This Sunday, Aug. 15, the Catholic Church celebrates the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary. It has been the constant tradition of the church that Mary, the Mother of Jesus, was taken up into heaven, body and soul, at the moment of her death. This is a good time to reflect on Mary’s role in the life of Jesus and in the life of Jesus’ followers.
Consider Jesus’ words from the cross just before He is about to give His life for the sins of humanity:
“When Jesus saw His mother and the disciple whom He loved
Standing near, he said to his mother,
‘Women behold your son!’
Then He said to the disciple,
‘Behold your Mother!’
And from that hour, the disciple took her into his home.”
What human heart could not be moved by this scene, by these words?
The early church clearly understood that Jesus was giving His own mother to all of humanity. Just as Eve in the Garden of Eden was the Mother of all the living, so Mary, the new Eve, was made Mother of the New Creation, brought about by Christ’s death and resurrection.
What a gift! Among all the great gifts Jesus gave to us, this is among the most beautiful. Mary, Mother of Jesus, is given to be the Mother of the Church, Mother of all humanity.
Throughout the centuries, Mary has demonstrated her maternal love for all her children. In 1531, Mother Mary appeared to a poor Indigenous man in Mexico. Juan Diego was told by this beautiful woman not to be afraid. She said to him, “Am I not your Mother?” She imprinted a miraculous image on his cloak that is still visible today. As a result of this apparition, millions of Indigenous converted, turning back to God.
Another famous apparition of our Mother occurred in Lourdes, France in 1858 to a humble peasant girl named Bernadette. The sanctuary of Our Lady of Lourdes is now one of the world’s most important places of pilgrimage and healing, and the site of many miraculous healings.
Just over 100 years ago, on May 13, 1917, our Blessed Mother appeared to three young shepherd children named Lucia, Jacinta and Francisco. This apparition occurred as the first World War was devastating Europe and claiming millions of lives. Our Mother Mary asked for prayers and sacrifices to help end the war and restore peace. Mary also warned of another great war if humanity did not change its way and return to God. Mary warned also that Russia would spread “Errors” throughout the world. This was six months before the Communist Revolution in October 1917.
One of the messages of Our Lady of Fatima was a prediction that a bishop in white, the Pope, would be shot. On May 13, 1981, on the exact anniversary, and at the same hour as our Mother’s first apparition in Fatima, Pope John Paul II was shot and nearly killed by an assassin’s bullet. The Pope attributed his miraculous survival to the intervention of Our Lady of Fatima. One year later, the Pope traveled to Fatima, and placed the bullet that nearly killed him in the crown of the statue of Our Lady of Fatima.
Mary’s message is always the same: A call to conversion. Now is the time.
Return to God with all of our heart and soul!