The BVM

 

   Today is the Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary into heaven. Some Catholics consider Mary the unofficial fourth person of the Holy Trinity. Perhaps hostess would be a better description. Or go-between. She's the humaniser of the Holy Trinity.

   God the Father has gotten a bad rep thanks to the Old Testament which in places pictures him as a vindictive boss liable to smite you with the jawbone of an ass if you get out of line. But this god is a tribal god. He was created to keep an unruly people in line. 

   To rectify this image, God came to earth as his own son. He went on to die for our sins and through his resurrection provide us with a path to Heaven. Jesus spoke of love. He healed the sick and cast out demons. He said we must be like children. Have faith. But he had some hard sayings. Sell all your goods and give to the poor. Take up your cross. Be the servant of everyone else. Turn the other cheek. The Holy Spirit will make all this happen if we allow it.

   Mary never laid down any rules for us. Jesus was rude to his mother a couple of times and she didn't get mad. I've been rude to my own mother and she always forgave me. Not being a theologian, I can relate more easily to Mary than to the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

   Not coincidentally, our oldest son Matt was born on this day. When my devout grandfather learned this, he suggested we name him Mario, which is the male version of Mary. Mario McDonnell. I thought that sounded cool, but feared his classmates would tease him. Mario might have been ok in Boston where there are tons of Italians, but the ethnics in northern Minnesota would not have gotten it.

   If I could have foreseen that the name Mario would be normalized in a few years with the debuts of the hockey legend Mario Lemieux and the wildly popular Mario Brothers video games, we might have gone with the name Mario. But it's too late now. Anyway, Happy Birthday Matt, and may Mother Mary pray for us sinners. Amen.

Titian's Assumption of Mary