Days of our lives
Mem’ries of the past
events in current times,
ways to recall and compare;
messages of our lives.
A wee bit of time
a great deal of courage
it’s what life is -
across human struggles.
Moments to live by,
in diverse episodes;
both action and reaction
that life brings to fore.
It’s encouraging though
to see people of cultures;
working up to the hilt,
to build a future for all.
As an immigrant here
attempts to be fruitful.
In any endeavor to make
time is gold and meaningful.
It’s a journey so to speak
all aspects of relationship
like a pilgrim on the road
he needs time and effort.
Before the sun sets today
must have accomplished
something that’s due
to be shared and done.
Behold! Life goes on
amid the travails,
we dare keep going,
we keep in the game.
Saturday, August 15, 2009
Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary
SOLEMNITY OF THE ASSUMPTION OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY
Rdngs: Rev 11:19a; 12:1-6a, 10b; Ps 45:10bc, 11, 12ab, 16; 1 Cor 15:20-27; Lk 1:39-56
Mary, Ark of the New Covenant
“Blessed are you among women and blessed is the fruit of your womb. . . And Mary said, “My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord : my spirit rejoices in God my Savior for he has looked with favor on his lowly servant. . .”
I remember in one of my activities in class as I was trying to illustrate the two feasts of the Transfiguration of Jesus (August 6) and the Assumption of Mary[1] (August 15) to children, I had two helium balloons with me. I had two images of Jesus and Mary I taped on each of them. Afterwards, I asked them to observe as I released them in the window. That was an attempt on my part to allow them to see the symbolic meaning it signifies in regard to these two feasts. Both of these events are about glory that we look forward to sharing with them in the life hereafter.
As a church our belief in the Assumption of Mary has long been a part of our faith tradition. However, three of those strong arguments for this tradition are still in the mainstream: These are the Scripture,[2] the devotional practices of the early Church, and the writings of the Church Fathers.
One of the questions raised was why Mary should have the privilege to receive such special graces from God. We know that she was preserved free from all sin and because she was the mother of our Savior. Being free from original sin, the grave could not hold her. Like Jesus she was resurrected and taken to heaven body and soul. But there is also another clue in the book of Revelation (11:9) where John reports seeing “the ark of his covenant within his temple,” just before he sees a “woman clothed with the sun” (Rv 12:1). According to the Church Fathers, these two images are united as one, i.e. Mary herself is the Ark of the New Covenant.
If we recall the Ark of the Covenant in the OT there was a sacred box that contained three reminders of God’s presence among the Jews. These were a jar of the manna that Yahweh fed his people in the wilderness; the flowering rod of Aaron, a sign of his priestly office; and the tablets of stone containing the Law, which Moses received from God.[3] The Ark was kept in the Holy of Holies where the high priest offer sacrifices once a year on behalf of the community.
Mary as the Ark of the New Covenant held within her the Son of God, the Bread of Life, the great High Priest, and the one who came not to abolish the Law, but to fulfill it” (Mt 5:17). Which is why as the first Ark was kept within the Holy of Holies, so the Ark of the New Covenant has a privileged place in God’s kingdom (Heb 12:22-24).
Scripture, however, is silent about Mary’s death.[4]. It only provides us deatils about the end of Joseph’s life and deaths of most of the Apostles. We have preserved these things through Church Tradition. But the Eastern Church Fathers speak of the “dormition” or “falling asleep” of Mary. Others suggest that all Apostles except Thomas were present at Mary’s bedside, and carried her to the grave where three days later her body disappeared, leaving only a few grave garments and the strong aroma of roses in her wake.
As we honor Mary in today’s feast of her Assumption into heaven, we are invited to renew our hope because like her, we are also destined to receive that glory of eternal resurrection. In her Magnificat she proclaims the greatness of the Lord.
While we reflect on the divinity of Jesus as he appears on the feast of the Transfiguration, in the feast of the Assumption we look forward to sharing what Mary has received – the gift of eternal glory. The late Pope John Paul II in his Apostolic letter Redemptoris Mater, he reminds us of the most important aspect of Mary’s Assumption that she is our roadmap to our holiness, to that state of grace towards eternity. God bless you.
[1] It is one of four dogmas to be infallibly defined by the Magisterium. In 1950, Pope Pius XII promulgated this dogma in a letter entitled Munificentissimus Deus. He did not add to the faith of the Church; he merely expressed with utter clarity and certainty what was this faith all along. The Pope’s proclamation says that “when her earthly life was over” Mary was “assumed body and soul to heaven.” Most Catholics believe that Mary died. If her Son had died, why could not the Mother also? But there has been an idea around for centuries that Mary did not die. It is very much a minority view, but Pius XII did not want to condemn it, so he used the phrase “when her earthly life was over.” The other phrase of the Pope is “body and soul” which is a rather dated way of speaking. A theologian speaking today might more likely use a phrase as as “Mary fully as a person was glorified.” This would include all that was meant by “body and soul.” It is a mystery.
[2] Scripture tells us about these three examples of people who did not experience death the normal way: Enoch (Gn 5;25), Elijah (2 Kgs 2:9-11), and Moses (Dt 34:5-7, Jude 1:9). Both Moses and Elijah are visible at Christ’s Transfiguration (see Mk 9:4-5; Mt 17:3).
[3] cf. Heidi Saxton. Why Catholics Believe in the Assumption of Mary. Catholic Exchange.com. August 15, 2005.
[4] cf. Excerpts from In Conversation with God by Francis Fernandez. The Defensores Fidei Foundations. www.defensoresfidei.com According to the meditations of Sister Catherine Emmerich (d. 1824), compiled and published in 1852, the Blessed Virgin died and was buried not at Ephesus but 3 or 4 leagues south of the city. She is followed by those who accept her visions or meditations as Divine revelations.
Rdngs: Rev 11:19a; 12:1-6a, 10b; Ps 45:10bc, 11, 12ab, 16; 1 Cor 15:20-27; Lk 1:39-56
Mary, Ark of the New Covenant
“Blessed are you among women and blessed is the fruit of your womb. . . And Mary said, “My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord : my spirit rejoices in God my Savior for he has looked with favor on his lowly servant. . .”
I remember in one of my activities in class as I was trying to illustrate the two feasts of the Transfiguration of Jesus (August 6) and the Assumption of Mary[1] (August 15) to children, I had two helium balloons with me. I had two images of Jesus and Mary I taped on each of them. Afterwards, I asked them to observe as I released them in the window. That was an attempt on my part to allow them to see the symbolic meaning it signifies in regard to these two feasts. Both of these events are about glory that we look forward to sharing with them in the life hereafter.
As a church our belief in the Assumption of Mary has long been a part of our faith tradition. However, three of those strong arguments for this tradition are still in the mainstream: These are the Scripture,[2] the devotional practices of the early Church, and the writings of the Church Fathers.
One of the questions raised was why Mary should have the privilege to receive such special graces from God. We know that she was preserved free from all sin and because she was the mother of our Savior. Being free from original sin, the grave could not hold her. Like Jesus she was resurrected and taken to heaven body and soul. But there is also another clue in the book of Revelation (11:9) where John reports seeing “the ark of his covenant within his temple,” just before he sees a “woman clothed with the sun” (Rv 12:1). According to the Church Fathers, these two images are united as one, i.e. Mary herself is the Ark of the New Covenant.
If we recall the Ark of the Covenant in the OT there was a sacred box that contained three reminders of God’s presence among the Jews. These were a jar of the manna that Yahweh fed his people in the wilderness; the flowering rod of Aaron, a sign of his priestly office; and the tablets of stone containing the Law, which Moses received from God.[3] The Ark was kept in the Holy of Holies where the high priest offer sacrifices once a year on behalf of the community.
Mary as the Ark of the New Covenant held within her the Son of God, the Bread of Life, the great High Priest, and the one who came not to abolish the Law, but to fulfill it” (Mt 5:17). Which is why as the first Ark was kept within the Holy of Holies, so the Ark of the New Covenant has a privileged place in God’s kingdom (Heb 12:22-24).
Scripture, however, is silent about Mary’s death.[4]. It only provides us deatils about the end of Joseph’s life and deaths of most of the Apostles. We have preserved these things through Church Tradition. But the Eastern Church Fathers speak of the “dormition” or “falling asleep” of Mary. Others suggest that all Apostles except Thomas were present at Mary’s bedside, and carried her to the grave where three days later her body disappeared, leaving only a few grave garments and the strong aroma of roses in her wake.
As we honor Mary in today’s feast of her Assumption into heaven, we are invited to renew our hope because like her, we are also destined to receive that glory of eternal resurrection. In her Magnificat she proclaims the greatness of the Lord.
While we reflect on the divinity of Jesus as he appears on the feast of the Transfiguration, in the feast of the Assumption we look forward to sharing what Mary has received – the gift of eternal glory. The late Pope John Paul II in his Apostolic letter Redemptoris Mater, he reminds us of the most important aspect of Mary’s Assumption that she is our roadmap to our holiness, to that state of grace towards eternity. God bless you.
[1] It is one of four dogmas to be infallibly defined by the Magisterium. In 1950, Pope Pius XII promulgated this dogma in a letter entitled Munificentissimus Deus. He did not add to the faith of the Church; he merely expressed with utter clarity and certainty what was this faith all along. The Pope’s proclamation says that “when her earthly life was over” Mary was “assumed body and soul to heaven.” Most Catholics believe that Mary died. If her Son had died, why could not the Mother also? But there has been an idea around for centuries that Mary did not die. It is very much a minority view, but Pius XII did not want to condemn it, so he used the phrase “when her earthly life was over.” The other phrase of the Pope is “body and soul” which is a rather dated way of speaking. A theologian speaking today might more likely use a phrase as as “Mary fully as a person was glorified.” This would include all that was meant by “body and soul.” It is a mystery.
[2] Scripture tells us about these three examples of people who did not experience death the normal way: Enoch (Gn 5;25), Elijah (2 Kgs 2:9-11), and Moses (Dt 34:5-7, Jude 1:9). Both Moses and Elijah are visible at Christ’s Transfiguration (see Mk 9:4-5; Mt 17:3).
[3] cf. Heidi Saxton. Why Catholics Believe in the Assumption of Mary. Catholic Exchange.com. August 15, 2005.
[4] cf. Excerpts from In Conversation with God by Francis Fernandez. The Defensores Fidei Foundations. www.defensoresfidei.com According to the meditations of Sister Catherine Emmerich (d. 1824), compiled and published in 1852, the Blessed Virgin died and was buried not at Ephesus but 3 or 4 leagues south of the city. She is followed by those who accept her visions or meditations as Divine revelations.
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