St John sees “a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon beneath her feet and on her head a crown of twelve stars.”
A woman in heaven, clothed in glory and crowned.
Today I would like us to imagine those twelve stars as twelve qualities that shine in Mary’s life. And as each one is named, a flower will be brought and laid at the base of the shrine, until together they form a crown of praise.
The first quality is Faith.
At the Annunciation, the angel Gabriel greets Mary as “full of grace”, and Mary replies: “I am the handmaid of the Lord. Let it be done to me according to your word.”
Mary believed before she fully understood. She trusted God’s word before she could see where that word would lead her.
Her free and trusting “yes” became the human response through which God chose to enter the world.
Mary teaches us what faith looks like: trusting God even though we don’t yet see where it will lead.
The second quality is Humility.
In the Magnificat Mary sings: “For He has looked on His servant in her lowliness.”
Mary never seeks to draw attention to herself. She always points beyond herself to Jesus.
Everything she does is ultimately for her Son and in cooperation with His grace.
God chooses the humble because they leave room for Him.
The third quality is Obedience.
Mary’s “Fiat” — “Let it be done to me according to your word” — is not simply a yes spoken once at the Annunciation.
It becomes a whole-life yes.
The ancient Church saw Mary as the one whose obedience untied the knot of Eve’s disobedience. Where Eve said no, Mary said yes.
And Mary’s yes does not end at the Annunciation. She continued to say yes even when the journey became difficult.
This is not passive obedience. It is courageous, active obedience.
The fourth quality is Charity.
Mary has just received the most extraordinary news in history, yet her first thought is not herself.
Immediately after the Annunciation, Mary travels to her older cousin Elizabeth to serve her.
Her love moves her into action. Love always moves. Love becomes something we do.
And Mary continues to care for the Church, praying with the apostles and accompanying the disciples of her Son.
The fifth quality is Joy.
Mary sings: “My soul glorifies the Lord, my spirit rejoices in God my Saviour.”
Mary is full of joy.
And the Church takes Mary’s song and makes it her own. Every evening at Vespers, Christians throughout the world pray the Magnificat.
Mary’s joy becomes the daily prayer of the Church.
The sixth quality is Prayer.
After the Ascension, Acts tells us that Mary is with the apostles in the Upper Room, “constantly devoting themselves to prayer.”
Mary is there at the birth of the Church, praying with the apostles and accompanying them as they await the Holy Spirit.
Prayer is how we remain close to God.
The seventh quality is Contemplation.
Twice Luke tells us that Mary “treasured things in her heart.” She does not always understand immediately.
She listens. She treasures. She ponders.
St John Paul II presented Mary as a model of contemplation.
Mary teaches us to listen before we speak, to ponder before we judge, and to allow God’s word to take root within us.
The eighth quality is Courage.
Mary stood beneath the Cross when many of Jesus’ friends had fled. She remained.
The title Our Lady of Sorrows expresses the Church’s ancient meditation on Mary’s steadfastness at Calvary. She did not run away from the suffering of her Son.
Courage is not the absence of fear. Courage is remaining faithful despite fear.
Sometimes the most courageous thing we can do is simply to remain.
To remain faithful. To remain at the foot of the Cross.
The ninth quality is Hope.
Mary’s courage at Calvary is joined to hope. Her beloved Son is dying before her eyes.
Everything appears to have gone wrong. Yet Mary continues to trust God.
Hope looks beyond appearances. Hope believes that God is still at work even when we cannot see what He is doing.
Christian hope does not say, “Everything will be easy.” Christian hope says, “God is faithful.”
The tenth quality is Perseverance.
Mary’s journey is a journey of a lifetime: From Nazareth as a young teenager all the way to the fullness of glory.
She never stops following Christ.
Holiness is not one great moment. Holiness is faithfulness over a lifetime. It is saying yes to God again and again and again.
The eleventh quality is Motherhood.
At the Cross Jesus says to Mary: “Woman, behold your son.”
And to the beloved disciple: “Behold your mother.”
Mary’s motherhood is widened.
She becomes mother not only of Jesus according to the flesh, but mother to the beloved disciples of her Son — mother to the Church.
And that motherhood continues. Mary accompanies the Church and intercedes for her children.
The twelfth quality is Glory.
Today we celebrate the Assumption of Mary. The woman whom St John saw clothed with the sun and crowned with twelve stars.
But Mary’s glory is not a trophy she has won by her own achievement.
She is uniquely the Mother of God, but everything she is and everything she has received is through God’s grace.
She simply allowed that grace to take root, to grow and to bear fruit in her life.
And today we see where that grace leads.
Mary experiences the fullness of redemption, body and soul, in the presence of God.
These twelve flowers are beautiful individually. But together they form something even more beautiful.
And so it is with these twelve stars. They are not simply qualities to admire in Mary.
They are qualities that the Holy Spirit longs to grow in each one of us.
Have faith — trust God’s promises.
Be humble — put God first.
Be obedient — say yes to God.
Be charitable — serve God and your neighbour with love.
Be joyful — rejoice in Christ.
Pray faithfully.
Contemplate — treasure God’s word in your heart.
Be courageous — stand firm in trials.
Hope — trust God’s promises even in darkness.
Persevere — remain faithful throughout your life.
Care for one another with the tenderness of a mother.
And finally, follow Christ all the way to glory.
Mary does not ask us to become like her by our own strength.
She simply points us towards her Son. “Do whatever he tells you.”
And if we follow where Mary points — if we trust, if we say yes, if we persevere — then one day, by God’s grace, we too will share in the glory that we celebrate in Mary today.
