Papal Ponderings of the Assumption

Last updated on: November 30, 2022 at 1:15 am by Mark Wilson

Papal Ponderings of the Assumption 2022-11-30T01:15:59-05:00 Mark Wilson

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The innumerable temples which have been dedicated to the Virgin Mary assumed into heaven clearly attest this faith. So do those sacred images, exposed therein for the veneration of the faithful, which bring this unique triumph of the Blessed Virgin before the eyes of all men. Moreover, cities, dioceses, and individual regions have been placed under the special patronage and guardianship of the Virgin Mother of God assumed into heaven. In the same way, religious institutes, with the approval of the Church, have been founded and have taken their name from this privilege. Nor can we pass over in silence the fact that in the Rosary of Mary, the recitation of which this Apostolic See so urgently recommends, there is one mystery proposed for pious meditation which, as all know, deals with the Blessed Virgin’s Assumption into heaven.

Munificentissimus Deus (November 1, 1950) | PIUS XII (vatican.va)

Prayer of Pope John Xxiii Love of Mary

Holy Immaculate Mary, help all who are in trouble. Give courage to the faint-hearted, console the sad, heal the infirm, pray for the people, intercede for the clergy, have a special care for nuns; may all feel, all enjoy your kind and powerful assistance, all who now and always render and will render, you honour, and will offer you their petitions. Hear all our prayers, O Mother, and grant them all. We are all your children: Grant the prayers of your children.
Amen forever. Prayer of Pope John Xxiii Love of Mary – Prayers – Catholic Online

The Solemnity of the Assumption can be defined as the epilogue of the story of Mary Most Holy. It is in fact the crowning achievement of her entire mortal life and of the mission that Our Lady had, from Christ, to fulfill the mandate, the divine plan assigned to her on earth. Therefore this date would propose a summary meditation on all the mysteries concerning the Blessed Virgin, on the entire chosen earthly biography of her, with all the treasure of graces, privileges, worship, which is concentrated in her blessed and most singular person. It is done, in fact, to ask, in summary: who is Mary? what was his task in the world? What did the Lord want from you? And also: what deeds did Mary carry out to be what she is: the blessed among all women; and to be, in our humanity, the most chosen daughter, the most beautiful, the kindest, the most privileged; and, may he give it from the Lord, to be so close to us and to reveal himself as the sister, the mother, the most real and authentic representative of our humanity with Christ and with God? 15 August 1963: Mass in the parish church of Castel Gandolfo on the Solemnity of the Assumption | Paul VI (vatican.va)

Just as the risen Christ who has ascended into heaven forever bears the wounds of his redemptive death within his glorious body and his merciful heart, so his Mother brings to eternity “the pangs” and “anguish for delivery” (Rv 12:2). And as the Son, through his death, never stops redeeming all who have been begotten by God as his adopted children, thus the new Eve continues from generation to generation to give birth to the new man, “created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness” (Eph 4:24). This is the Church’s eschatological image, which is present and active in the Virgin.
15 August 1999, Feast of the Assumption | John Paul II (vatican.va)

We do not praise God sufficiently by keeping silent about his saints, especially Mary, “the Holy One” who became his dwelling place on earth. The simple and multiform light of God appears to us exactly in its variety and richness only in the countenance of the saints, who are the true mirrors of his light. And it is precisely by looking at Mary’s face that we can see more clearly than in any other way the beauty, goodness and mercy of God. In her face we can truly perceive the divine light.
15 August 2006: Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary – Mass at the Parish of Saint Thomas of Villanova in Castel Gandolfo | BENEDICT XVI (vatican.va)

When man set foot on the moon, he said a phrase that became famous: “That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind”. In essence, humanity had reached a historical goal. But today, in Mary’s Assumption into Heaven, we celebrate an infinitely greater conquest. The Madonna has set foot in paradise: she went there not only in spirit, but with her body as well, with all of herself. This step of the lowly Virgin of Nazareth was the huge leap forward for humanity. Going to the moon serves us little if we do not live as brothers and sisters on Earth. But that one of us dwells in the flesh in Heaven gives us hope: we understand that we are precious, destined to rise again. God does not allow our bodies to vanish into nothing. With God, nothing is lost! In Mary, the goal has been reached and we have before our eyes the reasons why we journey: not to gain the things here below, which vanish, but to achieve the homeland above, which is forever. And Our Lady is the star that guides us. She went there first. She, as the Council teaches, shines “as a sign of sure hope and solace to the People of God during its sojourn on earth” (Lumen gentium, 68).
Angelus, 15 August 2020, Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary | Francis (vatican.va)

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