Happy Solemnity of the Assumption of our Blessed Mother, body and soul, into Heaven! Today’s first reading from the Book of Revelation contains a critical reminder and a caution while reading the Bible. While chapters verses, and section headings are super helpful, they are not original to the text. I could not imagine trying to track down specific passages from the Bible if we did not have chapters and verses. However, we must be cautious as they are not part of Divine Inspiration and can impact how we read the Sacred Scriptures. Revelation 11 and 12 are a perfect example of this. By separating these chapters, it is easy to fall into the trap that the author has moved onto a new topic. However, chapter 11 is a building crescendo into chapter 12. Here is the Scripture itself without verses and the chapter break:
Then the seventh angel blew his trumpet. There were loud voices in heaven, saying, “The kingdom of the world now belongs to our Lord and to his Anointed, and he will reign forever and ever.” The twenty-four elders who sat on their thrones before God prostrated themselves and worshiped God and said: “We give thanks to you, Lord God almighty, who are and who were. For you have assumed your great power and have established your reign. The nations raged, but your wrath has come, and the time for the dead to be judged, and to recompense your servants, the prophets, and the holy ones and those who fear your name, the small and the great alike, and to destroy those who destroy the earth.” Then God’s temple in heaven was opened, and the ark of his covenant could be seen in the temple. There were flashes of lightning, rumblings, and peals of thunder, an earthquake, and a violent hailstorm. 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.
When placed together, we can see how it is a dramatic scene of worship. First the voices of heaven singing of the Lord and His Anointed, then the 24 elders building upon the praise. Then, we enter into the Holy of Holies—God’s Holy Temple. As the Ark of His Covenant appears, it is accompanied by flashes of lightning, rumblings, peals of thunder, an earthquake, and a violent hailstorm! Wow! The whole world is singing God’s praises and drawing our attention to who is about to be in our presence! Once the praises and rumblings of the world die down, we are left with the Ark of the Covenant, a great sign in the sky, a woman clothed with the sun…and on her head a crown of twelve stars…she was with child. Why was their a crescendo of praise? The Ark of the Covenant was in their midst, Mary the Holy Mother of God was there with her Son our Lord Jesus Christ. It was all building for her to point us to worship of our Triune God. This is why the world was going wild in a dramatic fashion. Not just because it wanted to, but because the Ark of the Covenant, the woman clothed with the sun was coming into their presence. The woman who bore to the world their Savior. How awesome is that?! Unfortunately, we can miss this beauty if we separate Revelation chapters 11 and 12. Let us honor Mary and worship her Son on this great solemnity of her bodily assumption into Heaven! In Mary’s Immaculate Heart, Fr. Jeff