Mary was with Jesus from the very beginning, and stayed with him right to the end. She was beside him in all the joyful and sorrowful moments of his life. She brought him into the world in a stable. When he was but a new-born baby she took him into Egypt to save him from Herod’s killers. She brought him back to Nazareth and took care of him as he grew up. She sought him in sorrow when he was lost in the temple. During his public ministry she sometimes feared for his safety and sanity. She accompanied him all the way to Calvary, staying with him until he died.
Therefore it is right and fitting that she should share his risen glory. That is what we are celebrating on this feast – a mother sharing in the glory of her son.
And this gives us great encouragement. After all, Mary was just a human being. What she has attained, all of us are meant to attain. We can look at her now in glory and say, ’That is how we will be one day.’ As our spiritual mother, she wants nothing less for us. Just because she is in heaven doesn’t mean that she cannot help us. It is precisely because of where she is now, with God, that she can best help us.
The Assumption means that after her physical death, Mary’s body was not allowed to remain on earth to corrupt, but was caused by God to come into its transfigured and glorified state. Mary has passed beyond death, and the glory she now shares is the same glory we hope to enjoy also.