Revelation 11:19a;12:1-6a;10ab; 1 Corinthians 15:20-26; Luke 1:39-56
Introduction
We at Notre Dame Seminary are privileged to have two senior
priests among us. Father David Kelly and Archbishop Alfred Hughes have lived
for a really long time, and with a combined priestly experience of more than a
century, they do teach us many things.
One of the things I have picked up from our casual
conversations is that when they speak about their childhood, the subject of their
mothers often comes up. Eighty years
later they vividly remember the kind of sandwich mom packed for the school or
something that she said to them. This is
perhaps because there is something uniquely special in the relationship between
a child and his mother.
Scripture and Theology
We should not be surprised then, that Jesus too holds his
mother in such high esteem as to grant her several privileges. We have just heard Mary herself admit as much
when she said: “The Almighty has done
great things for me.”
In the same Magnificat canticle she adds: "All generations will call me Blessed,"
something the Church has done by giving Mary a privileged place in her life. And especially in her liturgy, the Church recalls
three of the great things that the Lord has done for Mary, in the three Marian solemnities
of the Liturgical Calendar.
1.
On December 8th, the Solemnity of the
Immaculate Conception, we celebrate a great thing that the Almighty did for
Mary, arranging that she be conceived without original sin.
2.
On January 1st, the Solemnity of Mary
Mother of God, we celebrate one more great thing the Almighty did for Mary,
making her the Mother of God.
3.
And today, August 15th, the Solemnity
of the Assumption, we celebrate yet another great thing that the Almighty did for
Mary, taking her up to heaven, body and soul, where she is glorified with her
Son. Today’s reading from the Book of
Revelation described beautifully and in quite some detail this great privilege
that the Lord accorded his mother.
Christian Life
It is a happy coincidence that today's solemnity comes
during this week of orientation. For
some of you, on your first night here, lying on a twin-size mattress, might have
asked yourselves: "What am I doing here? What have I gotten myself into?"
Let me suggest that like every faithful Catholic, not only should
we turn to the Blessed Mother seeking answers in prayer, but we should also take
the trajectory of her life as a pattern for our own, especially for our own
discernment of a possible call to the priesthood. Like the Almighty did those three great things
for the Blessed Mother, he also extends his threefold mercy to all "those who fear him in every generation,"
even to us who are seeking to serve him as his priests.
First, while you and I were not conceived without original
sin, the Lord provided the sacrament of baptism that removed original sin and thus
restored us to virtually that immaculate condition that he had given to his
mother at her conception. And even when
due to sin we stain that condition, he provided yet another sacrament, the
sacrament of penance to give us a second chance, a third chance and so on, to
restore us the divine life to us. With
Mary we can surely say that the Almighty has done great things for us.
Secondly, while you and I were not chosen for the singular
honour of bearing God's son and so playing a pivotal role in the work of salvation,
God has given each of us our own small part to play, in bringing others back to
him. And if figuring out that role proves
a little difficult, remember it was just as difficult and unclear for Mary. In fact, she had to seek further clarification
from the Angel Gabriel asking: “How can
this be, since I have no relations with a man?". While in seminary, you too should ask clarifying
questions, so that you can understand clearly what the Lord wants you to do for
him. And so, you can rightfully consider
your time here, as another great thing the Lord has done for you.
It is perhaps in the third of the Blessed Mother's
privileges, her Assumption into heaven, that we come closest to sharing her very
experience. For the third great thing that
the Almighty did for Mary, taking her into heaven body and soul – that great
thing he has promised to do for us as well.
The Assumption should therefore remind us not only that the Lord has redeemed
us from our sins, but also that he has opened the doors of heaven, not just to
our souls, but also to our bodies at the Resurrection.
Perhaps our discernment of the God's will for us, will have
a firmer footing, if it is done not with becoming a priest as the ultimate
goal, but rather with eternal life for ourselves and for those to whom we
minister as our ultimate goal. Although
being eternal life with God as a goal that seems so far away, so remote, it is
real and should be the concern of every Christian. Such a clear and hope-filled goal will
provide our formation and indeed our Christian lives with much-needed
direction, since we shall know where we are going. For the eagerness to be resurrected in body
and soul, to see the Lord as he is, and to be like him will be the prism
through which we carry out all those activities of human formation, spiritual
formation, intellectual formation and pastoral formation. And keeping our eye on the ball and on this
noble goal, we shall weather the distractions of the Tempter and the sheer
demands of this arduous journey of seminary formation and the even more difficult
one of priestly life and ministry.
Conclusion
My friends, since we are heaven-bound, let heaven be the
address that we enter into the GPS of our discernment. And then we shall be guided by God, turn by
turn, sometimes recalculating or rerouting when we have made the wrong turn,
sometimes taking detours when we need to avoid the traffic jams of temptation,
but always directing us to the goal of being assumed into heaven like the
Blessed Mother. With the Assumption of
Mary and the hope of our own Resurrection as the correctly entered address, we
shall continue our journey of the Christian life, but also our journey of
formation, better able to clearly hear the word of God and faithfully observe
it.
And then like Mary, we and those to whom we minister, the servants
on whom the Lord has looked with favor and for whom he has done great things, the
lowly whom he has lifted up, the hungry whom he has filled with good things,
and the sinners whom he has shown mercy, we shall be called Blessed for all
eternity.
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