Anonymous, icon with the Koimesis (Dormition of the Virgin), 17th Century, British Museum (London)

The Assumption is the oldest and most solemn feast of Our Lady, the Blessed Virgin Mary. It is not mentioned in the New Testament, but it has been celebrated for at least sixteen hundred years. The Council of Chalcedon in 451 referred to it. The Eastern Orthodox churches, in a beautiful way, call it the “Falling Asleep of the All-Holy Mother of God” and celebrate it with even greater solemnity than we do. The Assumption means that God who planned the very first moment of Mary’s life with such extraordinary care also planned her very last moment just as carefully. At the first moment of her life, by a very special privilege of God, Mary was preserved free from the stain of sin. At the last moment, by another very special privilege she was preserved free from the corruption of the grave. At the end of her life Mary was assumed body and soul into heaven. In the Immaculate Conception the emphasis is on the soul. In the Assumption the emphasis is on the body. Both are important. They were made for each other. At death, there is only a temporary separation. Body and soul will be reunited in the Resurrection. The Assumption means that the body that participated in the battle of life will also participate in the victory. Today we are very aware of the importance of our body. We diet and we exercise. We watch the level of cholesterol and blood pressure. We realize that the body is the vehicle of life. We live as long and as well as the body supports the soul. We must be aware that our body is also the instrument of knowledge. All the knowledge we have come in originally from one of the five senses. The body is also the instrument of the communication of knowledge. No one can read our mind. We express our thoughts through the body, with language and signs. The body is also the instrument of grace. We receive the sacraments, the channels of grace, through the body. The body is also the instrument of worship. True worship is in spirit and truth. But it is expressed through the body in words, gestures, genuflections etc. The Liturgy is not only expressive of worship, but also creative of it, so what a magnificent creation is the body! The beautiful lesson of today’s solemnity is that the whole person, body and soul, participates in the battle of life and the whole person, body and soul, will participate in the victory. Today let us ask our blessed Mother, Assumed into heaven, to obtain for us the grace to respect deeply our body so that one day we may join her body and soul in heaven and to be people always in defense of life, from conception until natural death •

---

---

Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary

Holiday of Obligation

Vigil Mass

Monday August 14, 2023, 6.00 p.m.

Mass during the Day

Tuesday August 15, 8.30 a.m. & 6.00 p.m. (bilingual Mass) 

---

Solemnidad de la Asunción de la Santísima Virgen María (2023)

J. Bradley, La Asunción de la Santísima Virgen Maria, fresco de la Parroquia de Santa Isabel de Portugal (Londres)

La fiesta de la Asunción de la Santísima Virgen María es un grito de fe en que es posible la salvación y la felicidad: que es verdad el programa salvador de Dios. Es una respuesta a los pesimistas que todo lo ven negro. Es una respuesta al hombre materialista, que no ve más que los factores económicos o sensuales. La Asunción de la Virgen es la prueba de que el destino del hombre no es la muerte, sino la vida. Y, además, que es toda la persona humana, alma y cuerpo, es la que está destinada a la vida total. En María Santísima ya ha sucedido. En nosotros no sabemos cómo y cuándo sucederá, pero tenemos confianza en Dios pues lo que ha hecho en ella quiere hacerlo también en nosotros. Cada vez que participamos en la Eucaristía, elevamos a Dios nuestro canto de alabanza, exactamente como hizo la Santísima Virgen en el Magníficat. La plegaria eucarística es de hecho como un Magníficat prolongado por la historia de amor y salvación que va construyendo Dios. Cada vez que participamos en la Eucaristía recibimos como alimento el Cuerpo y la Sangre del Señor Resucitado. La Eucaristía es como la semilla y la garantía de la vida inmortal para los seguidores de Jesús. Por tanto, de alguna manera, también nosotros estamos recorriendo el camino hacia la gloria, como la que ya conseguido María, la Madre. Así, cada Eucaristía nos acerca al misterio de la Asunción. Si la celebramos bien, con amor, devoción y reverencia vamos pues por buen camino •

---