Search
-
August 11, 2021The Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary—August 15, 2021 Revelation 11:19a, 12:1-6a, 10ab; Psalm 45:10, 11, 12, 16; 1 Corinthians 15:20-27; Luke 1:39-56
This Sunday we take a break from focusing on the life-giving presence of Jesus Christ in order to honor His earthly mother as we celebrate her Assumption to Heaven. While many Protestants and Evangelicals question Catholic’s devotion to Mary, we hold her in high regard for legitimate reasons. Mary is after all the chosen one of God through whom Jesus entered into our human world. In agreeing to serve as the mother of God, Mary plays a critical role throughout the salvation story. We cannot diminish Mary’s role. After all, God is the one who could have chosen others or other ways to bring the Incarnate word to us. Yet, He honored Mary and chose her to bring Jesus to earth in the form of a human child. If God so honored Mary, how can we not do the same? We too are called to honor that heavenly choice by seeking to honor Mary for her part in helping to bring Jesus into our lives. We know that her motherly love for the child Jesus helped to shape and form the fully human person He was. We can come to learn a lot about the person of Jesus by reflecting on the motherly love of Mary who walked with Jesus throughout His earthly ministry. The fact that we believe that she was assumed body and soul into heaven upon her death reinforces our appreciation on the good, true and beautiful bond with her divine son, a bond we seek to appreciate and emulate through our devotion to her as the mother of God and our mother. The Catechism at paragraph 487 stated clearly that: “What the Catholic faith believes about Mary is based on what it believes about Christ, and what it teaches about Mary illumines in turn its faith in Christ.” The Revelation reading also reminds us that we also can see Mary as the new Eve. By giving in to the temptations of the evil one, Eve was banished from Eden and ushered sin and death into the world. Mary, by her ‘yes’ to God, brought the Bread of Life into the world so that we might once again have the gates of paradise opened up to us. Let us never be discouraged by or ashamed of our devotion to our Blessed Mother, for her example of motherly love will always point us to Jesus and encourage us to love Him as fully as she did throughout His life.
For further reflection on Mary’s privileged role as the Mother of God, see the Catechism of the Catholic Church, paragraphs 484-507; and on the mission of Christ that Mary participates in, paragraphs 456-478.
Reflection Questions:- How might contemplating the motherly love of Mary help me to a deeper appreciation of the love that God has for each of us?
- On the cross, Jesus left Mary to us as our mother and the Mother of the Church. How might I honor Mary as mother by becoming a more active member of our Church family?
- The love of a mother can be the closest example we have of the unconditional love of God. How can I be less conditional in my love for my family? My faith? My fellow children of God?
