Guest post by Fr. Jovita Cyprian Ho, St. Anne’s Church, Singapore.
“Mary set out at that time and went as quickly as she could to a town in the hill country of Judah.”
The dogma of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary was proclaimed by Pope Pius XII in 1950, and although the belief that Mary was assumed body and soul into heaven by her Son Jesus Christ was believed in since the earliest days of the Church, yet this declaration in 1950 was important.
It was a mere 3-4 years after the end of the Second World War, which saw deaths, destruction and atrocities committed, that were beyond what was imaginable then, and there were questions especially in Christian Europe on the reality of suffering, death and resurrection.
The dogma of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary was in part an answer to these harsh realities and questions: that the resurrection of Jesus is true, that our resurrection will be our eventuality, and that Mary who was the First Disciple shows what it means to be a believer and disciple of Jesus Who is the Way, the Truth and the Life.
This solemnity is perhaps made more real in our days as we face COVID-19, when it has not just disrupted our day-to-day life but also ruptured the way we understood about our faith and turned its expression upside down. Even today as we resume the celebration of Masses in our churches, after a pause of almost five months, many people are questioning the value of Mass and coming for it especially since it is only once a month for most of us, and even the celebration of other sacraments seem pointless. Many also prefer “attending” online Masses, and even “shop” around for the best Mass experience or the most convenient timing, rather than being present in person and receiving the Lord Jesus Christ sacramentally. Yet through Mary, especially in today’s Gospel, we are taught what it means to be a Christian disciple.
“Mary set out at that time and went as quickly…”
Discipleship is about movement from one place to another, and Mary took off immediately after the scene of the Annunciation. To set out is really to make a pilgrimage and to undertake a journey in the name of Jesus. Granted, some of us have no choice but to “attend” online Masses, but we still need to make that movement of going out of ourselves, rather than just simply attending. We need to be present, moved by the Spirit.
“She went into Zechariah’s house and greeted Elizabeth.”
Discipleship is about acknowledging each others’ presence. To come to church is not just simply to be here for myself, but to be here because my brothers and sisters are here. No one worships alone per se, and Christianity is not an individualistic religion but one that is communitarian. This means that I will be around even if it is not easy, and I will be around even it is once a month. I will be around because of who Jesus is to you and to me, and who you are to me as well.
“My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord…”
Discipleship is about praising God. It is easy to praise God and to love when all is dandy and well, but a disciple praises and loves in season and out of season. Mary could have easily used her fatigue as reason to be excused or even justification to be grouchy, but she did not. She praise the Lord, Whom she knows is the ultimate faithful one in her life, even as she acknowledges her state of life with which God has graced her.
“Mary stayed with Elizabeth for about three months and then went home.”
Discipleship is about remaining, and only as long as the Lord wants. Mary stayed three months with Elizabeth and Zechariah, doing perhaps the most mundane things. Yet God is glorified too in the mundane, and it is by living intentional lives focused on God that we sanctify the world in which we live in. And perhaps the toughest part of it? We step aside when our mission is accomplished, even if that means no recognition and no credits. We bring people to Jesus, and then get out of the way and let God be God in the other person’s life.
May we be like Mary, the First Disciple.
Praise be Jesus Christ! Now and forever!
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Image: Assunta (detail), Titian (1516-18) / Wikimedia Commons / PD-US
