MARY'S ASSUMPTION INTO HEAVEN

This feast means something more than what God done for Mary, that humble handmade, who had never foreseen her future glory. This feast means a great deal more, that is, it includes what God is doing for us too.The promise of after death glorification is our hope too, though not in the way as Mary had it. Mary was a true pro-type and image of the human kind; she belonged fully to God, and her answer to the angel says it all, " Behold the handmade of the Lord,be it done to me according to thy word".

Many things happened in her life starting with that annunciation by the angel and many roads appeared in front of her through valleys and mountains, ending on the the last mountain, Calvary where her heart was pierced from which flowed out her self-sacrificing spirit of abundant love for God and us.All this she experienced with that humility of a handmade because she didn't make plans for herself but only waited at the Master's door to know his will. All this was happening to her not only for herself but for ourselves too.Millions today who tread the Marian path know how easy it is to pass through deep valleys and go over steep mountains, always lifted high by the grace of God and Mary's hands. The final stage, the experience of heaven is there for all of us

There's Something About Mary

Our Blessed Mother is indeed so close to the hearts of many Filipinos, something that people of different faith affiliations find irreligious. "Why come to the mother when the son is the only way?" they said. But who can blame us? The Filipino culture is very matriarchal. And for most of us,even with religion aside, the way to the son or daughter is always through the mother.Our closeness to Mary is thus truly very Filipino. And I believe expressing our faith through our culture makes our belief system more solid and sound.
But faith devotion expressed through our culture must be pragmatic so as not to be led to the danger of becoming "bind"devotees of Mary.Our devotion to her must move us to emulate her. As the first disciple,Mary's life is filled with so many ideals that we can learn from in our own Christian discipleship.
The first chapter of the Gospel of Luke,which takes us one single narrative the account of the Annunciation and the Visitation (Luke 1:26-56), contains relevant standards that we can use as we judiciously live out our devotion to her.

BE LOWLY AND POOR IN SPIRIT

Mary professed her fiat.She gave her consent. And at that very moment she conceived by the power of the Spirit. So she was already with child when she went in haste to visit her cousin who was six months pregnant. The moment they met they proclaimed their praises to God's wondrous works. This is the event of the visitation.

    Mary looked at herself and saw a handmaid- she saw how lowly she was. Then Mary looked at God and proclaimed Him "mighty."In her lowliness, she was able to see the magnificence of God. She proclaimed God's tremendous deeds.

    The poor are really blessed with the gift of "life" - their worship is highly spirited. When one is "lowly" and humble or poor in spirit, he will praise God even for the small miracles in his life. Every blessing becomes an occasion of praising. Only when one humbles himself he be able to see the greatness of of the things that God performs in his life.And this is where the poor really rank high. Thus, they are truly blessed. Mary really identified herself with the poor, being an anawin herself. And her lowly disposition opened her mouth to utter words of genuine praise to God.

   In Matthew 19, Jesus' exhortation to the rich young man was received  with a sad heart prompting Jesus to say that it is  easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for one who is rich to enter the Kingdom of God. (Matthew 19: 24). This is a powerful image Jesus used here. It is tantamount to saying that it is impossible for a person with much wealth to enter heaven. In Luke 1, Mary prophesied about how the hungry shall be filled with good things and the rich shall be driven away empty handed(v. 53). In Luke 6, Jesus said quite strongly, "Woe to you who are rich, for you have received your consolation "(v.24). The rich will remain an object of our faith's of  disfavor unless they find the blessedness of becoming poor in spirit. Real satisfaction will only come to them if, like Mary, they are able to yield to the greater power of God, humble themseleves befrore Him and offer Him the most sincere prayer of praise and thanks.

My Slideshow

DO NOT BE AFRAID

The annunciation of the angel Gabriel to Mary is the event in the life of Mary that many people are familiar with. The exchange of words between Mary and the angel is contained in an oft-proclaimed prayer repeated in all churches at the strike of dawn and dusk. It contains the theme: God has a plan, do not be arfaid, salvation is at hand.

Mary too was afraid, he ascertained us. The message of the angel thus exactly she needed.In the midst of Mary's perturbation, the angel bid her not to be afraid. But the situation that Mary found herself in was truly fear-inspiring. To be with child at 15 was just too frightening to even think about. To suffer the fate of being discovered was just too horrible. So what then was that fear that the angel wanted her to dismiss?  It was the fear of participating in God's plan.

We found ourselves in a similar situation. And I guess there were likewise valid reasons for us to harbor dread and fright. But like Mary, there was a kind of fear that we needed to remove from our hearts. In the midst of those incomprehensible things that transpired in our lives then, we needed to allow God to step in and perform His plan, no matter how fearful it seemed to be.

It is frightening to experience God's intervention in our lives. More so to be disturbed by God as we go on with our own plans. For when God meddles with our affairs it would surely require a different kind of behavior from us.And that is even scarier. And so the challenge was thrown at us: will we become the kind of persons that God wants these fearful situations to make of us? Will we become better persons- compassionate, forgiving, loving and accepting?

Mary submissions to God's will is truly worth imitating. Human as she was, she manifested her trust and surrender despite herself. And because of this, salvation came to all of us. This should inspire us to examine how we should handle our own personal affairs. There would be times in our lives that God would simply disrupt our personal ventures. We need not fear. For when we allow Him to enter our life's pursuits, salvation will truly be ours.

WHEN MARY APPEARED

Scripture tells us how God communicates Himself and His messages to His people. He uses dreams, visions, inner voices. He also anoints prophets to be His mouthpiece to proclaim His messages to the people. Scripture are flooded with stories of miracles and supernatural events and these were normal back then. In the last century-and-a-half, we have heard of (and for some,have seen) numerous accounts of Marian Apparitions in different parts of the globe.The visionaries are usually young, quite normal, not particularly well educated and not extraordinarily holy or spiritual prior to the vision. These are the type of people the Lady chooses to reveal her message of and a warning. If we heed, there would be peace.
                                  But if we do not, a great chastisement  would befall mankind.
Below is the Marian apparitions that have received official approval by the Roman Catholic Church (although the list may vary in other websites)and their corresponding messages and prophesies.

                                                        OUR LADY OF GUADALUPE

                                                       GUADALUPE, MEXICO 1531
                                                                      Juan Diego, 57
Our Lady's message is about love and compassion and her universal promise of help and protection to all mankind. Speaking in Juan's native tongue, the beautiful Lady identified herself: "My dear little Son, I love you. I desire you to know who I am. I am the ever-virgin Mary, Mother of the true God who gives life and maintain its existence. He created all things. He is in all places. He is Lord of Heaven and Earth. I desire a church in this place where your people may experience my compassion. All those who sincerely ask my help in their work and in their sorrows will know my Mother's Heart in this place. Here I will see their tears; I will console them and they will be at peace." Mar left an image of herself miraculously on Juan Diego's tilma. A poor quality cactus cloth, the tilma should have deteriorated in 20 years but shows no sign of decay 469 years later. It still defies all scientific explanations of its origin.

                                   
                                                              VIRGIN OF THE POOR

       
                                                                BANNEUX, BELGIUM
                                                       January 15, 1933 to March 2, 1933
Mariette Beco, 11
Mary told Mariette, "I am the Mother of the Savior, Mother of God, pray much." She also described herself as the "Virgin of the Poor" and promised to intercede for the poor, the sick and the suffering.


                                                     THE IMMACULATE CONCEPTION
                                           

                                                              LOURDES, FRANCE
                                            February 11 to July 16, 1858 (18 visitations) 
St. Bernadette Soubirous, 14
The Lady told her that we all must "pray for the conversion of sinners," have "Penance, penance, penance!" and to "go tell the priests to have people come here in a procession and to have a chapel built here."


                                               OUR LADY OF THE MIRACULOUS MEDAL
                                      

                                                      RUE DU BAC, PARIS, FRANCE
                                                         Summer of 1840  (3visitations)
 St. Catherine Laboure, 24
 The Miraculous Medal was revealed to St. Catherine as a powerful means of grace for the faithful. "Have a medal struck after this model. Those who wear it will receive great graces; abundant graces will be given to those who have confidence," On it were written these words in gold: "O Mary conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to thee." Inscribed on the reverse of the medal is the letter M surrounded by a cross, and  below it two hearts...one crowned with thorns and the other pierced by a sword. Mary also revealed to St. Catherine, "The times are very evil.Sorrows will befall France; the throne will be overturned. The whole world will be plunged into every kind of misery."


                                  THE IMMACULATE VIRGIN AND MOTHER OF GOD,
                                                         QUEEN OF HEAVEN

                                                       BEAURAING, BELGIUM
                                                November 29, 1932 to January 1933 (33times)
Fernande Voisin, 15; Gilberte Voisen, Albert Voisin, 11; Andree Degeimbre, 14; and Gilberte Degeimbre, 9; Mary calls for prayer for the conversion of sinners, . "Pray,pray very much." "Pray always." "I will convert sinners." "I am the Mother of God, the Queen of Heaven. Pray always." She also wanted a chapel to be built.


                                                             KNOCK, IRELAND

                               August 21, 1879 (2 hours or so) Mary Mcloughlin and Mary Beirne

The two woman visionaries saw three figures : Mary, Joseph, and St. John the Evangelist. They also saw an altar with a young lamb on it in front of a cross, and angels surrounding the altar. Thirteen other people also saw the vision. This was a silent apparition---no sound was heard and no verbal message was given. The symbolism of a lamb,cross and altar has been seen as pointing to the sacrificial death of Christ and the Mass, and yet these were behind Mary in the apparition at Knock,suggesting that the focus was on her and her role as a mediator.


                                                         OUR LADY OF ALL NATIONS

                                                        AMSTERDAM, NETHERLANDS
                                                          March 25, 1945 to May 31, 1959

Ida Perdeman, "Come back, Come back to the One Who truly loves you! Come back to your Lord  truly present in the Most Holy Eucharist! There must be a return to Him first of all, before true peace can come. You have a great task to accomplish. Take courage and fear not. 'The Lady of all Nations'is standing before you...The time is now. This rosary has served you, Persevere to the end in saying it...Keep on praying [the rosary], all of you!... The prayer [of the rosary] is to be made known everywhere."



                                                                   OUR LADY OF HOPE
                                                     

                                                           POSTMAIN, FRANCE
                                                          January 17, 1871 (3 hours)
                             Eugene, 12 and Joseph Berbadette, 10 and two young girls,9 and 11
Our Lady's message encouraged prayer while emphasizing Jesus ' love concern. " Pray, my children.God will answer before long. My Son lets Himself be moved." The message of Pontmain is Powerful. Embrace the cross; be like children in your faith; have hope.



                                                            LA SALETTE, FRANCE

                                                     
                                                                 September 19, 1846
                                                     Melanie Calvat , 14 and Maximin Giraud,11
Mary expressed concern over the lack of devotion among Catholics. " I call on the true disciples of the living God...my children... the faithful disciples of Jesus Christ who have lived in ... union with God, in suffering and unknown to the world. It is time they came out and filled the world with light. Go and reveal yourselves to be my cherished children. I am at your side ... provided that your faith is the light which shines upon you in these unhappy days. May your zeal make you famished for the glory and the honor of Jesus Christ. Fight, children of light, the few who can see. For now is the time of all times... "Prayer and the need for conversion to avoid chastisement were emphasized. She appealed for penance and end to Sabbath breaking and blasphemy in the region. The apparition is credited with a major revival of Catholicism in the area. She prophesied the crop failures in Western and Central Europe; these eventually led to an economic depression and the revolution of 1848.


                                                           
                                                            OUR LADY OF ROSARY
                                                             

                                                              FATIMA, PORTUGAL
                                                           May 13 to October 13, 1917
                                                            (every 13th of the month)
                                    Lucia dos Santos, 10; Francisco Marto, 9; and Jacinta Marto 7
 Mary's messages emphasized the need for daily rosary prayer for world peace and end of the war, reparation for sinners, the existence of hell, the consecration of Russia and First Saturday Communions of Reparation. Mary asked that we consecrate ourselves to her Immaculate Heart as well. In addition, Mary foretold the end of World War 1,the onset of World War II and the rise of Communism. " When you pray the Rosary, say after each mystery: 'O my Jesus, forgive us, save us from the fires of hell, Lead all souls to heaven, especially those who are most in need.' "She promised. "If my request are granted, Russia will be converted and there will be peace." But she also warned: If my request are not granted. Russia will spread her errors throughout the world raising up wars and persecutions against the Church, the good will be martyred, the Holy Father will have much to suffer, various nations will be annihilated."



                                                            OUR LADY OF SORROWS
                                                           

                                                                    AKITA, JAPAN
                                                             June 1973 to May 1982
Sister Agnes Sasagawa, "Pray, pray very much for the Pope, bishops and priests ...If we do return to His Sacred Heart truly present in the Most Holy Eucharist then we shall have the True Peace of the Holy Spirit; otherwise, if we do not return to Him and 'do not repent and better ourselves, the Father will inflict a terrible punishment on all humanity." 'At Akita, the angel said: "The Rosary is your weapon....Say it with care and more often for the intention of the Pope, of bishops and priests.....With courage spread this devotion among the greatest number!" On October 13, 1973, on the anniversary of the miracle the sun of Fatima, our Lady spoke to Sr. Sasagawa, she said: Each day recite the prayer of the rosary. With the rosary, pray for the Pope, the bishops and the priest.... Pray very much the the prayers of the rosary, I alone am able still to save you from the calamities which approach!"

There is one common message in all the apparitions:
        JESUS has been offended by the sins of humanity,and Mary exhorts us to prayer and repentance.






 

                                         

ARK OF THE NEW COVENANT

Marian doctrines and titles such as Protectress of Christians, Queen Mother and Mediatrics with Christ find expression from the biblical basis in Mary as Ark of the New Covenant. Unanimous teachings of Apostolic Fathers plus evidence of early inscriptions and graffiti in Greek, Hebrew, Latin, Aramic, Syriac and Armenian in Catacombs excavations and Jewish- Christian cemeteries are incontrovertible witness of the ages.

We can comprehend this in the mindset of a first century Christian Jew, verify so for after all, Pope Leo XIII says we are all Semites in a sense. Christ did not abolish the Old Law, he fulfilled it in Christianity, where the fullness of Judaism shorn of pharisaic precepts resides. Early Christians recognized how types in the Old Testaments prefigured the realities in the New.

The Old Testament people venerated the Ark of the Covenant-- a box of acacia wood Yahweh instructed Moises to make,adorned with winged cherubim and fashioned with gold trimmings. Now why would Israelites pay homage to a fancy container crafted by human hands? Isn't that idolatry? What made it the holiest place on earth where it contains: God's Word inscribe in stone tablets, manna and stuff of the high priest. Aaron Scriptures says the Shekenah,God's presence,hovered over it like a cloud day and night (Exodus 40:31-34).

Mary, whom the Archangel Gabriel regarded as "full of grace" was overshadowed by the same Spirit of God at the Annunciation (Luke 1: 35). Elizabeth's greeting, "And why is this granted me that the mother of my Lord should come to me? For behold when the voice of your greeting came to my ears, the babe in my womb leapt for joy" (Luke 1:43-44), are foreshadowed in the Old Testament. David said, "How come the ark of the Lord come to me?" (2Samuel 6:8).His joyous dance and leaping before the Ark (2Samuel 6:16) replacated by John in his mother's womb(Luke 1:44)at the Visitation.

This biblical typology is proof that Mary is the Ark of the New Covenant, created and preserved to be a sinless vessel -- the holiest place on earth where Jesus, the Eternal Word, Eucharistic Manna and Everlasting High Priest took flesh. Preserved virginally pure and undefilled for nobody desecrated the dwelling place of the Lord. She bridges the Old and New Covenants. Her prototypes: Sarah, Rebecca,Rachel, Miriam,Deborah, Jael, Ruth,Hannah, Abigail, Esther, and Bethsheba. In her is the prophetic fulfilment of God's promise that the True Ark would be revealed in His New Temple.

John in exile at Patmos is given a vision of the heavenly temple liturgy where the Ark of the Covenant precedes the woman crowned with 12 stars (Revelation 11:19-12:1). The Fathers of the Church saw the woman to be the woman of Cana, at the foot of the Cross, and the same woman of the protoevangelium who would be at enmity with the serpent (Genesis 3:15).

Mary is a type of the Daughter of Zion and the Church. Her crown of 12 stars symbolizes both the Old Covenant and the New Covenant Apostles. She reigns with her Son as Queen Mother, prefigured in the kingdom of Judah by the giberah --- the queen mother, who reigned alongside the king and interceded for the people, a practice that started with Solomon ( 1 Kings 2:19-20).