Happy Feast Day!
- 6 hours ago
- 2 min read
The photograph introducing today's sharing is of Vincent Brzozowski and myself beside the commissioned artwork for the National Shrine of Our Lady in St Mary of the Angels in Wellington. The image is called, Ko Hāta Maria, te Matua Wahine o te Atua. Vincent was asked to accompany the St Mary of the Angels choir with the trumpet.
On January 13th, 1838, Bishop Pompallier dedicated Aotearoa NZ under the title of Our Lady of the Assumption and on August 15th, 2021 Aotearoa NZ was rededicated to Mary at St Mary of the Angels under that same title. I was present the following year when St Mary’s was declared the National Shrine of Our Lady on this feast day.
At the rededication, Cardinal John Dew stressed that the Assumption is a day of hope for all of humanity. It highlights “the unbelievable dignity of our human bodies”.
Mary as “the first disciple”, was “the first to be welcomed body and soul, assumed into heaven”.
Referring to Catholic belief in the Resurrection of the Body and life everlasting, Cardinal John said: “We are created to be with God, and when we live our lives with that intention, we come to know something of the presence of God in our lives as Mary did.”
“So the Assumption is about each of us — it is about our future.”
Mary enjoyed a unique closeness to Jesus and understood the life her Son won for her. She could see in all humility, why generation after generation would call her blessed. We echo how blessed she is today in celebrating her feast day.
She was the receptive good soil who heard the word of God and acted upon it. This is our vocation too, to listen to God’s word and put it into practice. We look to her in hope and call on her prayers to assist us in this vocation.
I am reminded of the words of Jesus ‘You will know them by their fruits and every time we pray the ‘Hail Mary’ we pray, blessed is the fruit of thy womb. Perhaps we can ponder how our living out of the Gospel can be fruitful this week.
As we honour Mary today on our country’s patronal feast day let’s not loose site of the real woman she was and what she endured. May her life continue to inspire us and give us hope. She was brought to life in Christ and she wants that for us too.
The parish priest of St Mary of the Angels asked me to compose a song which I called 'Hata Maria' for the rededication ceremony at St Mary of the Angels in 2022. It is track 19, click on the bottom far right and move the cursor down if tracks 19, 20 and 21 are not showing.
Blessings on your week.
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