Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary
On this Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, we can sing with our Holy Mother “…He has remembered his promise of mercy, the promise he made to our fathers, to Abraham and his children forever.”
(Lk 1:54-55) Mary sings in gratitude and praise for the long awaited Messiah and, on this day, we sing in gratitude and praise for the gift of Mary as well. Though we can never fully comprehend the depth of God’s mercy for us, God’s gift to us in the Blessed Mother is a most splendid expression of the vastness of this mercy.
In his book, “The Church of Mercy”, Pope Francis devotes an entire chapter to the Blessed Virgin and the powerful the role she plays in the story of the redemption of the world. Francis, as a Jesuit priest studying in Germany, was touched by the painting “Mary, Untier of Knots” that he saw in a church there. Eventually, thanks to Francis, this centuries old devotion to the Blessed Mother spread across Latin America. Having lived among the struggling, the poor, and the destitute it holds a special significance for him—most especially in this Jubilee Year of Mercy.
What are these ‘knots’ that Mary unties? Mary unties the knots of disobedience and unbelief, hopelessness and ingratitude. She unties the knots of selfishness, unforgivenness, and depression. Whatever the bondage, pain, or struggle, Pope Francis implores us to take these ‘knots’ to the Queen of Heaven as “Mary is the Mother who patiently and lovingly brings us to God so that he can untangle the knots of our soul by his fatherly mercy.”
This day, may we gratefully contemplate the significance of the Blessed Virgin in our lives. May we be granted the faith to know that Mary stands ready and waiting to accompany us to God who forever longs to extend the very mercy he has promised. And may our faith lead to the willingness to approach our God with our Mother at our side.
--Gail Lyman