the Assumption, I heart science
The Feast of the Assumption is one of my favorites. Not only because it demands I examine my own mortality… (a little Momento Mori action here...) But because it flex’s the muscles of the Holy Catholic Church. That’s right, it flexes her humble but mighty muscles.
Matthew 16: 16-17 Simon Peter answered, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” And Jesus said to him, “Blessed are you, Simon Barjona, because flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but My Father who is in heaven.
St. Peter knowing that Jesus truly was the Son of God was a gift of the Holy Spirit. Before Christ’s Resurrection and Ascension, Peter knew He was the Son of God. While I am sure, on a cerebral level, it took Peter a little time to work through those implications, in his heart, he knew.
…Faith, the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.
What I love about the relationship between faith and science is that they can never contradict one another. God is the author of each and every word of Sacred Scripture and the author of the world around us — every cell of it. Truth can never contradict itself. Ever.
So what is the teaching of the Church? “The Immaculate Mother of God, the ever Virgin Mary, having completed the course of her earthly life, was assumed body and soul into heavenly glory.” [Pius XII, Munificentissimus Deus 44].
Like St. Peter, this is a dogmatic truth revealed to the Church by the Holy Spirit. Sometimes, what we know to be true through the gift of God’s grace cannot always be empirically proven. However, the fact that we cannot fully understand the Assumption of our Lady in a laboratory is evidence of our shortcomings, not the Lord’s!
When the dogma of the Assumption was proclaimed, it wasn’t anything new for the faithful. Mary’s assumption into heaven was celebrated as early as the 5th and 6th century, Pope Pius XII simply placed the period at the end of the sentence. While this dogma wasn’t yet understood under a microscope or with a fancy mathematical equation, the Church stepped out in faith.
Today, however, centuries after the early Christians celebrated the Assumption of Mary, God has allowed us a glimpse into His created masterpiece and something to chew on when we consider this matter of faith! Under a microscope we CAN see a beautiful part of God’s design for pregnancy that keeps a mother and child spiritually and physically bonded beyond birth. On a cellular level, we can now see this bond called fetomaternal microchimerism. Fetomaternal microchimerism is when cells from a pre-born child travel beyond the womb and stay within the mother’s body. New research reveals this is a common phenomenon and may occur within every pregnancy.
This means, at least most of the time, a mother carries a part of her child within her body long after birth,
What are the implications here? Well, we’re talking about the Feast of the Assumption, so I am sure you can guess! Mary carried Jesus Christ in her womb; like all other pregnant mothers, Mary nourished Christ’s tiny growing body with her own. While we know Mary carried our Lord in her heart for the rest of her life, perhaps it could be possible, considering the phenomenon of fetomaternal microchimerism, that the tangible presence of our Lord stayed within her for the rest of her life.
If this is the case, her glorious assumption is the only appropriate way she could end her earthly life and return to her Son. So, there you have it—the Church will never lead us astray! When science helps us better understand what has already been revealed to us, you gotta’ love it! I love the Holy Catholic Church. I love our Lord. And I love our Blessed Mother, the true Ark of the Covenant!
(Note: To my knowledge, the Church has not specifically addressed the phenomenon of fetomaternal microchimerism as it relates to the Assumption of Mary, but I pray someday it does examine it and then reports back to the anxiously awaiting faithful!)
