What
shall we say, O Queen? What words shall we use? What praise shall we
pour upon thy sacred and glorified head, thou giver of good gifts and
of riches, the pride of the human race, the glory of all creation,
through whom it is truly blessed. He whom nature did not contain in
the beginning, was born of thee. The Invisible One is contemplated
face to face. . . .
What countless angels acclaim the death of the life-giving Mother! How the eloquence of apostles blesses the departure of this body which was the receptacle of God. How the Word of God, who deigned in His mercy to become her Son, ministering with His divine hands to this immaculate and divine being, as His mother, receives her holy soul. O wondrous Law-giver, fulfilling the law which He had Himself laid down, not being bound by it, for it was He who enjoined children to show reference to their parents. 'Honor thy father and thy mother,' He says. The truth of this is apparent to every one, calling to mind even dimly the words of holy Scripture. If according to it the souls of the just are in the hands of God, how much more is her soul in the hands of her Son and her God.
St. John Damascene, Sermon I: On the Assumption.
Picture: "The Assumption of the Virgin" by Peter Paul Rubens, from the Cathedral of Our Lady of Antwerp, photo from Wikipedia.
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