GLADE PARK, CO (Catholic Online) - On November 1, 1950, Pope Pius XII issued the Apostolic Constitution Munificentissimus Deus, in which he proclaimed the dogma of the Assumption: "Mary, the immaculate perpetually Virgin Mother of God, after the completion of her earthly life, was assumed body and soul into the glory of heaven."

This was truly a wonderful event, a moment in which the faithful around the world received with certainty a ruling from the Chair of Peter, one which formally proclaimed what was already held and guarded in the deposit of faith the Catholic Church received from Christ through the apostles under the guidance of the Holy Spirit. In reflecting on the sublime wonders of the Assumption and the life of the Mother of God, rays of discerning light flood the intellect, illuminating many aspects of our earthly lives. 

We live in an age in which there exists immense forces within our culture which labor to draw us into conformity with what is often described as dark and evil. There can be no doubt that the diabolical nature of these struggles with temptation and bad example are often orchestrated, to some degree, by the Father of Lies: that powerful fallen angel whose pride swelled to perhaps the greatest depths of corruption. While these temptations we face are not entirely new, they are magnified by modern culture in powerfully new ways. One such detrimental, negative element of contemporary culture, heavily engrained in the West, is impurity.

St. Paul reminds us that "All of us once lived . . . in the desires of our flesh, following the wishes of the flesh and the impulses, and we were by nature children of wrath, like the rest" (Eph 2:3). It's probably safe to say that every adult is, to some degree, wounded by impurity, whether giving in significantly to the many temptations toward impurity, or in being confronted by the various malignant influences impurity promotes in the world.

Those who have, by His Majesty's wondrous grace, arrived at a point of heartfelt repentance and conversion often anguish over their past life, recounting with misery the many self-inflicted wounds of impurity, bringing to themselves no small suffering. This is so by virtue of a greater closeness to God which always illumines our own sinfulness. As our Father draws us to himself by his loving providence, he nourishes an awareness of our limitations and failures, that we may fly all the more securely into his arms, where we may quietly rest in his protective love.

Some feel they are forever damaged, as if they can no longer be counted as among the pure. This is not so, however, for Christ our Lord holds the crown of purity before us all, desiring to place it on our heads, if only we should trust, if only we should try our best, if only we should love him more than what our eyes might cast themselves upon each day. What has happened in the past is gone, borne away by the healing graces of the sacrament of Reconciliation. Now our Lord's hands softly reach toward us, the gleam of purity reflected in his eyes, an imperishable crown of immeasurable worth rests in his fingers; a gift he waits to give; a gift of which only our Lord himself can make us worthy to receive.

St. Paul reminds us of the new life we are given, a free and merciful gift from God: "But God, who is rich in mercy, because of the great love he had for us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, brought us to life with Christ (by grace you have been saved), raised us up with him, and seated us with him in the heavens in Christ Jesus, that in the ages to come he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus" (Eph 2:3-7).

The Virgin Mother: Model Of Purity Supreme

Those who desire to receive the crown of purity from our Lord should not hesitate to fly to the Virgin Mary, Mother of God, whose tender love and concerned intercessory help is never withheld from her children. It is our Virgin Mother who will take us into her worthy hands, guide us toward her Son, and lower the glorious crown upon our heads.

If we should state that the Virgin Mary is the greatest Christian who ever lived, we would be correct; yet such a statement does little to relate the indescribable beauty of her dedication to her Son, her eagerness to suffer for the will of God, her complete trust, and her total purity of heart which far surpasses our present understanding. There is simply no better model of human purity than our sweet Virgin Mother, who exists as Queen of Heaven, raised in heavenly glory above all the angels and saints.

St. Bernard of Clairvaux writes of the Virgin Mother, "Let us honor [Mary] for the purity of her body, the holiness of her life. Let us marvel at her ...