The Catholic bulletin. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1911-1995, 1913-08-16
THE ASSUMPTION OF THE BLESS
ED VIRGIN MARY.
Her Death-Her Glory in Heaven.

Her Death-Her Glory in Heaven.
In celebrating, by special feast,
Mary's corporal Assumption into
Heaven, writes Canon Sheehan in his
volume, Mariae Corona, the Church
has consulted for her honor; and in
her choice of the word Assumption"
and the meaning she attaches to it,
she has marked the distinction be-
tween the operation of nature in the
Ascension of Christ, and the opera
ton of grace in the Assumption of
His Mother. The Assumption, there
fore, of our Blessed Lady is recog-
nized as privilege peculiar to her.
self; for it marks the distinction be-
tween the glorification of Mary's body,
effected by a power not her own, and
the glorification of the Body of Christ
effected by His own Omnipotence;
whilst it proves Mary's vast superior
ity over all other creatures of God,
inasmuch as her resurrection was an
ticipated by God, and if she shared the
penalty of death in common with all
the children of Adam, she was ex-
empted from that dissolution which
followed upon death, by the special
favor of the Almighty.
Marys Death.
After fifteen years of silent wait
ing, fifteen years of exile from Jesus,
fifteen years of warnings and heart
sickness, such as they say mothers
only know, Mary is on her deathbed
and about to be reunited with her
Son. Fifteen years she spent without
Him, before the great morning of the
Annunciation, and fifteen years she
has remained without Him, since the
day when she strained her eyes to
catch one last glimpse of His beatified
countenance, as the cloud on Olivet
enveloped Him, and hid Him away
from her sight. Mary's life was one
long labor; life of active suffering
while Jesus was with her, for the
prophecy of Simeon was forever ring
ing in her ears, and Calvary was every
moment drawing nearer; its dark
shadow with the three crosses for
ever doomed over the quiet home of
Nazareth. A life of passive suffering
now that the great tragedy was fin
ished; but a passive suffering more
keen, more desolating, more agoniz-
ing; for the light of her life had gone
out. The anticipation of the sufferings
of Jesus, the awful realization of those
anticipations on Calvary, sadly en-
Uttered the life of Mary; but then
Jesus was with her, and His presence
sweetened all the sorrow. During the
last fifteen years there was no active
pain, no terrible real sorrows, such
as had marked her soul during the
life of Jesus on earth; but now Jesus
is gone; it is night; the sun has been
taken from her universe; life is a
blank, all the sorrow of life is con-
centrated here; she has settled down
into that quiet, silent, patient grief
that sees no hope but in the grave. l
do, believe that Mary alone of all
creatures could understand that say
ing of Thomas Kempis: ITO be
without Jesus is a grievous hell; to
be with Jesus a sweet paradise"
Amid songs OF heavenly mirth and
paeans of heavenly triumph, Jesus
now unweaves with tender, reverent
hands the bands that are binding His
Mother to earth. Once was He help
less in her arms; now she is helpless
in His, and now does He repay, with
the interest which God alone can give,
all the tenderness and reverence and
love that were lavished upon Him in
Bethlehem, in Nazareth, and when He
lay cold and stiff and lifeless in His
Mothers lap on Calvary. Slowly and
with gentle respect does He free the
soul from it's prison, arise, make
haste, my love, my dove, my beautiful
one, and come; for the winter is past
and gone; come form Libanus spouse,
come from Libanus, come and thou
shalt be crowned" and Jesus takes
the soul of His Mother to Heaven,
and the Apostles are weeping around
the dead body of their Queen.
Her Glory in Heaven.
Of the glory of the Mother of God
in Heaven it is difficult to form even
an idea; yet by comparison we may
learn it by approximation. If "eye
hath seen not, nor ear heard, if it
hath not entered into the heart OF
man to conceive what God hath pre-
pared for those who love Him." what
must Heaven be to her whose love
for God surpassed in intensity the
loves of all men and angels? If the
measure of our merit upon earth shall
be the measure of our happiness il
Heaven, who shall presume to sci
bounds to the happiness of her whose
least action was meritorious, for it was
directed to the greater glory of God
If the happiness of Heaven is proper
toned to the plentitude wherewitf
the Beatifc Vision is revealed, wha
must not the happiness of Mary be
for assuredly God will hide very lit
tie of His perfection from Hi
Mother? If the purity of our lives
here below will give US a clearer Wis
ion of Gods infinite attributes il
Heaven, if the sanctity of our owl
souls will be the medium through
which we shall view God forever, hoV
vivid must not Mary's perception
God be,-Mary, whose soul is white
than the Seraphs?
..A. ho5 o~ooforicfia viz