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Assumption, Assumption of Mary, humble, Jesus, Mary Mother of God, motherhood, The Magnificat, The Sophia Center for Spirituality
We Christians honor Mary, the Mother of Jesus, with many feasts and many personal devotions. We celebrate her as Queen of Heaven and have doctrines – like the one we proclaim today: the Assumption of Mary into heaven – which declares that unlike all other humans, she was taken bodily to heaven at the time of her death. This feast has been a tradition in the Church since the sixth century but only became doctrinal (believed as true by the institutional Church) in 1950, proclaimed by Pope Pius XII.
I often think of Mary and wonder how she would have handled all the titles we give her and all the homage that is paid to her. A humble maiden, I believe she would only have endured all the fanfare if certain that people understood it was/is prompted by the gift of her motherhood of Jesus. I wish there was more evidence from the Scriptures of the relationship between Jesus and Mary, as well as words from her about her role in salvation history. The gospels give us only 13 texts directly involving her (if I’m recalling correctly the information in Sister Elizabeth Johnson’s Book, Truly Our Sister).
Today’s gospel is – for me – the most perfect choice for this feast because it paints a picture of Mary as a conflicted teenager seeking the support of an older kinswoman during her early months of pregnancy, a normal thing to do, especially because she was as yet unmarried. At the same time, when she is with Elizabeth sharing the news of her impending motherhood, we have what has come to be known as “The Magnificat,” the declaration of how God has favored her as “most favored” among all women. (LK 1: 39-56)
Mary is quick to praise God when Elizabeth recognizes Mary’s situation (“Who am I that the mother of my Lord should come to me?”) and sees herself as God’s “lowly servant” while recognizing that she will “from this day” be called blessed by all generations. “the Almighty has done great things for me,” she says to Elizabeth, “and holy is his Name.” I can just see her bowing as she speaks those lines, taking no credit for worthiness but accepting that she has been chosen for this role, not knowing the future and what it holds…
The lesson for us is, I think, the same – perhaps not in scope but in willingness. No matter our age or situation in life, if we have yet to say “yes” to God’s choice of us, today may be the day to do so. If we have accepted our role in God’s plan, may we be reinvigorated in the living out of our call to carry Jesus in all we do, just as we are able each day.
Sometimes when life feels very complicated I like to find some simplicity somewhere. This morning, since light had already arrived at this task before I did, I looked up and saw that my prayer plant had found a way to untangle herself from the tight configuration her leaves had been living in since I transplanted her a few weeks ago. She seemed happy to spread her arms in praise. That moment was enough to call me to do the same.
I was a little surprised in this second week of the Easter season to read that today’s second reading was Mark’s version of the gospel for the feast of the Ascension of Christ into heaven. Then I realized the date; March 25th is the feast of St. Mark, Evangelist. Knowing that, I read again the advice that Jesus gave to his disciples before leaving them “in charge” to carry on his mission. Simply stated, his advice was three-fold: humble yourselves, be sober and vigilant, remain firm. Each of those imperatives takes discipline, certainly, and we can expect some false steps along our way to perfection.
Thinking today about a song dedicated to Mary, the mother of Jesus (Gentle Woman), I am reminded of her wonderful role in the lives of many women through the centuries, especially mothers. As the song sings praise to Mary, it opens out in a lovely last verse with the words: Blessed are you among women! Blessed in turn all women too! Blessed are they with gentle spirits; blessed they with peaceful hearts…Mary knew very early her role in life. Her consent was required, as is ours. Today I offer three quotes that speak to me of the fullness of her consent even while not knowing what God would ask of her going forward. I suggest we all (men too!) think on these things in light of our own willingness to consent to God’s action in our lives.
Reading today’s assigned Scripture texts for liturgy made me wish everyone – from the famous to the infamous – would pay attention to the messages. First we have Paul pleading with the Philippians to be united and then in what we actually call the psalm response the psalmist takes a humble tone that might actually turn things around if all were to act out of it. I imagine it as a conversation between God and us today. See if that makes sense and what might be the result if everyone took it to heart.
Today is one of those days when I find it difficult to determine a topic for reflection, not because there is nothing in the Scripture or from another source that draws me. Rather, the dilemma is choosing from a number of possibilities. The gospel text has Jesus asking, “Who do you say I am?” (LK 9:18-24), St. Paul speaks eloquently about our unity with his famous declaration that “there is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free person, male or female…” (GAL 3:26-29) and Psalm 69 fairly drips with longing, crying out to God, “For you my flesh pines and my soul thirsts like the earth parched, lifeless and without water…” I guess each of those citations speaks for itself, providing enough of a prompt for reflection without any need for commentary.
The Sophia Center for Spirituality 