I had a conversation with some of my friends who are not Catholics and in their own opinion they think that we Catholics are obsessed with Mary. They think that we put her higher than Christ. I think this is completely untrue. For us as Catholics, Mary stands to Christ as the moon stands to the Sun.  Mary is a reflection of Christ. In other words, all of the Marian Dogmas and Doctrines are Christological in purpose. They are meant to draw our attention to Christ himself. Notice that you can barely glimpse at the sun in Arizona for barely half a second but you can stare at the moon the whole night if you want. In a similar way the intensity of Christ is sometimes overwhelming, but reflected in Mary we see, we meditate, we can contemplate Christ. This is the exact reason why the Church is proposing Mary to us today. The Doctrine of the Assumption of Mary teaches that “The Immaculate Virgin Mary was preserved from all stain of original sin and at the end of her earthly life she did not experience death but was being assumed bodily into heavenly glory.” This dogma was defined by Pope Pius XII on November 1, 1950.   Our liturgy today exults in God’s design to preserve her immaculate body from corruption “since from her own body she marvelously brought forth the incarnate Son; the Author of all life.” 

Mary went in Haste

            Today’s Gospels tells us that as soon as Mary received the annunciation from the angel Gabriel; she went in haste to the hill country to visit her cousin Elizabeth who was also expecting a child. Mary’s visit meant a great deal for her cousin that even the child in her womb leapt for joy. Mary even stayed with Elizabeth 3 months to help her through her pregnancy.  Brothers and Sisters this is a great lesson for all of us. Once you know what it is that God wants you to do, once the heavens are opened and God’s will for you becomes clear then you must act with haste as Mary did. One of the central tragedies of the spiritual life is that many times we know exactly what God wants of us but we procrastinate; we make excuses.  Mary went in haste once she knew what God was asking of her.
            Friend’s consider reaching out to people. This might just be in form of a telephone call or a text message to someone letting them know that they are very special and that you are praying for them. It might a letter encouraging a family experiencing difficulties or dealing with a divorce or a sick family member, or the death of a loved. Today I invite you to go with haste, to move, to act; Mary went in haste.

Asking Mary’s Intersession

             In the Assumption Mary is fully united with her son in Glory. In the Assumption Mary becomes Queen of all the Saints. This is why it is important to ask her intersession at all times. Many times people ask me to pray for their special intension. We too might have the same experience of asking others to pray for us.  If we ask others to pray for us, why can’t those in heaven also pray for us? We should seek the intersession of the saints in heaven most especially Mary who is Queen of all the Saints. Consider asking God’s own Mother to pray for you.
            Many years ago when I was working in the cooperate world in Nigeria; one time I was having trouble with my computer, I made a phone call abroad. It may have been the USA and the trained computer engineer that I spoke to, had the capacity to take over my cursor and worked on my computer and resolved my problem. I was very amazed that even though I was in my office in Nigeria, The trained computer engineer was still able to manipulate my computer screen from the USA and resolve my problem through the satellite in space.   This applies even to spiritual things.  Just as we send millions of information to satellite from our I phones, GPS and computers (Little machines created by God) and influence comes to us on earth. Whenever we seek Mary’s intersession she hears us from Heaven and Influence comes to us here on earth. Mary indeed hears all the Hail Mary’s we say.  Today, I would like to invite you to say the Hail Mary with your family before you go to bed. Say the Hail Mary for those who have no one to pray for them. Say the Hail Mary for those you promised that you will be praying for.  I shall place behind church a flyer on how to say the Rosary for those who want to learn how to say the Rosary. Please feel free to pick a copy. I would also like to specially invite you to join us every Tuesday at 7 pm in the Chapel to pray the Novena to Our Of Mother Perpetual Help. God Bless you all.