The Dogma of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary was solemnly proclaimed by Pope Pius XII on November 1, 1950. Three years later, on the Feast of the Immaculate Conception, Pope Pius spoke words which are worthy of the Feast we are celebrating, and suitable for our troubled times:

"Mary is beautiful in herself as the moon, radiates her brilliance as the sun; but against 'the enemy' she is formidable; terrible as an army arrayed for war. As we rejoice and exalt her today, God knows how we would like to forget the difficulties of the times in which we live....There is the 'enemy' even at the very doors of the Church, threatening souls. And behold, another aspect of Mary: her power in combat....Mary, sinless, has crushed the head of the corrupting serpent. When Mary approaches, the demon flees - just as darkness dissipates when the sun rises. Where Mary is present, Satan is absent; where the sun shines, there is no darkness" (Pius XII, Address, Dec. 8, 1953).

    Mary's spiritual power is so great because she was without sin from the first moment of her Immaculate Conception. Her integrity of soul was matched by her integrity of body, in that she was Mary "Ever Virgin," and did not suffer the loss of her physical integrity even at the birth of her Son, Jesus. It has been the constant teaching of the Church that His was a Miraculous Birth, and that Mary did not suffer the usual consequences of childbirth. At other times the Gospels speak of Jesus similarly suspending the ordinary laws of nature. St. Luke records that at the beginning of His public ministry, Jesus was ushered by the angry and jealous Nazarenes to the brow of the hill upon which the town was built, intending to throw Him down. "But He," says St. Luke, "passing through their midst, went His way" (Lk.4:30). And St. John records that after the Resurrection, "Jesus came, the doors being closed, and stood in their midst…" (Jn.20:26b).

    It is particularly important for us to stress the doctrine of Mary's virginity, because today it is being challenged once more, this time by Jewish Scripture scholars, who claim that the Dead Sea Scrolls prove that the translation from Isaiah, "…a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and his name shall be called Emmanuel" (Is.7:14), is incorrect, and that the Hebrew text says, instead of "virgin," "a young woman." Vatican officials, dancing to the tune of the Jewish scholars, say that this will be changed in the Catholic Bible according to the Jewish findings, although it will take five years. No doubt other changes are contemplated as well.

    It should trouble the Vatican that St. Matthew, when quoting the same passage from Isaiah in his Gospel, (Mt.1:23), uses the term "virgin," and indicates that the passage quoted refers prophetically to the Blessed Virgin Mary and her Son, Who is Emmanuel, God-with-us. It should terrify the Vatican that St. Matthew was writing under Divine inspiration, and that the Holy Ghost is the chief Author of both the Old Testament and New Testament Scriptures. But today the Vatican would rather "grieve the Holy Spirit," insult the Holy Virgin Mary, and lapse into heresy, than take a chance on displeasing the Jews.

    Mary's spiritual and physical integrity, or virginity, in the minds of the Church Fathers, and in the teaching of the Church since their time, symbolizes the Church herself, also called Virgin and Mother, as to the integrity of her faith and teaching. It is our daily struggle to preserve the virginal purity of the Church's teaching by handing on the faith of the Church unimpaired, and by defending it when it is attacked, as we do today. But we have a powerful helper and protector in Mary, who has "crushed the head of the corrupting serpent," and will not allow the struggling remnant Church to be destroyed. We call upon her with confidence in our hour of distress, remembering that she is Holy Mary, Ever Virgin, yet our Mother.

    St. John Bosco called upon Mary, Help of Christians, in the following prayer, which we make our own:

"Mary, most powerful Virgin, You are the mighty and glorious Protector of the Church. You are the marvelous Help of Christians. You are awe-inspiring as an army in battle array. You have destroyed heresy in the world. In the midst of our anguish, our struggle and our distress defend us from the power of the enemy, and at the hour of our death receive our soul into heaven. Amen."†

For past Sunday/Holy Day Sermons by Father Louis, see www.DailyCatholic.org/2006qui.htm Archives

AUGUST 2003 vol 14, no. 33 "Qui legit, intelligat" Father Louis Campbell's Sunday Sermons