At the Kidron Valley just at the foot of Mt. Olives
in Jerusalem, there is a shrine known to Christians as the Tomb of the Virgin
Mary. Pilgrims who visit this place will see a sarcophagus or a stone coffin
encased with glass. The interior of which is empty because it does not contain
Mary’s remains. Christian tradition teaches that Mary died a natural death like
any human being. But after her burial, Jesus resurrected her and assumed her
body and soul into heaven.
This
is the feast Catholics celebrate every 15th of August of the
Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary. The earliest printed reference to the
belief that Mary's body was assumed into heaven dates from the 4th century,
in a document entitled "The Falling Asleep of the Holy Mother of
God." The document is written by the Apostle John, to whom Christ on the
Cross had entrusted the care of His mother, and recounts the death, laying in
the tomb, and her assumption.
Pope
Pius XII on November 1, 1950 declared in his apostolic constitution Munificentissimus
Deus (Latin: the most bountiful God) "that the Immaculate Mother
of God, the ever Virgin Mary, having completed the course of her earthly life,
was assumed body and soul into heavenly glory." This is God’s reward for
Mary having lived a life of faith and obedience. She becomes an icon of hope
for being a model disciple. She embraced God’s will in every aspect of her
life; the perfect disciple who listens to God’s word and puts it into practice.
Mary continues to challenge us today.
She invites us to be men and women of faith.
In his first encyclical
Lumen Fidei (The Light of Faith), Pope Francis wrote on the topic of faith. Here,
he emphasizes lest we forget, that faith is a “guiding light” for a successful and
fruitful life inspiring social action, personal devotion to God illuminating
every aspect of human existence. This encyclical brings to our awareness that
God exists and we need to give first place for Him in our lives! Convinced of
his role to strengthen his brothers and sisters in the faith, the Pope
encourages Christians to celebrate their faith. “We should not be swallowed by
contemporary doubts, skepticism and depression that characterize our world,” he
exhorts.
From this encyclical, we can
highlight paragraphs focusing on the importance of faith in our lives. First of
all, faith can transform our lives.
Paragraph #4. “Faith is born of
an encounter with the living God who calls us and reveals his love, a love
which precedes us and upon which we can lean for security and for building our
lives. Transformed by this love, we gain fresh vision, new eyes to see; we
realize that it contains a great promise of fulfillment, and that a vision of
the future opens up before us. Faith, received from God as a supernatural gift,
becomes a light for our way, guiding our journey through time.”
Faith makes us see the truth
objectively. Paragraph # 3. “Yet in the absence of light everything becomes
confused; it is impossible to tell good from evil, or the road to our
destination from other roads which take us in endless circles, going nowhere.”
Faith is a light for our
society. Paragraph #55. “Faith also helps us to devise models of development
which are based not simply on utility and profit, but consider creation as a
gift for which we are all indebted; it teaches us to create just forms of
government, in the realization that authority comes from God and is meant for
the service of the common good.”
Pope Francis ends his
encyclical with a prayer to Mary, Mother and Model of our Faith. “Mother help
our faith! Sow in our faith the joy of the Risen One… Remind us that those who
believe are never alone.” Armed with an active faith, we envision a more just
and less corrupt society.
(This article also appears in the Faith Section of Cebu Daily News)
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