The Assumption of Mary falls on a Saturday this year. It is always considered a Holy Day, but this year it is not a “Holy Day of Obligation.” A number of years ago, the United States’ bishops removed the obligation to attend Mass from certain Holy Days when they occur on a Saturday or Monday.
I know some people who get confused by what I call the “A” feasts: Ascension, Assumption, and Annunciation. One of the problems is getting confused about the word “Assumption.” The word used here has nothing to do with making suppositions or jumping to conclusions. The Latin root word means to take up or to adopt. The feast celebrates the “taking up” of Mary into heaven. We believe that Mary was assumed, body and soul, into heaven. Today’s Preface tells us that Mary is “the beginning and image of your Church’s coming to perfection.”
The Annunciation is about something being announced which might help us remember what it is. The angel Gabriel announced to Mary that she would become the mother of Jesus. Luke 1:26-37. Ascension is about ascending. Jesus ascended into heaven after the resurrection. Luke 24:50-54. These two feast days sound like what they celebrate. Since we usually use the word assumption these days to mean to suppose or take for granted, confusion can arise.
There are no Scripture passages that tell the story of the Assumption, but it can be found in our traditional teachings and writings from early on in the Church. Mary was conceived without sin (Immaculate Conception), and she was always “full of grace.” Mary was assumed into heaven, body and soul, at the end of her earthly life. She has been crowned in glory and taken her place in heaven.
Mary is the first model for being a Christian. Scripture tells us she answers “Yes” to God without any knowledge of where she was going or how she was going to get there. She models faith that doesn’t hesitate and hope that endures. She considers herself God’s “lowly servant.” Yet, she is “blessed among women” for she was chosen to be the mother of the incarnate God.
A versicle and response added to the classic Marian hymn Salve Regina states, “Pray for us, O holy Mother of God, That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.” Who better to “pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death” than Jesus’ mother?
