I remember my Guru saying to me “A mere speck of dust from the feet of Mary, would be sufficient to grant you full enlightenment”.

The Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary into Heaven at the end of her earthly life is celebrated every year on August 15. It is a very old feast of the Church and has been celebrated universally since the sixth century. It commemorates the death of Mary and her bodily assumption into Heaven, before her body could begin to decay--a foretaste of our own bodily resurrection at the end of time. Because it signifies the Blessed Virgin's passing into eternal life, it is the most important of all Marian feasts

The assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary is one of the most popular feasts in the Catholic Church worldwide. In many Catholic countries in Europe, this feast is a holy day of obligation.
The feast is based on a belief of the early Church that since Mary was sinless, she was rewarded by the Lord with assumption to heaven body and soul.

This belief was formalized into a doctrine on November 1, 1950, by Pope Pius XII who, in a decree, declared: “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.”

Although there is no scriptural basis for this belief, the Church believes, that through Mary’s obedience and fidelity to the will of God, she was rewarded with this special privilege of being united with God in such a special way.

Reflecting on the Assumption of Mary, one will be led to reflect on the life and works of Mary, our mother and model, especially on her “fiat” to God and her service to her fellowmen. While it is true that she was glorified by God, her glorification only reflects the original glory that belongs only to God.

Her solidarity with the poor is in fact reflective of God’s love and concern for them. Indeed, Mary’s Magnificat becomes a reality in her life through her witnessing to the values of the Kingdom.

As we celebrate Monday her feast, we call to mind the words of the Second Vatican Council: “In the bodily and spiritual glory which she possesses in heaven, the Mother of Jesus continues in this present world as the image and first flowering of the Church as she is to be perfected in the world to come.

Likewise, Mary shines forth on earth, until the day of the Lord shall come (cf. 2 Peter 3:10), as a sign of certain hope and comfort for the pilgrim People of God”.

The Assumption of Mary gives us hope that one day, we, too, shall enjoy the glory of God in heaven. May Mary continue to guide us in this journey of faith and life. May she show us the true path that will lead us to God our loving Father. Amen