Who is she? Who is this woman? What is this great sign in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, standing on the moon, with a crown of twelve stars on her head (Apoc 12:1)? She is beautiful, and she is also terrible. In the words of the Song of Songs: Who is she, arising like the dawn, fair as the moon, resplendent as the sun, terrible as an army in battle array (6:10)?
Here, as elsewhere, the language with which St. John describes his vision is obscure, allusive; clearly symbolic, but resisting easy interpretation. In attempting to portray what can scarcely be portrayed, John draws freely on a wide variety of images from the Jewish scriptures and also from pagan mythology. So the woman of his vision evokes a new Eve, a new Jerusalem, a new Israel, a new People of God. She evokes the Church. She evokes Mary assumed into heaven. She can’t simply be Mary, because at several points the description doesn’t fit. But of all the images and models he evokes, surely Mary’s Assumption must have been the one uppermost in John’s mind as he wrote. He doesn’t set out here to teach directly the doctrine of the Assumption, but it’s surely there for him in the background. Therefore we can legitimately draw on this description when we consider the glory of Mary.
The moon of John’s vision is placed under Mary’s feet, for she is now beyond all changeability. Nothing now can in any way diminish her or harm her. She is clothed with the sun, more beautiful, more glorious than any earthly Queen arrayed in garments of gold (cf. Ps 44:10). We glimpse here Creation brought to its happy fulfilment. It’s no longer something hostile, or fragile, or passing, but now re-made to become what it was always meant to be: the perfect setting for redeemed and glorified children of God. So the sun here adorns Our Lady as her clothing. On its behalf, and on behalf of all creation, she ever stands before God, singing her hymn of perfect praise and thanksgiving (cf. Ps 148 etc.)
On her head is a crown of twelve stars. For St. John, so much given to number symbolism, 12 is a number of heavenly completion. 3 is the number of God, who was, and who is, and who is to come. 4 is the number of the earth, with its 4 compass points. For the Jews generally, 3+4 represents completion. But in the Apocalypse the number 7 can represent either the completion of good, or the completion of evil. So there are 7 Churches, and 7 spirits before the Throne, and 7 seals on the scroll; but also 7 crowns on the 7 heads of the dragon; there are 7 Angels, but also 7 plagues and 7 trumpets of woe. The number 12, on the other hand, is made of 3x4, and in the Apocalypse 12 is a completion that’s always heavenly. 12 evokes both the twelve tribes of Israel, and the twelve Apostles of the Church: so there are 24 elders around the Throne. The number of the redeemed, and the height of the walls of the heavenly Jerusalem, is 12x12x1000: 144,000.
Mary now everlastingly glorified in God’s presence represents one centrally important aspect of the Holy Church. Like Our Lady, the whole Catholic Church, militant, glorified and suffering is always with God. She always has a share in Christ’s victory. She is always somehow clothed in glory: beautiful and enjoying heavenly bliss. But although the holy Church with Mary already has one foot, as it were, permanently in heaven, also here on earth she is always subject to persecution, and to attacks of every sort, from without and from within, and so she always cries out in her anguish. She must share somehow in Christ’s Passion until the end of time. One day, when she is consummated, her share in his Resurrection will be complete. Then her share in the passion will be no more: or it will serve for her as a perpetual badge of honour, glory and accomplished victory.
The doctrine of today’s feast is that our blessed Lady is now in heaven with her own body. This is ever more important for us to hear, when the whole idea of the human body is under attack. Many people, as we know, have a body which for them is a source of pain, or debility, or burden, or humiliation. Sometimes this can seem terrible enough to make live barely worth living. Many have a body that to them seems ugly. Some people come to hate their bodies. But our bodies are part of who we are: they are the expression of who we are. We Christians believe that our bodies are given us by God, and are destined for glory. Our bodies are essentially worthy of honour, since God incarnate took a human body. He redeemed us through the body, and he will raise us up in our own bodies on the last day, as he has already raised his holy Mother.
Nowadays with modern technology it’s possible to tinker with the body. This can be utterly wonderful, when modern medicine brings healing, relief, protection; when it saves people from death by treatable disease, when it takes away suffering, grants freedom of movement and the rest. But medicine also can be used badly. Sometimes it’s used to kill. And of course in gender re-assignment surgery it can give the illusion that we create our own reality, and control our lives and identities as we please.
In the resurrection, all problems associated with the body will be done away with. Our bodies then will be perfected, glorified, beautiful. We can’t really imagine how the resurrected body will be. All we know is, it will be with Christ, with God, and in him eternally in perfect joy. Today we raise our eyes to Mary, in whom we see an image, a reminder, a model of where we are all called to be. In Mary we see an image of consummated union with Jesus Christ. In her we see how God rewards those whom he has loved, and who have responded with a corresponding love.
In Mary also we see a motherly compassion that embraces every single person, however bad, shallow, impure, compromised, wretched they may be. Our Lady does not stand in heaven as if aloof, separated off, out of reach. On the contrary, from her position of inviolable security she ever watches over us her children. She loves us, helps us, guides us. What madness it would be in us, then, to neglect her, to behave as if she did not exist, to fail to turn to her in our needs! No: today especially we protest and renew our love for her, our devotion to her, and we deliberately entrust our whole life, and the life of the whole Church, into her care. Hail Mary! we cry. Salve Regina! Victory and power and empire is yours (Apoc 12 10). Pray for us, then, poor sinners, now and at the hour of our death. Amen.