The Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary

Dear Reader,

This past Sunday we celebrated the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary. It was a great blessing to give thanks for Our Lord's love for the Virgin Mary, his mother. Indeed, though the Assumption is not explicitly proven by Scripture (though Scripture certainly provides a basis for the doctrine), it dates back to early teaching in the Church and is most beneficial to our faith. How we think about the Assumption may help us all to better understand how we approach the intersection of belief and authority in the Church.

Saint Mary the Virgin

O God, you have taken to yourself the blessed Virgin Mary, mother of your incarnate Son: Grant that we, who have been redeemed by his blood, may share with her the glory of your eternal kingdom; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

Though it is horribly tempting, I will pass over the fact that the 1979 BCP chooses to simply call the day "Saint Mary the Virgin" even though the collect is clearly talking about the Assumption! Instead, I would like to reflect on the manner in which we each engage belief, and specifically how we engage Church teaching that is not repugnant to Scripture, but may not be clearly proven by it.

I once heard tale of a Roman Catholic who told a Protestant that he was far too concerned trying to prove (or disprove) everything while the Roman Catholic viewed the deposit of faith and said, "Look at all these wonderful things the Church believes that I get to believe as well!" I think we can all exhibit a mixture of these two approaches, but what is this Western Protestant business of being skeptical of almost everything?

Do we tend to be trusting of the Church and accept her teaching except when it is in clear conflict with Scripture, or are we more skeptical? I'd like to suggest that the answer to this question says a lot about how one views the Church and her teaching authority. Even though "councils have erred and will continue to err" do we really think that we as individuals stand a better chance of getting it right that the entire witness of the Church throughout the ages?

One certainly should not violate one's conscience, but if we are more trusting of our own faculties to discern the truth than we are of the Church Catholic we may err far more severely as we sit on the thrones of our own lives. Whatever one's answer, this is an issue worth pondering.

What do you think? As for me, with the exception of Church teaching conflicting with Scripture or violating my conscience, I wish to do all that I can to take the posture of submitting to the teaching of the Church throughout the ages. After passing through three different theology programs, I am more certain than ever that the Church as a whole has a truer teaching than any one person could possibly concoct.

God has blessed us and bound us together as the Church, the Bride of Christ. May we all grow in love for and submission to her.

Blessings,

David+