A number of times each year the Christian community remembers Mary, the Mother of Jesus. One of these occasions occurs on 15th August. This celebrates what happened at the end of Mary’s earthy life. It is known as the Feast of the Assumption.
From earliest times there was a conviction among the people of God that when Mary’s life on earth came to an end her body did not experience corruption and the decay of death. In other words, when her earthly life was over, Mary was taken as she was into the glory of heaven. It is significant that Mary does not have a tomb. There is no burial place at which to venerate her.
The Feast of the Assumption proclaims Mary as our beacon of hope. Where she is now, we one day hope to be. Her destiny is our destiny; her destination is our destination. The Assumption of Mary offers us an opportunity to remember that we are a pilgrim people. We have here no lasting city; our true homeland is in heaven. Our big thing is in the future; the best is yet to come. The truth is we will not be happy until we get to where Mary is, until we experience what Mary is experiencing, until we share fully in the life and love of God. We have been made for the enjoyment of God and our hearts are restless until they rest in God.
The Feast of the Assumption of Mary affirms that she was taken up body and soul into heaven. Her body was sacred and as she left this world it was immediately transformed into a glorified body. In the Apostles’ Creed we profess our belief in the resurrection of the body. Like Mary, our bodies will also be included in our experience of resurrection, not immediately, but eventually. For this reason it is important that we respect our bodies and take good care of them. Taking care of our bodies means a healthy diet, proper sleep and regular exercise. It means not taking risks that may harm our own bodies and the bodies of others. Taking care of our bodies also means listening to them for they often reveal what is going on inside of us, especially what is happening in our emotional life.
Reminding the young church at Corinth about the sacredness of the body this is what St Paul said: “Do you not realise that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you and whom you received from God? You are not your own property, then; you have been bought at a price. So use your body for the glory of God” (1Cor 6:19-20). The feast of the Assumption reminds us that Mary used her body for the glory of God. It is an invitation to us to do the same.