This Sunday, we begin the month of May by crowning a statue of Mary following Mass. The tradition of “May Crownings” highlight that the month of May is a special time when Catholics honor Mary, the mother of Jesus and our mother, gifted to us by Jesus himself from his cross. In a special way, Mary is our patron at Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary parish. 

We honor Mary as the Mother of God, and so she is because she is the mother of Jesus and Jesus is God Incarnate (Catechism of the Catholic Church, no. 509). However, this is not her greatest “claim to fame.” In Luke’s Gospel (11:27–28), a woman approaches Jesus and exclaims, “Blessed is the womb that bore you and the breasts that nursed you!” Jesus replied that it was rather those who hear the word of God and obey it who are the most blessed. This might seem like a slight to Mary, his mother. But we remember that the Gospel writer is Luke, who very likely interviewed Mary personally for his Gospel (since he has details about her life and conversations not found in the other Gospels and records conversations where she alone was present). Perhaps it was Mary herself who wanted Luke to remind us that her blessedness was not merely biological, but also spiritual. 

Mary’s perfect discipleship came before even her miraculous motherhood. Our discipleship is rooted in listening to God’s Word and responding to it with the obedience of faith. Mary listened to God’s word spoken through the angel Gabriel. She must have had plans for her life, but she was open to hearing God’s word and letting it change her. As full of grace, her receptivity to the gift God had planned for her, and her obedient “Let it be done to me according to your word” (Luke 1:38) is a model for our discipleship. If we are to be perfected as Jesus’ disciples we need to open our minds and hearts to truly listen to God’s Word and place our lives, our spirits and our bodies, completely at the service of the building up of the Kingdom of God, letting ourselves be transformed by communion with Jesus, thus giving birth to Christ in our place and time: our homes, our workplaces, our community, nation, and world. 

Mary’s last words recorded in the Bible are the ultimate statement of discipleship. As Jesus’ disciples, we don’t merely listen to his word but put it into practice through works of love and service. “This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.” (John 15:12) We must honestly admit that we often fall short of this holy calling from Jesus. We are frequently tempted to choose selfishness over self-giving, generous love. The fact is that we cannot live a life of Christian love by ourselves. “Apart from me you can do nothing.” (John 15:5) We need the Grace of the Sacraments, especially the weekly reception of Jesus in Holy Communion. We also need the entire community of faith, carrying and encouraging each other (kind of like the Kingdom’s Cross Country team), to endure in the running the demanding race of discipleship. (see 2 Thessalonians 3:13 and 2 Timothy 4:5–7) We need the entire communion of saints, including all who are alive in Christ but gone from this world, who intercede for us. (see 1 Thessalonians 5:13–14) Pre-eminent among those saints is the Blessed Virgin Mary, who always leads us toward a more intimate communion with her Son. 

May Mary, Mother of the Church and patron of Assumption Parish, teach us how to be Church, always listening to the Word of God, doing the compassionate works of Christian love, carrying Christ within us, and giving birth to Christ during this month of May and always.

John