The Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary
Apocalypse 11:19,12:1-6,10 | Psalm 44:10-12,16 | 1 Corinthians 15:20-26 | Luke 1:39-56
Today, we receive the Canticle of Mary, the magnificent Magnificat, through Luke’s recounting of the meeting between Mary and Elizabeth. It’s a familiar passage that unfortunately overshadows an simple observation by Elizabeth:
Yes, blessed is she who believed that the promise made her by the Lord would be fulfilled. (Luke 1:45)
Indeed, blessed are we who believe that the promise of Christ will be fulfilled, that if we love God truly, and our neighbor as ourselves, we shall be reunited with Him one day.
But neither part of our obligation is as easy as it sounds, is it?
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To truly love God, we have to know Him, which means setting aside time to focus on that purpose – except we consciously strive to spend the minimum amount of time in His presence. One hour at Sunday mass is all we can spare for God, surely that should be enough?
But in that hour, we can’t even focus thanks to those distracting children around us loudly ruffling missal pages and failing to moderate their voices. Not to mention our incessant need to multitask, to mentally plan our meals over the homily, our day’s journeys during the consecration, and our shopping lists post-communion. And oh God who’s calling me in the middle of mass? Must be urgent!
Then we get stuck in the church parking lot, fingers itching to sound the horn at the inconsiderate people who blocked our vehicles. We’ve got places to go, things to do, people to meet. No time now, God. Maybe later…
As for loving our neighbor as ourselves, that ^&&*$$ idiot just left his car here and is taking his own sweet time to leave! Love him? I want to beat his head in!
For that matter, do we even think about Christ’s promise at all, or did we leave it behind as we left Sunday school?
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Mother Mary sets an example for us in this, as in many other aspects of Christian living. In her earthly lifetime, she pondered a lot about the mysteries revealed to her by God and His Son, her son. She “treasured all these things and pondered them in her heart.” (Luke 2:19)
She in turn calls to us to stop for a moment, to pause in our incessant rush towards earthly fulfillment and consider the life to come, the eternal life with our Father that was promised to us even before we were born. She pleads with us to commune with God regularly, even offering herself as an intercessory, a more comfortable “anchor” of universal motherhood. How can we not respond?
Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with you.
Blessed are you among women,
and blessed is the fruit of your womb, Jesus.
Holy Mary, mother of God, pray for us sinners,
now and at the hour of our death. Amen.