08/13/2026
"Mary, Mother of Jesus, in Old Age" by artist Tracy Councill,
depicting an elderly Mary standing beside a wooden table with bread and w**e.
This coming Saturday, 15 August, Christians around the world lift up our Sister, Mary, Ever-Blest, Mother of God on her Feast Day.
Like many women of the sacred stories in the Bible, we know little about Mary in the four gospel sacred stories.
The one-time Bishop Mark Dyer (1930-2014) described St. Mary:
as the first Christian priest, because she was the first person
to carry the body and blood of Christ on behalf of the world.
Mary, the woman who said yes to God, “Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be unto me according to your word”
Mary, who defied the social conventions of her day, with a joyful song of praise and thanksgiving to God, famously known as the Magnificat,
a radical voice of hope, social justice, and humble trust in God.
Mary, who gave birth to God’s son, fully divine and fully human, treasuring all the words and things
surrounding Jesus' birth and pondered them in her heart.
Mary, who set a pattern of discipleship and love for her boy to follow as he grew to manhood and into his calling.
Mary, who stood courageously at the foot of the cross during the crucifixion, accompanied by Mary Magdalene and one of Jesus' disciples, and others.
Mary, whose presence at the crucifixion is remembered as the fifth of the Seven Sorrows of Mary,
representing her deep compassion and unbreakable bond with her son's suffering.
Mary, who in the Book of Acts is shown as actively gathering and praying with the believers of her Risen Son,
and present in the upper room to receive the outpouring of the Holy Spirit alongside the disciples
And like Mary, may we learn how to look for a constant coming of Christ into our lives and into the life of our world, as Mary did in her time,
into the chaos, into the misshapen and rusted disorder, and to look for opportunities to reflect more fully the light of the risen Christ bestowed upon us..
The Collect:
O God, you have taken to yourself the blessed Virgin Mary,
mother of your incarnate Son: Grant that we, who have been
redeemed by his blood, may share with her the glory of your
eternal kingdom; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives
and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God,
now and for ever. Amen.
Celebrate Mary's Feast at home: Some suggestions offered by writer, Ashley Tumlin Wallace
Read Luke 1:26-38 and recite the Magnificat (Luke 1:46-55).
Make something with rosemary or gather a bouquet of rosemary and place it in a vase on your dining room table.
Legend says that the blossoms of the rosemary plant were white until Mary stopped to do laundry during the holy family’s flight to Egypt.
Mary threw her blue cloak over a rosemary bush to dry, and the flowers have been blue ever since.
Plant marigolds or place a bouquet of marigolds on your dining room table.
The name “marigold” combines “Mary” and “gold.”
Traditionally, the golden color of the marigold symbolizes the golden virtues of Mary,
such as purity, love, humility, and obedience.
