The Integral Mystery

At every point, faith is a matter of letting in the light and atmosphere of a new creation through the windows that open in the light and darkness of our world.  Just as the risen Jesus entered the locked rooms to the surprise of his fearful disciples, he has not stopped coming; nor, for that matter, has he ceased to give us Mary as our mother. The light of Christ, the fresh air of his Spirit, and the maternal presence of Mary permeate the experience of the Catholic faith.  John’s Gospel concludes with a healthy reminder, that the works of the crucified and risen Jesus cannot be contained within the linear print of any book –or of all the books of the world (Jn 21:25).  By implication, all the gifts of God elude our comprehension, including the work of the Spirit and the maternal presence of Mary.

On the other hand, the mysteries of God’s grace inspire ever-fresh attempts to come to some kind of fresh comprehension of what most nourishes the life of faith and health of the Church.  It is not a matter of adding one consideration to another, in an ever-increasing list of topics, or—for that matter—to invoke Mary with an endless list of titles and to visit places associated with her apparitions, recent or in times past. The concentrated point of faith in Jesus, crucified, risen and ascended, sheds unfailing light on Mary’s role, in the Church and beyond it, just at it leads to a deeper understanding of who she is, what she does and her manner of bringing home to believers of every age the Gospel of grace.

Mary Assumed 

Consider for instance the Catholic dogma of the Assumption of Our Lady, solemnly defined in 1950.  In this dogmatic definition, the conviction of faith hurried beyond its powers of expression.  If Mary is declared to be assumed, body and soul, into heaven, then the corporate, historical authority of the Catholic Church is thereby engaged.  It is committed to a view of corporeality, physicality and interpersonal communication in ways that are largely beyond our powers of expression.

The worst thing we can do is to let this Marian doctrine become isolated.  For that reason, it is worth noting that in the development of Catholic tradition, the ascension of Jesus and the Assumption go together.  In the mystery of salvation, the Ascension of Jesus[i] is connected to the Assumption of Mary as cause to effect. Likewise, the Assumption, as an effect of Ascension of Christ, has a deep ecclesiological and cosmic significance.  It tells us something about the future or the Church and even implies a present transformation of the cosmos.

Read more: The Mystery of Christ and OLPS - Essay Anthony Kelly CSsR