Happy Solemn Feast of Assumption of Our Mother Mary
For Christians all over the world this day is a very special day. They commemorate the Assumption of the Mother of God. As an added joy to this celebration India celebrates the 74th independence Day and hence theologically this feast go hand in hand with our country. Our Lady of Assumption is the principal patroness of India.
I personally believe that Mother Mary comes into play whenever the Church encounters heretical oppositions. Faith of the Church, so to say, is on the lap of Mother Mary. For she protects the Church as Guardian and loves the Church as Mother. Hence God uses Mother Mary till now as a Holy vessel to carry the Church amidst all the struggles.
For example the heretical priciple of Jesus half human and half divine (Nestorianism) or Jesus was only a human and not God or the heretical understanding of the divine incarnation had been demolished by the christological doctrine stating Jesus as fully human and fully divine sent by God and conceived in the womb of Virgin Mary and by the Mariological Dogma of Mary, Mother of God. (Council of Ephesus & Council of Chalcedon).
The heresy of the Ebionism teaches that Joseph is the natural father of Jesus and that Mary and Joseph conceived Jesus in the way that all parents conceive children. This was then condemned by the Council of Lateran and the Christological doctrine of Incarnation and Marian Dogma of Perpetual Virginity was proclaimed.
Likewise the Assumption of Our Lady was also a dogma promulgated to defend heresy of Christ's Godliness. This Dogma supported the Salvation schema of God. If Christ is considered to be New Adam and by law of God New Eve has a role in it. Hence Mother Mary came into the scene to play as New Eve.
Pope Pius the XII pronounced this Dogma on 1st November 1950, which was also the time soon after the second world war. Loss of lives and the movement to secularism brought forth a great deviation in the Church. The dogma of Assumption proves the message of Holy life lead to a heavenly life. To start the renewal of faith Our Lady of Assumption came with a great message of freedom from earthly clutches for a heavenly life is possible.
Along with Immaculate conception our Church has Four beautiful, defending, care taking, indelible Marian Dogmas.
But what important message we could actually get by integrating the Assumption of Our Lady and our country's Independence Day. I would like to take out message from the synonyms of the word Assumption and the meaning of the word Independence.
Assumption: to be lifted up, to be taken into, to be accepted, Welcomed
To be Lifted up...
It is our duty to lift up the lowly as God does to mother Mary. If God has endowed some of us with good health, position, power, employment... It is our utmost responsibility to help those who are below and in need of lifting hand... Why don't we give one... Mary lived a life of lifting up people. She encouraged the apostles after Jesus' ascension. We should also imitate Mother Mary and lift up the lowly.
He has brought down the powerful from their thrones, and lifted up the lowly;
Luke 1 : 52
To be Taken into...
The feast symbolises that BVM is taken into heaven. This represents two message: the willingness of the taker and and the worthiness of the taken. In this mixed and heavily populated country with high density of poor, marginalized, needy, oppressed people where can we find the worthiness of the person?
The worthiness can only be considered from the conscious willingness of the taker. The taker should opt for the poor, marginalised, needy and oppressed. If the the very quality of being poor or marginal or needy or oppressed becomes my worthiness to be considered. Mother Mary opted for the needy when she visited Elizabeth, for the poor when she interceded at the wedding feast at Cana, for the marginalized when she took care of Apostles and Mary Magdalene and For the oppressed and broken when she stood under the Cross.
To be Accepted...
Accepting people with all their inabilities is a heavenly character and Mother Mary possessed that virtue. We could see in the Bible that Mother Mary accompany Jesus throughout his earthly journey. Hence Mother Mary would have definitely accepted the nature of Jesus into her and so as to accept the people whom Jesus had accepted. Jesus accepted the sinners, tax collectors, even those who considered Jesus as an enemy and walked with them so as Mother Mary too. We should have the same mind of Christ to accept the those who are against us, sinful, unworthy etc. The very first step to imbibe this virtue of acceptance is to accept our own state of sinfulness and unworthiness.
God has filled the hungry with good things, and sent the rich away empty.
Luke 1 : 53
To be Welcomed...
Many would have felt an unwelcomed sight from others when we go as an uninvited guests. God comes to us as an uninvited guest and so we always give out an unwelcomed indifferent sight on him. Being welcomed in a place is always cherishing.
Welcoming needs three things: An inviter, a guest or an invitee and most importantly the prepared place.
If our hearts are prepared well we are always ready to invite God into us. Mother Mary qprepared her whole self always to invite God into her. Hence she conceived Jesus, the son of God into her womb by the power of the Holy Spirit. Therefore God has welcomed her into heaven. We also need this preparation of heart, mind, body and soul so as to attain the heavenly kingdom.
The above said messages of Assumption well connect the independence day of India. The reall freedom not only existed outside the body but also of the mind and heart of each and every one of us. The real detriment of caste Discrimination, untouchability, poverty, harassment happens only if the true freedom of self happens.
Let's Pray
O Lord, lift me up as I am lowly, take me up as I am in need of you, accept me for I am sinful and make me ready to be welcomed. AMEN.
Let us watch this beautiful assumption scene 👇👇👇
Let us listen to this song 👇👇👇 and praise God for giving us such a wonderful Mother.
