We can honor Mary on this feast day by remembering that she was, and remains, part of our world, our personal and natural world. Pope Francis reminds us over and over that the natural world and we are not separate, and certainly we must understand that we stand with the natural world and not against it. He calls this integral ecology, which he elaborated upon in his encyclical letter, Laudato Si
(On Care for our Common Home). If you have not read it, you really must.
Mary was part of our world in powerful ways so we have honored her in multiple ways in the history of our Church, even to include that God had the power to lift her to heaven in her complete self. Because she walked in our world and remains connected to us there is no life challenge that Mary does not understand. She was there. Mary knew what it was like to be pregnant without a husband. She knew what it was like to be vulnerable, having no control over her life, even to the point of being displaced from her home. She knew the grief of seeing her child tortured. Mary knew what it is to be a mother watching her son gasping for his last breaths.
We invite you to join with our global Church remembering Mary on this August 15th by connecting with our world and with her, knowing that she is always there for us.
John and Joan Houk