The first reading on the solemnity of the Assumption of Mary is taken from the book of Revelation:
God’s temple in heaven was opened,
and the ark of his covenant could be seen in the temple.A great sign appeared in the sky, a woman clothed with the sun,
with the moon under her feet,
and on her head a crown of twelve stars.
She was with child and wailed aloud in pain as she labored to give birth.
Pope Benedict XVI reflected on this reading in a homily he gave in 2007 on the feast of the Assumption.
Woman clothed with the sun
He explained how, "Without any doubt, a first meaning is that it is Our Lady, Mary, clothed with the sun, that is, with God, totally; Mary who lives totally in God, surrounded and penetrated by God's light. Surrounded by the 12 stars, that is, by the 12 tribes of Israel, by the whole People of God, by the whole Communion of Saints; and at her feet, the moon, the image of death and mortality."
Benedict XVI continues by showing how this image is connected to her Assumption:
Mary has left death behind her; she is totally clothed in life, she is taken up body and soul into God's glory and thus, placed in glory after overcoming death, she says to us: Take heart, it is love that wins in the end!
The Assumption of Mary into Heaven is a great victory over sin and death, one that can give us hope for the future:
This is the first meaning of the woman whom Mary succeeded in being. The "woman clothed with the sun" is the great sign of the victory of love, of the victory of goodness, of the victory of God; a great sign of consolation.
Love has conquered even death, which should help us as we struggle one earth against sin.
While it may appear that sin has the upper hand, the good news revealed to us in the Assumption is that Christs' love conquers all.
What we need to do is imitate Mary's example and trust in God, letting him do what he wants in our lives:
The Feast of the Assumption is an invitation to trust in God and also to imitate Mary in what she herself said: Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord; I put myself at the Lord's disposal.
As we celebrate the Assumption, may we look-up and gaze with wonder at the woman "clothed with the sun," who continues to beckon us to follow in her footsteps.
