As we get deeper into August, we start seeing the markers that have indicated the progress of summer — Memorial Day, the Fourth of July, county and state fairs. For many of us, each of these days not only shows us the all-too-rapid passing of what is almost everyone’s favorite season. But they also represent markers of our culture and of who we are.

Each one likely conjures up memories of family gatherings, conversations, summer food and things that make us the persons and families that we have come to be.

Next week, there is another summer marker, another reminder of who we are. But I wonder if it makes the impact that it should. It is the Feast of the Assumption of Mary on Aug. 15. It is our annual reflection on the conclusion of Mary’s earthly life. And of course, as we know, it is a Holy Day of Obligation when we must attend Mass, just like on a Sunday.

We recall from the catechism  and from our love of our mother Mary, that at the end of her life she was assumed, body and soul, into heaven with her son, and now she reigns there interceding for us.

The prayers of Mary for each of us and for the world, have been treasured by the Church from the first recognition of her role as the new Eve, the one among us who broke the chain of sin transmitted and ratified by each generation and person since the time of Adam and Eve.

Having lived in complete harmony with God, and so, free from sin, Mary did not undergo corruption after death. This has even greater importance for us since, as Christ hung on the cross, we were all entrusted to Mary when Jesus told St. John, “Behold your mother.”

Still, the Feast of the Assumption of Mary, body and soul, into heaven is more than just a reminder of Mary’s place in the Father’s kingdom.

Like those other summertime markers, the Assumption is also an indicator about ourselves, about what we will become.

If we are faithful, if we have lovingly fulfilled our task in this life of living out the faith and moral calling entrusted to us, we will one day be joined with her, risen body and soul, in life eternal.

Jesus ascended, glorified body and soul, to the right hand of the Father. Mary has joined him from among our ranks. And the offer and the calling now await each one of us.

The Assumption of Mary is an example of one of the deepest choices we have about faith in this very skeptical age. The promise of faith is that Mary’s story, and our chance to join her in our own body at the end of time, is both practical and real.

But the whispers of our secular mentality tell us that the Assumption is not a reality joining our physical nature to a mysterious eternal life that we were made for. Rather, it is thought to be a mythical story, obviously to be discounted by mature people in a scientific and individualistic age. So, no need to bother about it, and certainly no need to observe the Holy Day!

Our lives are made up of a continuing series of actions and choices that reveal who we are in relation to Christ and his Church.

Do we accept the witness of faith that has been handed on to us? Are we moved by the story of Mary, not just because of her valor but also because we are, in grace, linked to her?

Are we willing to live fully the moral life, vision and teachings going back to the Apostles and to Mary, which are guided by the Holy Spirit in every age?

Mary’s Assumption is a summertime marker that reminds us of her faith and of the reality of our calling to join her with her son and with all of our faithful family members and friends for all eternity.