Seeing in Mary all that’s best and beautiful in heaven
Matthew 23:13-22
Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples: “Woe to you, scribes and
Pharisees, you hypocrites. You lock the Kingdom of heaven before men. You do
not enter yourselves, nor do you allow entrance to those trying to enter. “Woe
to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites. You traverse sea and land to
make one convert, and when that happens you make him a child of Gehenna twice
as much as yourselves.
I love going
to the movies. But what is the best part of any great movie? Is it having a
bombastic beginning that leaves you breathless? No. Maybe it’s the middle where
the plot thickens. Nope. Could it be the climactic conclusion where you say,
“Whoa, I never saw that coming!” Not that either. For me, the best part of most
movies is the “preview of coming attractions,” the so-called “trailer.” I
always insist of arriving early enough to catch the previews. And I’m not alone
in thinking this. A 2008 opinion poll found that, “Of some 10 billion videos
watched online annually, film trailers rank third, after news and user-created
videos.” You love previews as much as me!
Why do we love trailers so much? Well, because
usually, all the best parts of the movie – the beginning, the middle and even
the end – are summed up in 2 minutes. Not only that, but a preview can tell me
if the movie is worth my money or not. In other words, I’ll judge the quality
of an entire 2 hour movie in a 2 minute trailer. We all do that, and that’s why
we love previews.
Well, I
would suggest to you that what the Catholic Church teaches about our Mother
Mary can be best understood as a “preview of coming attractions.” What do I
mean? Well, if we imagine heaven to be more like a movie – and a lot more
people would get excited about heaven if it were like a movie theatre – then
glancing at Mary we glimpse what is best and beautiful in heavenly glory. That
is, all the greatness and grace Mary displays on earth – like a preview of
coming attractions – is precisely the glory that we will enjoy in heaven. Now,
clearly, the Holy Trinity and Mary and the angels enjoy the leading rolls, but
we will too to a lesser degree; we won’t just make a “cameo appearance.”
Today we
celebrate the Queenship of Mary. But don’t worry, we are not worshiping her;
instead, try to see her queenship as a preview of coming attractions of our own
royal privileges. You see, God invites us all to be kings and queens in heaven.
But don’t take my word for it. Listen to the Catechism of the Catholic Church,
in no. 972, we read: “The Mother of Jesus, in the glory which she possesses
body and soul in heaven, is the image and beginning – the beginning, a preview
– of the Church as it is to be perfected in the world to come.” So, when
Catholics lavish all their love of Mary, they know how important a preview of
coming attractions is: everyone judges the whole movie by a 2-minute trailer.
In a sense, we invite the whole world to judge the glory we will enjoy in
heaven by watching Mary; she is God’s 2-minute trailer.
Have you
ever heard of the Litany of Loreto? It dates back to 1587, when Pope Sixtus V
approved its usage. It is a long list of all the privileges and prerogatives of
Mary, all her titles: “Mother most pure, Virgin most merciful, Mirror of
justice, Seat of Wisdom, Vessel of honor, Tower of David, Queen of martyrs,
Queen of peace,” to name but a few. I know that such honorary titles can really
turn off our Protestant friends, but it really turns on Catholics. Why? Well,
because we see Mary as a preview of coming attractions, where Jesus has given
to his Mother all that’s best and beautiful in the beginning, middle and end of
heaven. And that’s what’s waiting for
us. The Blessed Virgin Mary is the one
trailer you don’t want to miss.
Praised be
Jesus Christ!
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