The \u201cFeast of the Blessed Virgin Mary\u201d or \u201cThe Falling Asleep of Mary\u201d is kept on August 15, in some fashion, by many churches. The Roman Catholics celebrate the \u201cAssumption of Mary\u201d, the Orthodox communities honor the \u201cDormition of Mary\u201d. Much could be said about the various ideas surrounding the departure of Mary from her earthly life. However, when Aug 15 rolls around, the primary thing that leaps to my mind is an old sermon that was delivered by the late Canon John Andrew, in his retirement from the position of rector of St. Thomas Church in New York City. The message instilled in me, a Protestant, a greater appreciation for Marian devotion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cToday we remember our manners\u201d He intoned. \u201cWe pay our dues. We thank God for the gift to the world of the Mother of Christ whose departure for God we celebrate.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I recall Father Andrew urging Christians to avoid two errors. On the one hand, it is \u201cstingy\u201d to pay her no respect at all: \u201cShe gave Christ birth, and bore him into the world of you and me. She taught him to talk. She taught him to say his prayers. I wonder if it was she who first taught him the \u2018Our Father\u2019? There was no thought in the early Church that by honoring Mary, spite would be done to her Son and Savior. Christ would lose no iota of worship for having his Mother honored in this way and it a gross begrudging to think otherwise.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
On the other hand, \u201cWhat can make you uncomfortable, and rightly so, are the sentimental flights of fancy and the sugarcoating of the enthusiasts who took her role out of all proportion to her human state of creatureliness, and tinseled her with quasi-divinity. She must shudder at the attempt.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cAll we celebrate today is Heaven\u2019s welcome of her when her earthly life was over.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Amen.\u00a0 <\/p>\n\n\n\n