There is a familiar ring to the words which we have just heard from Deuteronomy, about loving God with our whole being, without reserve. Perhaps it is because these words are quoted by Jesus in the gospel.

This familiar verse also forms a part of the profession of faith which every devout Jew recites every day, like we recite the sign of the cross--it is a sign of covenant. Many Jews write these words on little scrolls, roll them up and wear them as we would a medal around the neck, or as head or wrist band. Others fasten them to the door lintels outside their homes, as some Christians do with the initials of the three men and the digits of the current year.

The whole idea is that the love of God which is his essence and his covenant is to be the guiding principle of our whole lives. These words form part of their profession of faith, because for the Israelites, faith is not something merely intellectualized but lived out in the practicality of each day.

It is not just a matter of believing in God as Supreme being or creator; but responding in trust to the omniscience of this all--loving God. It means trusting, total reliance upon saving truth--total reliance--turning your whole life over to God knowing that in His love He will care for you, provide and protect you. Like the attitude of a small child you can have complete confidence and that does not make you naive. Not co operating with or not trusting in him would be naive.

In today’s Mass we honor Mary as a pillar of faith, one who absolute trust even when she could not understand; and as a result she was drawn intimately in to the history of salvation. In a certain sense she reflects and unites in her own person this profession of faith: Loving God above all else.

Her co-operation shows the freedom and munificence of God in choosing certain people to be a particular instrument of salvation and grace. Her consent to the work of salvation through the incarnation proclaims the meaning and power of human cooperation in God’s saving plan. And as a result of that cooperation comes the reward that we celebrate next week. Her assumption and coronation as Queen and Mother of the human race.

This reward of Mary is unique not in that it was hers exclusively; but first after her son. It is what awaits all of us who are faithful. Because of her unblemished faithfulness she did not have to wait.