Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary - Aug.15, 2011

House of the Blessed Virgin Mary - near Ephesus, in modern-day Turkey

Until just a few years ago, I was unaware of the existence of Mary's house.  My parents had returned from a cruise, and they brought me a small icon from this site.  It's shaped like the arch of the house's doorway above.  On this Feast of the Assumption, I wanted to share what I learned about it.

Tradition holds that the apostle John took Mary into his home after the crucifixion, and took care of her until her body was taken up to Heaven.  Roman Catholics refer to this event as the Assumption.  In Orthodox Christianity, it's known as the "Dormition" (falling asleep).

This house was only recently (in a big-picture kind of way) discovered in 1881.  The story of how it was found begins in Germany.  An Augustinian nun named Anne Catherine Emmerich lived in the convent of Agnetenberg.  She had been ill and bedridden for many years, but was known in the area as a visionary and mystic.  She was reported to have received the stigmata.  She wrote about a series of visions, in which she was shown the last days of both Jesus and Mary.  Although tradition placed the house in the city of Ephesus, Anne claimed that this was not quite correct.  In her visions, she was able to describe the location of the house - on a sloping hillside about three hours' journey from Ephesus.  She described not only how to reach it, but also knew details of the house, such as the building material, the placement of the windows, and the room layout.  It should be noted that, at the time, the city of Ephesus had not yet even been excavated.  Her visions were recorded in a book in 1852.

Some thirty years later, a French priest used her descriptions as a guide, and located the building.  Not much attention was given to this discovery until a second 'discovery' was made in 1891.  In a distant mountain village in Turkey, there lived a group of people who claimed descent from the first Christians in the area.  They had venerated this house for as long as they could remember.  It was known as 'Panaya Kapulu' ("doorway to the virgin" in Turkish), and they made a pilgrimage there every (you guessed it) August 15th. 

Although the Vatican has not spoken officially on the authenticity of this site, three recent Popes have made the pilgrimage there.  Anne Catherine Emmerich was beatified in 2004.  

To me, this kind of modern-day miracle suggests that Mary wants us to know that she is still very much a part of our world.  She invites us to invoke her in our prayers, because she knows us -- our doubts, our weaknesses, our failings -- and loves us all.  Mary is the Queen of Heaven and a divine advocate for our souls, but she is also the mother of us all.  I think that she wants us to be closer to her, and uses sublimely orchestrated methods to achieve that goal.  By revealing herself to one devout soul, and the discovery that resulted from that vision, she refreshes the faith life of us all.  Like her divine son, Mary is both constantly the same, and eternally new.