August Pastor Column #2

My dear Kirkland Catholics,

This weekend we celebrate the Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary. We only had one Mass for this celebration because it was not a Holy Day of Obligation this year. Why? Because the Church in the United States has decided that when certain solemnities fall one day on either side of a Sunday, they are not observed as holy days of obligation that year, thus avoiding requiring attendance at Mass on consecutive days (or twice on Saturday). The one exception is the Immaculate Conception because it is our country's principal Marian feast. And even in that case, our country's bishops found out only last year that the Immaculate Conception cannot be "de-solemnized" no matter what day it falls! You almost need a doctorate to navigate the liturgical calendar!  

A couple of interesting things to consider about the Assumption.  

First, when a Catholic is asked by a Protestant, "Where is that in the Bible?" the answer is that it is not explicitly found in Scripture, but the belief is supported by common sense and Sacred Tradition. The early Church was obsessed with the burial sites and relics of important saints. Yet there is zero tradition regarding Mary's burial place, and as far as we can tell, no one ever claimed to know the location of her grave. Why? Because she is not buried on earth. By as early as the third century, the tradition of her Assumption appears in a Syriac text. Other scriptural and theological considerations also make good sense of this belief. Since Mary was preserved from all stain of sin, it is fitting that she should not experience the corruption of the grave. There are other saints whose bodies remain incorrupt on earth today, and Mary would not have been the first person to be assumed into heaven. Elijah is taken up to heaven in 2 Kings 2, Enoch appears to have been taken by God, and tradition has long held that Moses was also assumed into heaven. Hence Moses and Elijah appear bodily at the Transfiguration of Jesus.  

Second, there is some difference between the Orthodox and Catholic traditions regarding whether Mary actually died. Catholic tradition generally holds that Mary did indeed die and was shortly afterward assumed into heaven. The Orthodox tradition, however—as the title of this feast, the Dormition, suggests—emphasizes that Mary "fell asleep" before being taken into heaven. Which is correct? We don't know, and it ultimately doesn't matter. Both traditions commemorate the end of Mary's earthly life and the beginning of her heavenly life, where she now intercedes for us as she awaits our joining her in the glory of heaven.  

With love in Christ,  
Fr. Brad