Today is the Solemnity of the Assumption of Mary, and so it is appropriate that we hear much about her in our readings, certainly more than we are used to seeing, and this is a good thing today because it draws our attention to her so that we can perhaps gain a greater understanding of her role in her son’s ministry and life. I think this is especially important for us, because we need to have an understanding of Mary in order to better understand her Son, who was both God and man, and who gained that humanity through His mother so that he could become one of us in order to save us.
In our first reading we learn of Mary’s role as Queen of heaven and earth in the narrative of her appearance crowned with the stars, and about to give birth to our Lord. We hear of how the devil in the form of a dragon tried to prevent this, but in the end how both Mary and her Son were kept safe to continue God’s plan. In our Gospel reading we also hear of Mary’s trip to see her sister Elizabeth who was the mother of John the Baptist who would be the forerunner of our Lord and announce his coming among us. Even then, it was revealed to Elizabeth through the Holy Spirit how special Mary’s role was as the mother of our Lord and filled with that spirit she made her proclamation of who Mary truly was, and what her title would be – Mother of God. All of this is the precursor to what is revealed to us in our second reading, that our salvation would come through Jesus as man, which could only happen with Mary’s acceptance of, and participation in, God’s plan of salvation. That through His Son, we would be redeemed from the death that came through Adam and be granted eternal life through Jesus death and resurrection.
You see, this is what we need to understand about Mary, that her sole desire is to draw us closer to her Son, because of her continued participation in God’s salvific plan. She accepted her role here on earth, and with absolute faith gave her yes to God’s plan and continues that to this day. She wants us to be saved through her Son, and so prays for us and intercedes on our behalf through her prayers. She is a powerful advocate in that role, and one that we should continually look to and ask for her prayers through our own. We do not worship Mary, worship is for God alone, but we do hold her in a special place because she is the mother of God, and because of that we ask her to pray for us. I sometimes hear people (mostly non-Catholic, but occasionally even Catholics) rebuff this, and tell me they feel strange praying to Mary, and ask why not just pray to Jesus directly, and so they should, but that does not mean that we should not ask others to pray for us as well, most notably Jesus’ mother. He gave her to us as our mother as well while he was dying on the cross for a very good reason. So that we would have an advocate who would love us and pray on our behalf – there was a purpose in all that our Lord did and said, and this was certainly no exception. Just as we are called to pray for one another, so too are we to be humble enough to ask for prayers, and we begin with Mary.
There is a postscript to this homily, as I write this, it is Saturday, which is the Feast Day of Saint Maximillian Kolbe. Saint Maximillian was very dedicated to Mary and founded the Militia Immaculata. This was an association devoted to helping others better understand Mary and her special role as the mother of Jesus, and to grasp that through a devotion to her, we would in turn be drawn closer to her Son, which is always her desire for us. Saint Maximillian was martyred in Auschwitz when he took the place of another man who was to be put to death, but he is still remembered as an ardent devotee of Mary because he fully grasped that it was our Lords intention to have His mother watching over us and guiding us, just as she did for him when he was growing up. In our case, our growing up is something of a lifelong proposition, because we learn and grow in faith throughout our lives, and we always benefit from our Blessed Mothers help.
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