The Assumption and Coronation

Jesus of Nazareth

The Assumption and Coronation

The Rosary is the life of Jesus, seen through the eyes of Mary. Thus the story begins with Mary’s Fiat, her saying yes to the will of God to become the mother of his Son, a necessary condition to our salvation. And the Rosary concludes with Mary, with the mysteries of the Assumption and the Coronation. Because the Resurrection is the climactic event of the story, and Pentecost so essential to the missionary work of the Church, the final two mysteries can feel like an interesting denouement to the story, the sort of thing that would be tacked on at the end of the movie of Jesus. (“Mary was assumed into heaven and crowned queen of the universe. Peter become the first pope and was martyred in Rome, etc.”)

But these two mysteries are essential to the story. The story of Jesus is the story of our salvation, which he accomplished. The final two mysteries celebrating Mary’s reunion with her Son in Heaven foreshadow our own bodily resurrection and eternal life with him. After all of her trials, after standing at the foot of the cross watching her innocent Son suffer a brutal death, after the shock and joy of his Resurrection, the wonder of his Ascension and the fiery descent of the Holy Spirit, Mary received her ultimate reward.

The Assumption was proclaimed a dogma of the Church by Pius XII in 1950 following consultation with the bishops. Why it took so long to be proclaimed a dogma is a mystery. Belief in the Assumption of Mary can be traced back to the third century, and it is a good example of a “bottom up” teaching of the Church, where widespread popular approval preceded official papal recognition. (1)

The Assumption of the Blessed Virgin is a singular participation in her Son’s Resurrection and an anticipation of the resurrection of other Christians.” With the Assumption and Coronation, we are called to fix our minds and hearts on our eternal home in Heaven. We cannot grow in holiness when our thoughts remain limited to things of this passing world. But we can grow in holiness when we think upon Heaven. We remember that our time here is short, that our Father created us solely out of love, and desires nothing more for us than to spend eternity with him, soaking in his love and mercy. And the gateway to Heaven is Jesus.

What is Heaven like? We have a tendency (or at least I do) to imagine angels walking on clouds strumming harps, and in doing so we make Heaven out to be some place strange and maybe a little tedious. While we don’t know exactly what Heaven is like, we know it’s not that! Scriptures tell us that it is unimaginably wondrous:

“As it is written: ‘What eye has not seen, and ear has not heard, and what has not entered the human heart, what God has prepared for those who love him,’ this God has revealed to us through the Spirit.” (1 Corinthians 2:9-10) (Paul is quoting Isaiah, who immediately follows this passage with a stern call to repentance – see Isaiah 64:4-11).

Perhaps the most remarkable aspect of Heaven is that we will be able to see God face-to-face. This is called the beatific vision. The Old Testament speaks of the transcendent, overwhelming  beauty of God in several places, most notably on Mount Sinai, when Moses asks God to let him “see his glory.” God says, “I will make all my goodness pass before you, and I will proclaim my name, ‘Lord,’ before you; I will show favor to whom I will, I who grant mercy to whom I will. But you cannot see my face, for no one can see me and live.” God asked Moses to stand in the cleft of a rock, and God covered Moses’ face with his own hand. As God passed by, he uncovered Moses’ eyes so that Moses could see God’s back, but not his face. (Exodus 33:18-23)

We won’t experience the beatific vision that is God until we get to Heaven. But there is a parallel between Moses looking at God’s back and our vision of God here and now, in the form of the Real Presence of his Son in the Holy Eucharist.

As I worked on this post, I had an opportunity to attend Eucharistic Adoration at my parish. I’ve only done this three times in my life so far, but it’s always been an uplifting experience. On this most recent occasion, I went from 10-11pm, so there were a few other people in the small day chapel with me. I was praying the Divine Mercy Chaplet in the silent chapel when I began to hear someone strumming a guitar quietly, just tuning up. I didn’t think much of it, just a little surprised that the church music director was practicing at this hour. Suddenly the room behind me was filled with a chorus of voices singing together and praising God. It was the Hispanic music group at our church, but in the context of the prayer, and the Son of God with us right there in the room, it may as well have been the heavenly choir behind me. I couldn’t understand the words of their song, but that only served to amplify the love of God they expressed.

As time passed the group alternated between songs, Scripture readings and prayers. I finished the Divine Mercy Chaplet and started praying the Rosary. After a little while I realized they were praying the Rosary too; I recognized Santa Maria, Madre de Dios. I started timing my own Rosary in English to sync up with their prayers in Spanish.

What is Heaven like? It’s this experience, times a million. It’s the communion of saints: righteous believers from every age, nation and race worshipping God in song and prayer in a million tongues. It’s standing before Jesus Christ in full confidence and pure gratitude for the infinite love and mercy he showed on the cross for the sake of our salvation. It’s where Mary waits patiently for us, a mother waiting for her children to come home.

Notes:

(1) To be sure, belief in the Immaculate Conception of Mary (proclaimed by Pius IX in 1854, and confirmed by Mary herself to Saint Bernadette, at Lourdes in 1858) necessarily preceded formal recognition of the Assumption.

Image: The Assumption of the Virgin by Titian (downloaded from Wikipedia Commons).

Michael Haverkamp

Michael Haverkamp is a lifelong member of the Roman Catholic Church. He is grateful to his parents for raising him in the faith. He resides in Columbus, Ohio with his amazing wife and three sons. By day he is a (usually) mild-mannered grant writer.

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