Aug. 15, 2020: Assumption of Blessed Mother

 Aug. 15, 2020: Assumption of Blessed Mother

The other morning when our children were getting off the school bus, I noticed a group of Pre-K children taking turns hugging each other. As I watched the children embrace and smile and laugh, I pondered our need and longing for physical hugs. Even from our earliest days of our childhood, we yearn for intimacy. Many would say that this pandemic is keeping us from experiencing basic human needs. Last year, a video went viral when a toddler approached a small yard statue of the Blessed Mother and hugged her and would not let her go. One commentator on the video wrote, “The Blessed Mother speaks to all of us, but in particular to children. She is a mother, after all.” Throughout history, men, women and children have turned to our Heavenly Mother in times of joy and sadness. Certainly, we have asked Blessed Mother to comfort and assure us during this time of COVID-19 when the fear of death lingers heavy in the air.   

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As we know, Jesus won victory over death through his Passion, death, and Resurrection, and gave us each hope for our eternal life after death. We should no longer be fearful of death because Jesus promised that the body and soul of a person, separated at death, will be joined together again in glory at the Last Judgment. Jesus gave his mother a great privilege, unlike the rest of us, to be assumed into heavenly glory, both body and soul, before the Last Judgment because of her sinlessness and her fullness of grace. Her assumption is a preview of what we will experience after our death.

A convert to Catholic faith wrote about her experience with the Blessed Mother by composing a letter to her. “As a convert still somewhat new in the faith and dealing with the loss of my [earthly] mother, I was not sure how to approach you.  But, I desperately needed your help.  I needed to share my grief with you. I needed comfort and I wanted you to help me come to grips with her passing. As I fervently prayed my Rosary in those dark days, I came to understand in a profound way that you had become my mother.  You had always been there for me as you are for all mankind, but I finally learned to trust in your special role in the Church and in my life.  I learned to turn to you when I was in need and ask for your intercession.  Praying for your intercession also brought me closer to your son Jesus.”

We have a basic need to be embraced by our Heavenly Mother and to be in the fold of her arms. When the Blessed Mother appeared to St. Juan Diego in Mexico city in 1531, she spoke these tender words to him, “Listen and keep in your heart, my littlest son: There is nothing for you to fear ...Let nothing worry or afflict you. Am I not here, I who am your mother? …  Are you not in the fold of my mantle, in my crossed arms? … Don’t let anything afflict you or perturb you.” 

This day we honor our Blessed Mother for being a faithful servant of God, for saying ‘yes’ to His Call to be the mother of Our Lord,  being a faithful disciple of Jesus, and leading other disciples to Her Son. Inspired by her example, we too say ‘yes’ to the ministry of comforting the sick, celebrating joyful moments such as weddings, teaching our children in the faith, and encouraging the doubtful to trust in Her Son. We ask for her intercession to point all of us to Christ so that we may deepen our love and trust in the Father. This day, we embrace our Heavenly Mother as her dear children, for she is our life, our sweetness, and our hope.