Imagine Mary’s life as the script for a movie. If it were a Hollywood production, the Assumption of Our Lady would probably be the happy ending of the plot.
Thanks to this solemn feast of the Church, many countries have regional, municipal, or national celebrations on August 15th. The definition of this dogma was given by Pope Pius XII’s Apostolic Constitution Munificentissimus Deus. Through this constitution, it became a truth of faith that “the Immaculate Mother of God, the ever Virgin Mary, having completed the course of her earthly life, was assumed body and soul into heavenly glory” [1].
The end is a new beginning
The life of Jesus’ mother could be the inspiration for a great movie, but we know that the Assumption is not the end of the story. Even though she dwells in heaven, the Virgin Mary is still the protagonist of the script God created for humanity. Mary has already had her happy ending, but the story continues!
“I can easily imagine,” says Father Joseph Kentenich, “how Our Lady looks at us from heaven or here in the Shrine. Her eyes are continually searching for us. She wants to know where her sons and daughters are, where they work, if they are in danger […]. Our Lady’s eyes do not rest until she finds them” [2].
She chooses to return: to the Shrine, to her home, to your heart
Knowing the texts that speak about the Blessed Virgin Mary in the Bible, it is easy to notice that in her life there is no ease, no omission. And even though she is already living in heaven, it remains so. Throughout the centuries, Mary has decided to come into the world to meet her children and to be close to each one of them. This is what those who come to the Schoenstatt Shrine experience as they feel the real presence of the MTA. And this is repeated in various Marian Shrines of the Church.
She also chooses to return and dwell among many of the families who invite her to their Home Shrine. And in a special way, she comes to dwell in every heart through the Covenant of Love, thus establishing her home in each one of them.
She decides to return! To be at your side!
With Mary, let us go in haste
Those who followed World Youth Day participated with the Pope and the young people under the motto: “Mary arose and went in haste” (Lk 1:39).
She arose and came to us today. How did we receive her? Did we open our hearts to have her with us? Did we carry her presence to the world? She is in a hurry!
Two Schoenstatt pilgrims made the news in NiT, a Portuguese news media during WYD. Pierina Monte Riso, a Schoenstatt lady, and Paulina Biaciotti, a young Argentinean girl, drew attention for carrying the MTA picture throughout WYD. “We want to walk with Mary in our hands so that people can see her,” they said. “She comes with us everywhere, we are her feet,” they explained to the NiT portal.
Their testimony illustrates, with a practical gesture, a way to make Mary present everywhere. But it will not always be possible or feasible to have an image of Our Lady in our hands. That is why it is essential to have the image of the MTA engraved in oneself: in gestures, in life, in one’s voice.
She is in heaven, but her mission continues on earth. And she relies on each one of us to be her feet, her hands and her voice today. Mary needs you; she is near and by your side. On the day of the Assumption, with the awareness that our Mother dwells in heaven, but is also close to us, we can ask: “In us go through our times, and make them ready for Christ” (Heavenwards, 609).
Note: CNN did a short piece with young girls from the Girls’ Youth of San Luis, Argentina, in which they enthusiastically talk about Schoenstatt with great joy. In it, Pierina briefly relates her experiences at WYD:
https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=989048282333293
[1] vatican.va – Munificentissimus Deus, 44
[2] Às Segundas-feiras ao Anoitecer, Pe. José Kentenich, vol 3, pág 116