«HER CLARITY / ALONE CAN DISPOSE YOU TO SEE CHRIST»

Dante’s intuition – the invitation to look at the «face that most resembles Christ» (Paradiso XXXIII, 85-86) – is extremely opportune. The mystery of Mary’s Assumption must be looked at in reference to Christ, to the mystery of his Easter. The Virgin is assumed into heaven and her body does not know the corruption of the tomb, just as, in the story of the Son, the resurrection is followed by the ascension to the right hand of the Father. Mary is the only creature in whom the plan of the Creator, who “chose us before the creation of the world, to be holy and blameless before him in love” (Eph 1:4), has succeeded perfectly, without shadows. Her conformity to the Son is total. Her openness to the irruption of the Spirit is absolute. The amazing adventure of Mary – this unknown girl – that began with a small yes in a country on the margins of history, now ends in heaven, in the presence of the universe. The first reading of the solemnity, taken from the Apocalypse, describes the astonishing picture in which the sun, the moon and the stars form the backdrop to the cosmic struggle between good and evil, between God who wants salvation and the adversary, depicted as “a huge red dragon” (Rev 12:3). All human history, and in it also our personal history, is crossed by the struggle against the powers of darkness. We must fight to remain united with good.

The entire Church is celebrating the final destiny of Mary. It is no coincidence that this August 15th is the oldest and most solemn feast that the Christian people celebrate in honour of the Virgin. Even if the end of Mary’s earthly life does not appear in the Gospels, the Eastern Church has celebrated the Dormition (Koímēsis) of Mary, the All-Holy (Panaghía) since the end of the fifth century. Having arrived in the West towards the middle of the seventh century, the solemnity subsequently changed its name to Assumption. In 1950, Pius XII proclaimed its dogma.

Mary is the “first fruits and image” of the Church, the liturgy teaches. In her, the Church contemplates its own mystery and rejoices. It is the joy of children, who rejoice in seeing how much their Mother has been exalted and are heartened, because from her they learn how to live and how to die. Only the “things above” (Col 3:1) give full substance and value to our days. Ultimately, this is the central message of Christianity: a God who envelops us and presses us with his love, who never leaves us and who reveals to us the truth about man and his history. We celebrate it in the Lord’s Easter, in every Eucharist, we celebrate it on this feast of the Assumption. The Virgin Mary and the Church remind us of the irreducible and tenacious closeness of God.

Commentary by b. Sandro Carotta, osb
Abbazia di Praglia (Italy)

Translation by f. Mark Hargreaves,
Prinknash Abbey