Today’s Feast celebrates the special place that Mary has in the life of the Church. This place is first of all defined by her being chosen to be the mother of Jesus, His only human parent. This alone gives her a uniqueness which is shared by no other person who has ever lived.
When we say she was “assumed body and soul into heaven,” what we are really saying is Mary, because of the dignity of her motherhood and her own personal submission to God’s will at every stage of her life, takes precedence over everyone else in the sharing of God’s glory – which is the destiny of all of us who die, united with Christ her Son.
Mary remains, of course, fully a human being and infinitely lower in dignity than her Son and much closer to us. With us, but leading us, she stands in adoration of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. She cannot, even in heavenly glory, be given in any way the worship that is proper to the Persons of the Trinity. What she can do, and this is supremely important, is intercede for us in our needs, offering her prayers on our behalf.
Let us pray. “All-powerful and ever-living God, you raised the Virgen Mary, Mother of your Son and our Mother, body and soul to the glory of heaven. Through her intercession, may we see heaven as our final goal and come to share in her glory. Through Christ your So. Amen.”
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For further reflection: Mary’s role is well described in the Catechism of the Catholic Church – “By her complete adherence to the Father’s will, to His Son’s redemptive work, and to every prompting of the Holy Spirit, the Virgin Mary is the Church’s model of faith and charity. Thus she is a ‘pre-eminent and… wholly unique member of the Church’; indeed, she is the ‘exemplary realization’ of the Church.” (Section 967)
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Masses today at Holy Cross church: 8:30am (English); 5:30pm (English); 7pm (Spanish)
