Thus It Follows
“We never give more honour to Jesus than when we honour his Mother, and we honour her simply and solely to honour him all the more perfectly. We go to her only as a way leading to the goal we seek — Jesus, her Son.” ~ St. Louis Marie de Montfort
If Mary was chosen by God to be the Mother of Jesus Christ, it would follow that God would prepare her in a most special way to carry His Son. She would need to be a reflection of the perfection of creation before the fall. Thus, it would follow that Mary would be preserved from the stain of original sin so as to be a worthy vessel for Jesus Christ.
If Mary was preserved from the stain of original sin (that is what the dogma of the Immaculate Conception states), it also would follow that she would not lie in the corruption of death after her time on earth. Corruptibility belongs to that tainted by original sin. Mary’s body would be incorruptible.
Hence, at the end of her time on earth, she would share in the death of her Son, Jesus. Her body would be raised to the glory of heaven incorruptible. This is what we celebrate today on the Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
We often have a tough time wrapping our minds around these great mysteries. I think that is because we are so used to judging by our own human standards. That begins at our youth. We learn to interact with our world in a very tactile manner.
Watch babies and very young children. Everything is touched and handled. It seems that everything goes into their mouths. We trust what we can taste, see, and feel. We mistrust what is beyond our reach. Of everything beyond our senses, the mysteries of God are light years away.
That is one of the reasons that we celebrate the life of the Blessed Virgin Mary as well as the other great saints. They bring to us the mystery that is far away and make it up close and personal. How much more up close and personal can you make the mystery of God than to bear Him into our world as Mary did?
We honor Mary today. We don’t worship her. Adoration and Worship are reserved for God and God alone. But we venerate her. We honor her for saying yes to God and taking a very intimate role in our salvation history. We celebrate her victory — being assumed body and soul into heaven — and remind ourselves that her Son won a victory for us as well. Our mortal bodies may remain behind; but, Jesus won for us the opportunity to join in His resurrection after our mortal death.
Mary, conceived without original sin and assumed body and soul into heaven, pray for us who have recourse to thee.
FAITH ACTION: If possible, pray the rosary together as a family today or pray it by yourself.