Anyone who spends some time around small children can attest to the awe and wonderment these little people often communicate about, well, anything! The funny bend of the leg on a green grasshopper, steam rising off a pot of boiling macaroni, twinkling lightning bugs on a warm summer night, the swirl of chocolate as it mixes with milk… these little observations are taken in, pondered, and delighted in. Children view their world with a curiosity, newness and fascination. They help us do the same.
I have had the privilege of working with children for many years, and most recently with the faith formation of the very young child in the Catechesis of the Good Shepherd Atrium. Among the many hands-on materials available to them to pray with is a model altar complete with a small chalice and paten. The children marvel at the beauty and the use of these vessels by the priest at Mass and recognize how special these holy articles must be to hold (not chocolate milk!) but the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ.
It is with this thought that I consider the upcoming Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary. We can see that, like the sacred vessels set apart for a very special use at every Mass, Mary was set apart to be the vessel that carried Jesus in her womb. We can better understand why God the Father would preserve Mary from any stain of original sin, so as to be the unstained vessel for the promised Savior. We call this the Immaculate Conception. We can see why the angel would declare her “Full of Grace”, because it is by God’s grace all this could even be possible. To be sure, the effects of original sin contribute to a tug of war in my own will and heart. But we can ponder how, despite being very human, this same God-given grace would allow the “handmaid of the Lord” to understand and daily choose God’s Will throughout her entire life.
So what would happen to such a special person after her earthly life was completed? Surely something that would show her great honor. Our faith tells us with certainty that there is more for us after our earthly life. Our Creed declares that we “look forward to the resurrection of the dead.” The grave is not the final destination! And while our soul and body remain separated until the Last Judgement, for Mary they were not. She was assumed, body and soul, into heaven. And THIS is the very special solemnity which we celebrate this week. Through her, we see how God gives us a glimpse into the promise and the fullness of eternal life. In her, we see a beautiful model of a life that said “Yes, Lord”.
But if you ask a child “How could this Assumption be so?” he would simply answer: “Why? Because Jesus loved his mother SO MUCH!”
“How could we fail to love her whom our Lord loved so much? It is impossible to love Christ adequately without also loving the Mother who gave Him to us... for the two are inseparable in the great drama of redemption.”
- Venerable Fulton Sheen
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