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Since we celebrate a feast of Mary today, the assumption, it is a good time
to reflect on Mary, on our devotion to her.
Probably most of us Catholics take devotion to Mary for granted. Probably the
first prayer we learned was the Hail Mary. We grew up with common Catholic
practices such as family Rosary, miraculous medal, Scapulars, and Novenas to
Mary. Devotion to Mary is something that makes our Church different. Along with
the papacy, Mary is one of the distinguishing marks of the Catholic Church.
In today’s Gospel, Mary, pregnant with child, goes to the hill country to
care for Elizabeth, who is also with child. Elizabeth greets her and calls her
"blessed" two times: 1. "Blessed is the fruit of your womb,"
says Elizabeth, and 2. "Blessed is she who trusted that the Lord’s words
to her would be fulfilled."
Jesus is the fruit of Mary’s womb. That is her glory and her greatness.
Mary gives God a human nature. That is why we honor her. She is the mother of
Jesus, and Jesus is God, so we rightly call her the Mother of God. Mary makes
God a human being. This is the source of her greatness. All of her other
privileges flow from this one: being the Mother of God. Blessed is the fruit of
her womb.
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Because she was to be God’s mother, she was preserved from the stain of
original sin. This is her Immaculate Conception. She is Virgin as well as
mother, since the Christ child who was born of her was the result of God’s
power in her and not any human sexual activity. And when her time on earth was
over, she was taken up into heaven, body and soul, as was her Son, the
Resurrected Christ. This is the feast we celebrate today, the Assumption.
In Mary, God worked with human nature and brought it to perfection. She is
the perfectly redeemed one, the one who is full of grace. But she starts off as
one of us, with the same human nature we have. What He did in her, He also wants
to do in us. She deserves our veneration and devotion, because of her greatness.
But it is not enough to venerate her or be devoted to her, we must also imitate
her, so that God will be able to work his wonders in us too.
Elizabeth says to her: "Blessed is she who trusted that God’s words to
her would be fulfilled." Mary is a woman of faith. She trusted, she
believed, she opened herself to God. That is the first step, the starting point,
which all of us are called upon to do. If we don’t trust, believe, open
ourselves to God, then He can’t do anything with us.
One of Mary’s most beautiful titles, is unfortunately one of the least
known and used: She is the "First Disciple." Mary is a disciple in
many ways:
§ She trusts God’s word and believes in him.
§ Pregnant with Jesus she goes to help Elizabeth. A disciple
forgets about self, is eager to help others, and bring Christ to them.
§ She is prayerful and meditative. St. Luke in one of his famous
verses says, "She pondered all these things in her heart." She
thought about God, what he was doing, what it all meant.
§ She perseveres in believing, even when things look bleak. She
intercedes for the newlywed couple at Cana. When her Son tells her his hour
has not yet come, she still instructs the servants to "do whatever He
tells you" She calls us to believe even when we find it difficult to do
so.
Mary is the first of all disciples: believing, eager to help others,
prayerful, and persevering in her faith. It is our good fortune Jesus has given
her to us as our Mother to help guide us to Him.
To conclude, I’d like you to say a prayer to Mary with me. It’s one you
are used to say so often, especially if you are my age or older, that you should
be able to say it in your sleep. It is a beautiful appeal to Mary for her help.
I’ll start, and as you recognize it, please join in:
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Hail Holy Queen, Mother of Mercy, Our life, our sweetness, and our hope
To Thee do we cry, poor banished children of Eve
To Thee do we send up our sighs, mourning, and weeping in this vale of tears
Turn, then, most Gracious advocate, Thine eyes of mercy toward us, and after
this our exile, show unto us the fruit of your womb, Jesus.
O clement, O loving, O sweet Virgin Mary. Pray for us O Holy Mother of God,
that we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.
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Mail to: franceswei@saintmarynb.org with questions and commands
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Last modified: May 12, 2003
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