ASSUMPTION OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY
QUITE AN ASSUMPTION!
Because we're only human it’s not surprising that we tend to talk about God in human terms. And because we're products of our own time it's hardly surprising that we talk about God in ways that reflect our own visions of how the world is and should be. For example, if we had never had monarchs, we would be unlikely to call God "king". If the Women's Movement of the 20th century had never come about, it's a sure bet that we would not have concerned ourselves with the "feminine" side of God.
The same is true of Mary. History has shaped much of what we want to say about her. So we have tended to speak of her as dutiful, as a home-maker, as obedient to her husband Joseph, and as a model woman for other women to follow ... not to mention a pattern of faith for all Christian men and women. There is nothing wrong with this. But if we look at the life of Mary through our own millennium eyes, then we might also want to say different things about her if she is to remain a relevant role model for us today. We may want to look at her Magnificat prayer and see a woman who feels vindicated for all she has undergone ... the Almighty has done great things for her.
We may wish to recall the courage of a woman whose family life started in scandal, moved into homelessness and ended in public tragedy... yet who can still speak of God's mercy reaching from age to age.
And when she delights as the lowly are raised above the high and mighty, as the hungry are fed but the rich sent empty away, we cannot fail to see a woman with a sense of justice and fire in her belly. On the feast of The Assumption, when we
