Assumption of Mary
I have been looking forward to the Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary for a while. I’ve circled it on my calendar, dwelled on the mystery which it reveals and planned on fine drink for the feast. And what a feast it is! The Blessed Virgin is the exemplar follower of Christ, the pride of humanity and the greatest single created being in the universe. Her assumption, following Christ’s ascension, is a foreshadowing of all the saints of Christ’s Mystical Body. As a Protestant I never understood the idea behind Catholic feast days, veneration of the saints, and devotions to Mary. My question was not necessarily about its “intrinsic evil,” but more along the lines of “why bother?” For me, as a Protestant, Christ was the center and he alone. Everything else got in the way. Christ is the one mediator, not St. Thomas, St. Therese of Lisieux, certainly not the so called “Blessed Virgin Mary.” These stood in the way of Christ, hid him from view and shadowed his majesty as t...