How Mary’s Assumption Brought Me Closer to God

A fun fact about me is that my birthday is on August 15, the Feast of the Assumption- how cool is that?!  I always liked that my birthday was on a Marian feast day and knew that was special, but I often wondered why I was born on that day. It always made me feel a bond with Mary, but I still wondered, “Why me?” What did God want to show me through this connection?

Upon reflection in recent years, I realized that having a birthday on the Feast of the Assumption made me pay a little bit more attention to Mary, and thank God for that, because Mary has had (and still has) SO much to teach me as I’ve grappled with my circumstances. For a chunk of my life, I didn’t feel as connected to Mary as many other Catholics seemed to be, because aside from saying the Hail Marys in the rosary or otherwise, I was in a habit of just talking directly to God in my prayer time. I felt like I had so much to say to God Himself that I didn’t really divert from that. However, when things became difficult in my relationship with God, it was Mary who got through to me and bridged the gap. She had so much to teach me about God from her own life, and what an incredible gift that’s been.

A huge obstacle to my faith was my feeling like God loved others more than He loved me. I looked around at people who had much smoother lives than I did (they had their health, they were in the careers they aspired to be in, they were married and having children, etc.), and I felt like those blessings were signs that God loved those people more than He loved me. I was mistakenly equating smooth circumstances with God’s love, and it took Mary to gently show me the truth and help me to “get over myself” in that regard.

If you look at Mary’s life, it was filled with suffering and struggles. She was pregnant as a teenager at a time when that was catastrophic, she had to travel for the census at the end of her pregnancy, and there was no room at the inn when she arrived at her destination. So, she was forced to give birth to the son of God in a stable… with animals! As if that wasn’t enough, she then had to flee to Egypt with Jesus after He was born because they were going to kill Him! My goodness. God didn’t spare Mary from any of this, though. He could have easily made one room available at the inn, or had one family take them in when it was time for Mary to give birth, but He didn’t.

Because I saw that God did not spare Mary, I realized that smoother circumstances in others’ lives could not be an indication that God loves them more than He loves me. Mary did not have a smooth road on earth, but I couldn’t say it was because God didn’t love her enough- He obviously loved her greatly if He chose her to be the mother of His only Son! I was really convicted by that, as it dissolved my defenses and was a springboard to me growing in understanding that the presence or love of God does not equal smooth circumstances or the absence of suffering. It was in my own mind that certain (good!) life happenings were the ultimate sign of God’s love, and that was incorrect.

Putting myself in Mary’s shoes, I can only imagine how she might have felt at every difficult twist and turn. She was being obedient to God’s will, as difficult as that was, yet He still didn’t spare her from difficulties. Mary even had to watch her son, the Son of God, be brutally murdered when He did no wrong! Oh the heartache this woman endured, yet she was obedient and sinless through it all. What a role model for each of us.

How interesting God’s plan is, though. It’s precisely because God didn’t spare Mary from suffering that He was able to reach me through her. Look at how Mary’s suffering disarmed me and drew me closer to God more than 2000 years later. Mary’s own suffering dissolved my fears, showed me the truth, and deepened my relationship with God. Had Mary been spared of the things I thought she should have been protected from, God could not have reached me through her in this way. Wow.

Because I knew Mary could understand what it felt like to do God’s will and still have a life that was not smooth, I could more easily approach her- it finally felt like there was someone who understood the tough spot in which I’ve found myself. Mary, the only sinless, fully (only) human being who ever existed, can help me better understand things through lenses of truth and love, guide me on how to handle things better on earth, and intercede on my behalf. I can always turn to her to bring me closer to Him.

The Assumption of Mary is when we celebrate Mary being assumed into heaven, body and soul. Mary shows us what can be ahead for us, both in terms of heaven and the resurrection of the body.

“The Most Blessed Virgin Mary, when the course of her earthly life was completed, was taken up body and soul into the glory of heaven, where she already shares in the glory of her Son’s Resurrection, anticipating the resurrection of all members of his Body.”

-Catechism of the Catholic Church 974

I’ve realized that having a birthday specifically on the Feast of the Assumption directs my attention to the resurrection of the body. It’s something we profess in the creed, but I hadn’t more fully learned that doctrine until later in my adult years. The teaching on the resurrection of the body really helps me to keep going, because I know that no matter how long this illness lasts on earth, if I make it to heaven, I will receive a glorified body at the resurrection of the body. Not only will there be no pain or sickness in our resurrected bodies in heaven, but they will be glorified bodies- so even better than the best versions of our bodies we could imagine. That highlights even more for me the importance of striving for heaven, and it helps me recommit to that goal, with Mary as my ever-present guide!

Perhaps my being born on the Feast of the Assumption was God’s way of caring for me in a specific way He knew I would need, by directing my attention toward Mary in order to draw me closer to Him, and by reminding me of the resurrection of the body that we all long for in the end. Mary and the Feast of her Assumption help me to keep going in the midst of my trials. Mary is always there to guide and to intercede for each and every one of us, and her life is filled with beautiful examples to help us on our journeys. Thank you God, and thank you Mary!

How has Mary brought you closer to the Lord? Let me know in the comments!

Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death. Amen.

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