
oil by Brigid Marlin
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Feast of the Assumption Reflection:
Sometimes when we are talking to born again Christians we hear what is basically a sarcastic and mocking remark about us Catholics making Mary equal with Jesus.
Nothing could be further from the truth. We give Mary the great honour that she deserves as the Mother of Jesus and we pay tribute to the part that she plays in the History of Salvation but that is a far cry from making her equal to Jesus.
Pope Pix XI, in his Apostolic Letter in 1954 when he made the Assumption of Mary a Dogma of the Church speaks of the honour due to Our Lady as Mother of Jesus and for the part she played in the redemption of the world but he makes it quite clear that her role was subsidiary to that of Jesus.
So how does this feast answer those who say we worship Mary as equal to Jesus?
When Jesus returned to heaven he Ascended (Ascension Thursday) on his own power. He decided to leave this world and left.
Mary, on the other hand, had to wait to the end of her life and receive the gift of being Assumed into heaven by God.
Whereas Jesus could go when he wanted, Mary had to live out a natural life like the rest of us.
The great part of the story is that we shall follow Mary to heaven, body and soul. The Father simply gave her the gift of the Assumption in recognition for being the Mother of Jesus. Some day it will be our turn.
Now that’s a cause for rejoicing!