John W 2012-08-15 John W's previous articles
August 15 Assumption Reflection
When
someone from our country wins a medal at the Olympics,
our hearts are happy. There's a patriotic something in our DNA that
says "Good, good, good news. He/she did it!"
In our spiritual DNA, there's something about Mary that moves our hearts on August 15. "One of us humans did it". Or rather, "God has done it for one of us humans"
From
ancient times, Catholics have believed that at the end of her earthly life, something special happened to Mary. Her body went up to heaven.
Her body didn't make a grave it's home, just as her Son's body didn't stay in a grave
August 15 is a reminder of Easter Sunday and the Ascension. A reminder that what Jesus
himself did,
and what he did for Mary, will someday be done for us.
Someday "those bones are going to rise again...right up to heaven"
August 15 makes us remember heaven. It's a reminder that this old world is just a temporary show, a warm-up, a trial run, in preparation for the Heavenly Olympics
We
love our human mother every day of the year. But on her birthday,
wedding anniversary or death anniversary we show extra love.
So too we love Mary every day of the year. But on her feast days, like the
Assumption, the Catholic instinct is to say with extra love:
"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"
In expressing this love we are being true to the vision of Vatican II whose teaching on Mary in Chapter 8 of Lumen Gentium has beautiful passages like these:
"The
Immaculate Virgin, preserved free from all guilt of
original sin,
on the completion of her earthly sojourn, was taken up body and soul into
heavenly glory, and exalted by the Lord as Queen of the universe, that she might
be the more fully conformed to her Son, the Lord of lords and the conqueror of
sin and death"
"This Council exhorts theologians and preachers of the divine word to abstain zealously both from all gross exaggerations as well as from petty narrow-mindedness in considering the singular dignity of the Mother of God"
"Let the faithful remember moreover that true devotion consists neither in sterile or transitory affection, nor in a certain vain credulity, but proceeds from true faith, by which we are led to know the excellence of the Mother of God, and we are moved to a filial love toward our mother and to the imitation of her virtues"
"Just as the Mother of Jesus, glorified in body and soul in heaven, is the image and beginning of the Church as it is to be perfected is the world to come, so too does she shine forth on earth, until the day of the Lord shall come, as a sign of sure hope and solace to the people of God during its sojourn on earth"
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The
aim of this website www.v2catholic.com,
is to encourage people who are
trying to keep the flame of Vatican II burning in the middle of the road despite
extreme winds from
left and right
The extreme winds from the left are out to deny as much as possible about the
Christian faith. One of the first targets of such winds is Mary.
I was saddened recently to read these words from someone I greatly admire for
his work for church renewal:
"I think praying to the Blessed Virgin Mary to intercede with God or Jesus on our behalf is basically superstitious nonsense"
May the above reflection be an encouragement to people who might be influenced to doubt the beautiful importance of Mary in God's plan and in our lives
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