Posts Tagged ‘Luke 1:46-55’
Falling Asleep Into Life – Br. Lain Wilson
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Br. Lain Wilson
The Dormition of Saint Mary the Virgin, Mother of Our Lord Jesus Christ
Today we celebrate the feast of Mary, the mother of Jesus. Specifically, we celebrate her “dormition,” that is, her “falling asleep” in death. “Dormition” isn’t just a pious euphemism, but speaks to the peaceful quality of Mary’s death that tradition records, unlike the martyrdoms of so many other followers of Jesus.
The phrase, though, captures something more. The eighth-century patriarch of Constantinople Germanos writes that Mary “had to undergo [her] passage from this world as an awakening to [her] own reality as Mother of Life.”1 Mary’s death wasn’t just a passing away, but a falling asleep into life and a waking up into joy. Read More
The Dormition of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Godbearer – Br. Curtis Almquist
Br. Curtis Almquist
The Dormition of Saint Mary the Virgin, Mother of Our Lord Jesus Christ
We find nothing in the Bible about the Dormition of the Blessed Virgin Mary, whom we celebrate today. The word “dormition” is from the Latin, dormitio, from which comes the English word “dormitory.” Dormitio is the act of sleeping.[i] Since the early centuries, this is how the church has remembered the death of the Blessed Virgin Mary. She simply “fell asleep” and was miraculously taken up into heaven. Mary has been heralded the saint of the saints: her death as mysterious as the birth she gave to Jesus.
If you were raised in an Eastern Orthodox or Roman Catholic tradition, today’s celebration will likely be familiar and comforting. If you come from a Protestant tradition, or no church tradition, today’s celebration may be quite foreign, perhaps quite inviting. There is an “assumption” of meaning around Mary which has grown through the centuries, where many have found Mary’s life story worthy of veneration, and a channel of help and hope. Over the centuries the Blessed Virgin Mary’s importance has grown for two reasons: because of recollection and because of revelation.
The church’s recollection traces back to the ancient predictions about the long-awaited Messiah. Centuries prior to Jesus’ birth, Isaiah had prophesied: “For a child has been born for us, a son given to us; authority rests upon his shoulders; and he is named Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.”[ii] But this does not fit Jesus’ pedigree. Jesus was born without title. Neither were his mother Mary nor his “stepfather,” Joseph, of noble lineage. Jesus’ birth to Mary would not only have been a disappointment to some, she could have been a scandal. Mary is a peasant, and she is unmarried. Mary clearly knows this. When she received the announcement from the angel Gabriel that she was to bear the Christ child, Mary was both afraid and incredulous. “How can this be?” she cries out. Read More