The Assumption Of Mary

One of the issues between Catholics and our non-Catholic Christian brothers is Mary, the mother of Jesus.  Protestants often accuse Catholics of putting much emphasis on Mary, when actually all we are doing is imitating Christ. 

One of the Ten Commandments is to "honor thy father and thy mother."  Jesus was the perfect Son..... more perfect that any man on earth.  He not only honored His Father who is God, but He also honored His mother Mary.  He put her above all other women and blessed her (Luke 1:28).  In fact, Mary would be called "blessed" by all generations (Luke 1:48).  Catholics fulfilled this prophecy for we still call her "blessed" even today.  She is our Blessed Mother. 

The fourth commandment says to honor thy father and thy mother.  It did not say to honor thy father ONLY.  Therefore, Christ also honored His mother Mary, and Christ fulfilled this commandment as He did the rest of the nine other commandments more perfectly than any man on earth for He was the perfect Son.  He was the perfect Son who honored His mother Mary by making her blessed among women and giving her the honor of being called "blessed" for all generations.  The greatest honor that Christ had also given His mother was assuming her into Heaven.  After all, what Son would allow His own mother to rot in the grave, knowing that He had the power to take her up into Heaven?  Being the perfect Son that He is, He assumed her into Heaven.  Although the Assumption of Mary was a tradition passed down by the Early Christians, there are certain biblical scriptures showing that Mary's body is in Heaven.   

The Ark of the Covenant is a type of the Old Testament that foreshadows the person of Mary.  In other words, there are many parallels between Mary and the Ark of the Covenant:  

1.  Old Testament: The glory cloud of the Lord covered the tent meeting where the Ark of the Covenant was and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle (Exodus 40:34-35; Numbers 9:18, 22) .  The verb "to cover" or "to overshadow" and the metaphor of a cloud are used in the Bible to represent the presence and glory of God.  In short, the Holy Spirit overshadowed the Ark.  
  
    New Testament:  Mary was overshadowed by the Holy Spirit (Luke 1:35) 

2.  Old Testament:  David brought the Ark of the Covenant to the hill country of Judah for three months (2 Samuel 6:1-11) 

     New Testament:  Mary went to the hill country of Judah for three months (Luke 1:29).  

3.  Old Testament:  David said to the Ark, "How can the Ark of the Lord come to me?" (2 Samuel 6:9)

     New Testament:  Elizabeth said to Mary, "  But why am I so favored, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? (Luke 1:43). 

4.  Old Testament:  David leaped for joy and danced before the Ark of the covenant (2 Samuel 6:14-15). 

     New Testament:  Upon hearing Mary's arrival, St. John the Baptist leaped with joy in his mother's womb (Luke 1:41). 

5.  Old Testament: The ark returns to its home and ends up in Jerusalem, where God’s presence and glory is revealed in the temple (2 Sm 6:12; 1 Kgs 8:9-11).

    New Testament: Mary returns home and eventually ends up in Jerusalem, where she presents God incarnate in the temple (Lk 1:56; 2:21-22).

6.  Old Testament:  Inside the Ark was placed a golden jar holding the manna (the bread come down from Heaven), Aaron’s rod that budded (a symbol of the high priest), and the word of God inscribed on stone tablets (cf. Heb 9:4).

     New Testament:  Inside the womb of Mary contains Jesus, the bread of life come down from Heaven, the actual and eternal high priest, and the Word of God in the flesh.

Therefore, Mary is the NEW Ark of the Covenant.  In Revelations 11:19, John saw the Ark of the Covenant in God's temple:  "Then God’s temple in heaven was opened, and the ark of his covenant was seen within in his temple; and there were flashes of lightning, loud noises, peals of thunder, an earthquake, and heavy hail." 

Our Christian brothers would interpret this temple in Heaven as an Old Testament temple made of brick and mortar.  But John was viewing the true temple, which is Christ’s body. In the same way, St. John was not seeing the Old Covenant ark. He saw the new and true Ark of the Covenant (which is Mary).  In the New Testament, the word "temple" was referred to as the body.  John 2:19-21 and Rev. 21:22 tell us quite plainly that the temple St. John speaks of is not a temple made of brick and mortar.

Jesus answered them, "Destroy this temple and in three days I will raise it up."....But He spoke of the temple of His body (John 2:21)

I saw no temple [in heaven], for its temple is the Lord God the Almighty and the lamb (Revelations 21:22)

Furthermore, in Revelations 12:1, John sees Mary in heaven. It is the same vision Juan Diego saw of Mary in 1531 — the Woman clothed with the sun and standing on the moon.

The conclusion is inescapable. Where is Mary’s body? In heaven, according to the Book of Revelation!  She was assumed into Heaven by her Son Jesus......the only one who can perfectly fulfil the fourth commandment....more perfectly than any man on earth.