Surge, Domine, in requiem tuam, tu et arca fortitudinis tuae!

Today, Latin Catholics such as myself celebrate the Feast of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary (our Eastern brothers celebrate the similar Feast of the Dormition, but seeing as how I'm much less familiar with theology from an Eastern focus, I'll stay in Rome this time).

The Assumption, like a great deal of very old theology, seems a curious belief today. How could even Catholics, though they hold the Mother of God in the highest esteem, believe that a mere human woman was raised into Heaven like Jesus Christ? In fact, I'd be willing to bet that most folks, even Catholics, confuse the term Assumption with the more well-known Ascension of Jesus Christ. Rather like the confusion of the Immaculate Conception with the Virgin Birth, a large pet peeve of mine. But I digress.

Like all doctrine, dogma, and devotion concerning St Mary, the Assumption is most important because of what it tells us about Jesus Christ. We are commanded to honor our father and mother; and as no man lived the Christian life better than the Lord Himself, it is safe to assume that He honored His mother greatly. Therefore, since Christ is the example we ought to live by, it wouldn't be so absurd to think that we should try to honor her just as much as He did. All this is to say that, when us Romish fellas celebrate seemingly odd Marian beliefs, we are doing so ad maiorem Dei gloriam, for the greater glory of God. So let's find out what this event tells us about the Big Guy...

Let's talk about the Ark of the Covenant. Yep, of Indiana Jones fame. Way back in the day, the Jewish people built the Ark at God's command. Without getting way deep into Jewish history and rites, the Ark was immensely important to Temple-era Judaism. The Ark, kept in the Temple's veiled Holy of Holies, held the tablets of the Ten Commandments, the High Priest Aaron's Rod (Isn't Jesus the new High Priest?), and a jar of manna (which, to Christians, prefigures Jesus as the Bread of Life), and was lidded by the kaporet, the "mercy seat" upon which God was believed to become present. Because of the association with the presence of God, the Ark and the Holy of Holies were considered highly sacred and only entered into once a year (for the Yom Kippur atonement rites) by the High Priest. The Ark was the dwelling place through which God entered into the world at a time associated with the atonement of sins.

Sound like anything (or anyone) we know?

There is a lot of other theology, tradition, and Scripture associated with the Assumption, particularly where St Mary is implied as the New Eve, but to address all of that would take a lot of posts. All I've been trying to get across is that, if God wanted His spiritual dwelling place (the Ark) to be honored above all else in the Temple, would He not then desire all the more honor for His own mother, the Ark of His physical dwelling? The Assumption of Mary, as a gift of honor from the Lord to His mother, serves as a reminder of the Glory that God offers to those who love and follow Him wholeheartedly as St Mary did. 


Arise, Lord, and come to your resting place,
you and the Ark of your might.
Psalm 132:8