Eastern Oklahoma Catholic July/August 2010 : Page 23
coming those who belong to Christ.” (1 Corinthians 15:22) She who “belongs to Christ” by a unique, abiding and un-repeatable privilege, the Holy Mother of God follows where He has gone, “through the greater and more perfect tent not made by human hands, that is, not of this creation ... into the Holy Place.” (Hebrews 9:11) The fragrance of the Mother of God An antiphon of the Office of the As-sumption makes us sing: “Draw us in your footsteps, O Mary, hidden with Christ in God! Your paths are sown with delights; exquisite the fragrance of your perfumes.” True devotion to the Mother of God consists in allowing oneself to be drawn after her. One who walks in the footprints of Mary inhales the mysteri-ous fragrance of her holiness, a fragrance known to all the saints. An old custom would have us bless fragrant herbs on the festival of the Assumption; according to legend, the tomb of the Mother of God was found to be full of fragrant herbs and flow-ers after her body had been assumed into glory. Assumed body and soul into heaven, Mary leaves behind a lingering fragrance. It is subtle – not overpowering, but unmistakable. It is the fragrance of purity, of humility and of adoration. Inhale it, and you will be drawn in her footsteps, even to the feet of the risen and ascended Christ, hid-den in glory. At the feet of Jesus The ancient gospel for the Assump-tion, Luke 10:38-42 is that of another Mary – Mary of Bethany – seated in sweet repose at the feet of Jesus, listen-ing to His word. (Luke 10:39) “Mary has chosen the best part, which shall not be taken from her.” (Luke 10:42) In the familiar figure of Mary of Bethany, the Church sees an icon of Mary, the Moth-er of Jesus, assumed into heaven. There, in the presence of her Son, she enjoys the rest promised by God, the Sabbath that will have no end. (cf. Hebrews 4:1-10) “Draw me after you, let us make haste” (Canticle of Canticles 1:4), was the longing and desire of her heart. Now, to us, she says, “The king has brought me into His chambers.” (Canticle of Canticles 1:4) Our Lady’s Assumption is a signal to the entire cos-mos that the Divine economy is indeed entering into its final and glorious phase. “Then, says St. Paul, comes the end, when (Christ) delivers the kingdom to God the Father after destroying every rule and every authority and power. For He must reign until He has put all His enemies beneath His feet.” (1 Corinthians 15:24-25) The woman clothed with the sun On Aug. 15, the Church reads from the Apocalypse, “God’s temple in heaven was opened.” (Revelation 11:19) In the heavens appears the great portent: “a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon beneath her feet, and on her head a crown of 12 stars.” (Revelation 12:1) The woman is the bride of the Lamb adorned for her spouse (Revelation 21:2); the woman is the Church presented “in splendour, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing ... holy and without blemish.” (Ephesians 5:27); the woman is the Virgin Mother of Nazareth, Bethlehem, Cana, Calvary, the Mount of Olives and the Cenacle. “Mary is assumed into heaven; the angels rejoice, and praising, bless the Lord” (Antiphon of Vespers). Behold the woman of the psalm, the queen whose beauty the king desires, standing at His right, arrayed in gold. (Cf. Psalm 45: 9b-15) Magnificat Assumed body and soul into heaven, Our Lady’s heart overflows with a good-ly theme. (Psalm 45:1)This, of course, is the reason for the Gospel read on Aug. 15: “My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my saviour.” (Luke 1:46) This is the song of the Bride of the Lamb, the song of the Church in every age, the song of the Holy Mother of God in the midst of the angels. If the apocalyptic phase of the liturgi-cal year teaches us anything, it is that, in the end, the praise of God and adora-tion, will have the final word. The glori-ous Assumption of the Mother of God points to the immense and ceaseless liturgy of heaven, to the fullness of what begins for us here and now. Those who go in search of the Lamb will find Him in the company of Mary His Mother. “We have seen His star in the east, and are come to adore Him.” (Matthew 2:2) Look to the star For us, Mary is that star. “Look to the star,” says St. Bernard, “and call upon Mary.” Already, the “voice of the great multitude, like the sound of many wa-ters” (Revelation 19:6) begins to swell. It is the voice of those who look to the star, and follow her to the marriage sup-per of the Lamb. A new song rises in the heart of a Church that is alive and young: “The Spirit and the Bride say, ‘Come.’” (Revelation 22:17) Amen. Come, Lord Jesus. Father Mark Kirby, O.S.B., serves as spiritual director to members of the clergy in the Diocese of Tulsa
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