The Assumption

Celebrating the Assumption of the Virgin Mary on August 15 can be traced back to the fifth-century community of Jerusalem. Possibly August 15, 432, was the day of dedication of the Church to the Virgin Mary located between Jerusalem and Bethlehem. In the middle ages, August 15 was the major Marian feast. Its mid-summer date, which, in the medieval calendar, coincided with harvest time, enhanced its festive character. On Lammas Day (the first of August), bread made from the new wheat was consecrated at Mass. The celebration, which continued until August 15, was "the crowning point of the agricultural year." Well into the modern period, the Assumption was the most popular of the Marian feasts. It was known as Marymass or St. Mary�s Day.

A vestige of the medieval harvest celebration is the blessing of herbs which continued in areas of Germany. On the Assumption, people brought to church bundles of flowers and herbs, especially those which had healing qualities and could be used throughout the year. One text spoke of the reasons for the blessings of herbs and flowers on this day: first, to acknowledge God�s providence and to give thanks, and then, that after the example of Mary, like the herbs and flowers that are blessed, Christians might bring healing, hope, and joy to the world. The Book of Blessing ( #1345) provides a blessing for food and notes that Marian feasts have traditionally been associated with blessing and thanksgiving.

Before Vatican II, Our Lady�s Assumption was presented as one of the "privileges which reached so lofty a peak that, apart from the human nature of Jesus Christ, no creature other than she has ever attained them" (1950). The art and hymns of the Assumption portrayed the lofty heights to which the Virgin Mary ascended.. By contrast, Vatican II�s first words on the Virgin Mary were that the Church sees and admires in Mary "that which she herself wholly desires and hopes to be" (SC 103). Assumed body and soul into heaven, she is "the eschatological image and first flowering of the Church" (LG 68).

The Lectionary�s reading for the feast relates the Assumption to the paschal mystery. The "first fruits" of the redemption are seen in Christ�s resurrection, which, one day, all-- "each in his own order"--will enjoy (I Cor. 15-20-27). The newly-composed preface for the Mass speaks of Mary�s Assumption as "the beginning and the pattern of the Church in its perfection, and a sign of hope and comfort for your people on their pilgrim way." Mary�s Assumption enhances her intercessory role, and it is a reminder of our own destiny. "Assumed into heaven, she does not cease her saving service, which expresses her maternal mediation, and she continues to remain united with Christ. Thus, in her Assumption into heaven, Mary is as it were clothed by the whole reality of the Communion of Saints, and her very union with the Son in glory is wholly oriented towards the definitive fullness of the Kingdom, when "God will be all in all." (RM 59). The Assumption is a celebration of "the fulfillment of Christian hope."

Fr. Albert Enard, O.P., is a French Dominican priest whose life activity has been to promote the rosary. He has been the director of "rosary teams" (the successor to the rosary confraternities), and he has written several books on the rosary�s origins and history. In his books, he has proposed ways in which this prayer could be revitalized and communicated to future generations. One of his suggestions has been a restructuring of the mysteries of the rosary in such a way as to reflect the whole of the Gospel: these were the fifteen mysteries of the "Kingdom of God." Another suggestion was the modification of the text of the present form of the Hail Mary to make it similar to the text used when the rosary originated. A third suggestion was a new translation of the opening word of the Angel�s greeting to the Virgin Mary at the Annunciation (Luke 1, 28) to indicate that the angel�s words were truly a message of joy.

Prompted by the theme of the Jubilee 2000, Fr. Enard has again suggested that the opening word of the angel�s greeting be translated as a call to joy. (Revue du Rosaire, June, 1999). Fr. Enard observes that, in On the Coming Third Millennium, the pope spoke of the joy which was associated with the message of the Incarnation. "The term �Jubilee� speaks of joy�not just an inner joy but a jubilation which is manifested outwardly, for the coming of God is also an outward, visible, audible and tangible event, as Saint John makes clear (cf. 1 Jn 1:1). It is thus appropriate that every sign of joy at this coming should have its own outward expression. This will demonstrate that the Church rejoices in salvation. She invites everyone to rejoice, and she tries to create conditions to ensure that the power of salvation may be shared by all" (16).

The other reason which prompted Fr. Enard to suggest again the Angel�s greeting be translated as a message of joy was a conference, given on May 1, 1996, by Pope John Paul II as part of his ongoing weekly conferences on the Virgin Mary. In this conference, the pope clearly and forcefully indicated his position on a matter which has been debated for several decades.

The first word of the angel at the Annunciation�cha�r� in St. Luke�s Gospel--was translated into Latin as Ave. In Latin, ave was a simple word of greeting. Consequently, all the Western European languages (dependent upon the Latin) translated ave as a simple word of greeting: Hail, Mary; Je vous salue Marie; Dios te salve Maria; Gegr�sst seist du. It was known that the Greek word cha�r� meant "rejoice," but it was thought that, in the Greek of the New Testament period, the word had become an ordinary daily greeting (as it still is in Greek today) and did not denote a special message of joy.

In 1939, the French Scripture scholar, Fr. Stanislaus Lyonnet, S.J., challenged this intepretation. He noted that in Luke�s Gospel the ordinary form of greeting was "Peace" (from the Hebrew shalom; Luke 10:5; 24:36). There were instances where, when a message of great importance such as a promise of liberation was communicated, the greeting was not simply "Peace" but rather "Rejoice" (Ex. 4:31; I Kgs 5:21; Is 66:10: 14). The call to rejoice was prominent when Israel was addressed as the Daughter of Sion (Zephaniah 3:14; Joel 2:21; Zechariah 9:9). (Vatican II and postconciliar liturgy refer to Mary as the "outstanding Daughter of Zion.)

The translation of Scripture text, Luke 1, 27, may have drawn little attention, were these words not part of the most popular Marian prayer of the Western Church�the Ave Maria� Hail Mary (English), Je vous salue (French). A change in the wording of this popular prayer first occurred in France. At Lourdes, in 1969, R�jouis-toi ("Rejoice") began to be used as the opening words of Ave Maria. Four years later, as the French bishops submitted the texts of the Lectionary to the Congregation for Divine Worship, they requested that the Rejouis-toi be retained in the official liturgical texts of the Lukan pericope. It was the form, they said, to which French Catholics had become accustomed. (The form R�jouis-toi was approved by three boards: the pastoral commission, the exegetical commission, and the bishops who were members of international committee for the translation of French texts.) However, those opposed to any change, especially as it would affect the rosary, led by Father J. Delano�, succeeded in influencing the outcome. The Congregation for the Faith requested that the Congregation for Divine Worship not approve the change. "The reasons for the change," the congregation averred, "appear to be less weighty than the reasons for not changing, namely, the words of the Hail Mary which are so dear to the faith and the devotion of the Christian people." (Cf. Laurentin, "Bulletin sur Marie," RSTP, 60 (3) 1976:. 334.) Accordingly, the French Lectionary retranslated the words as a simple greeting, "Je te salue," and all the English Lectionaries have retained the phrase "Hail Mary."

Meanwhile, Fr. Enard continued his work of showing that the angel�s words to Mary were not simply words of greeting but a call to great joy. In 1983, his book R�jouis-toi Marie appeared with French translations of the commentaries, especially those of Greek writers, on the angel�s words. (Later, Fr. Enard had the opportunity to present his book to Pope John Paul II, and he was elated to see his views reflected in the pope�s conference of May 1, 1996).. In contrast to Latin writers (who frequently commented on how Eva became Ave), the Greek commentaries dwelt on the joy in the angel�s announcement to Mary. The Akathist hymn of the Byzantine Church is an extended meditation on the Annunciation scene, with the refrain, "Rejoice, rejoice, o wedded virgin," repeated throughout. St. Sophronias, patriarch of Jerusalem, comments, "What will the angel say to the blessed and pure Virgin? How will he communicate the great message? �Rejoice, you have been filled with grace, the Lord is with you.� When he addressed her, he begins with joy, he who is the announcer of joy."

Hopefully, future editions of the Lectionary will reflect Pope John Paul�s interpretation of the Angel�s words at the Annunciation. In its commentary on the Ave Maria, the Catechism of the Catholic Church gives the first words as "Hail Mary," or "Rejoice Mary" (CCC 2676). Since the Ave Maria does not appear as a prayer in the official liturgical books, there is little possibility that the English-speaking bishops will consider the matter. The experience of the postconciliar period teaches that little is gained by introducing a change which has not been thoroughly explained and accepted. In private prayer, and in those communities where agreement can be reached, "Rejoice, Mary," could be use in the rosary and the Angelus. Probably, the two forms will exist alongside each other, hopefully not in conflict. (In France, at the present there are three forms: Je vous salue, je te salue, r�jouis-toi.) The Jubilee Year is an appropriate time to introduce a small change to commemorate and communicate God�s message of joy to the Virgin Mary, the first person to receive the good news of the Incarnation.