Feast of the Assumption

In a homily for the Feast of the Assumption, Pope Benedict XVI draws attention to Mary's proclamation of God's greatness (Luke 1:46). He contrasts Mary's openness to God with Adam and Eve's fear of God's greatness as narrated in the Garden Story of Genesis. Pope Benedict states simply, 'Mary wanted God to be great in the world, great in her life and present among us all. She was not afraid that God might be a "rival" in our life.... She knew that if God is great, we too are great. Our life is not oppressed but raised and expanded: it is precisely then that it becomes great in the splendour of God.... we must ensure that [God] is great in our lives. Thus, we too will become divine; all the splendour of the divine dignity will then be ours.' The doctrine of the Assumption was declared in the mid 20th century, at a time when the materialism of atheistic communism was seen as a threat to faith in the fullness of life. The Feast of the Assumption affirms Mary's full participation in the life of the Resurrection. In the words of our pope, 'all the splendour of the divine dignity' is hers.

In Mary's prayer, the Greek words psyche (soul) and pneuma (spirit) are used in parallel with each other as equivalent terms. They can both translate the Hebrew nephesh, the word used in Genesis 2:7 where God breathes life into the figure shaped from the earth so that it becomes a living 'being'. It is Mary's whole being that 'magnifies' God. It is Mary's whole being that rejoices in God whom she recognises as 'saviour' or liberator. She recognises God as God, and herself as God's graced or favoured creature. She expresses her own creaturely status in terms that echo the annunciation scene where she declares herself God's doule or slave: God has looked on the lowliness of God's 'slave-woman'. The power of the Greek tends to be lost in the translation 'servant'. In a cultural context where slavery was accepted as normal, Mary's declaration might well have functioned to destabilise the norm.  It can offer food for thought to those in any age who exercise power over others. God's favour rests on all God's creatures. All, like Mary, are destined for life in its fullness.