We are called to remember both "sides" of Mary, Miriam of Nazareth and the Mother of God, both marked today in the Solemnity of the Assumption. A meditation here: facebook.com/photo/?fbid=852…

On my retreat last year, I was reflecting on how Mary's life was complicated even when she said "yes" to the Angel Gabriel at the Annunciation, the Solemnity we celebrate today. That is, we all know that Mary led not only a joyful life, but a difficult one as well, one that included suffering: journeying to Bethlehem with Joseph, giving birth to Jesus in the stable, "finding" him in the Temple after being distraught, traveling from Nazareth to Capernaum to take her son back home when his public ministry was beginning (Mk 3:21) and, most of all, having to see her son suffer during his crucifixion, the sadness of which replaced by joy when she saw him as the Risen One. But then, of course, she had to live without her son's physical presence after his Ascension. But we tend to think that her life before the Annunciation was uncomplicated. Who knows, however, what she was dealing with even as a young woman in Nazareth? Mary lived if not a poor life, then certainly a simple one, which meant hard work and many daily labors. Given the lack of healthcare at the time, perhaps her father and mother were ill (perhaps one of them had even died). And she and her family were living under a Roman occupying army. Mary is sinless of course, but she still faced life's difficulties and struggles. In other words, Mary was able to say "yes" to God even in the midst of a real life, filled with complications. So at the Assumption, God accepts her completely, body and soul, with all her history and all her sufferings and joys. We can say "yes" to God, even if we don't know what we are agreeing to, and even if our lives are complicated, relying on the example and the prayers of Mary, our mother.