Assumption of Mary

Dear Friends in Christ,

Last year in August at the beginning of our 50th Anniversary celebrations we made our parish consecration to Mary. This year Mary’s feast of the Assumption falls on Sunday, August 15 and I think it is appropriate to renew this consecration as we celebrate our 50th Anniversary. This week and next week I will devote to catechesis on Marian consecration.

What is Marian consecration?

All of us as baptized persons are consecrated (set aside for God). We “put on Christ” as St. Paul says (Gal. 3, 27); the white baptismal garment is a sign of this consecration. We are members of Christ’s Mystical Body, the Church. Mary is the Mother of Christ and also Mother of the Church. Jesus entrusted Mary to St. John as He was dying on the cross. “He said to his mother, ‘Woman, behold, your son.’ Then he said to the disciple, ‘Behold, your mother.’”(Jn. 19, 26-27). St. John at that moment was our representative, standing in for all those who live by the cross of Christ. Therefore, all who want to follow Christ, as St. John did, should take Mary as a mother.

Because of her Immaculate Conception by which she is free from all sin, Mary is full of grace by the power of the Holy Spirit. At the Annunciation the angel said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you.”(Lk. 1, 35). Mary’s union with the Holy Spirit is so powerful that she is the one through whom the Holy Spirit dispenses His graces. This is the teaching of one of the greatest Marian theologians, St. Maximilian Kolbe. Of our consecration to Mary St. Maximilian says, “By linking our lives to Mary’s through consecration, we too become channels of grace”. In this way we not only benefit ourselves, but we become instruments in Mary’s hands for the salvation of others.

As Vatican Council II teaches, calling upon Mary’s intercession “does not hinder in any way the immediate union of the faithful with Christ, but on the contrary fosters it” (Lumen Gentium, no. 60). Our union with Jesus is actually strengthened by our consecration to Mary. Like the beloved disciple, St. John, let us take Mary into our “home” that is into our hearts by consecrating ourselves to her. It is a sure way of holiness and leads to salvation.

Sincerely yours in Christ,

Fr. Hildebrand