The Assumption

Who is she that cometh forth as the morning rising,
fair as the moon, bright as the sun,
terrible as an army set in array?

(Benedictus antiphon,
Monastic Office of Lauds for the Assumption)

Today’s great Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, which in the East is known as the Dormition of the Theotokos, is one that holds a special place in my heart.

So what is the Assumption, anyway? There’s plenty of information available on the meaning of the feast, but in a nutshell:

[T]he Immaculate Mother of God, the ever Virgin Mary, having completed the course of her earthly life, was assumed body and soul into heavenly glory.

(Pope Pius XII, Munificentissimus Deus)

Precedent for this may be found in the Old Testament in the cases of Enoch (Genesis 5:22-29) and Elijah (2 Kings 2:11). This is a foretaste of the bodily resurrection to which all the faithful are called. Once again, the Blessed Virgin is our model in the life of the faithful.

It is a day when the whole Church celebrates that the Mother of God has (once again) gone before us, being drawn up to the Father, which we too hope will be our ultimate fate. For Francine and I, however, it has an additional meaning.

On the 15th of August 2004, Francine and I walked into Saint Patrick’s Church in Tacoma. Ever since, we have counted this as our “Catholic anniversary”.

On that day, I discovered in a moment that every doubt I ever had about the truth of Christianity had collapsed.

God in His wisdom had led me on a twenty year quest for Truth through various religions, philosophies, and spiritualities.

In each one, though I did not know it at the time, some piece of Christian doctrine that I had held as ridiculous or superstitious was answered to my satisfaction.

Because each was answered in another faith, or by another culture, I didn’t connect the dots at the time. At the moment that the Blessed Virgin called us into that parish church on the feast of her Assumption, suddenly the scales fell from my eyes and I saw those disconnected dots as a great constellation.

Ave, maris stella, Dei mater alma,
atque semper virgo, felix cœli porta.

Hail, star of the sea, Nurturing Mother of God,
And ever Virgin, Happy gate of Heaven.

Last year on this day was the last time a solemnity was celebrated together by the parishes of Holy Rosary and Saint Joseph. It was a beautiful and fitting end to a forty year association of these two parishes.

This year, the Solemnity will not be celebrated at Holy Rosary at all, a fact that bitterly disappoints me. In fact, few Solemnities and no Feasts will be celebrated with an evening Mass at my parish for the rest of the year.

So this evening, Francine and I are heading to St. Joseph to attend Mass in the Extraordinary Form for this great feast that is so close to our hearts.