Aug. 15, 2013 Thursday: the Feast of Assumption of Our Lady
“Always willing to help others / When herself should be at rest / She was the kindest of all Mothers / Now amongst the Heavenly Blest.” How about this for a mother who suffered much, but who never showed it, “She concealed her tears but shared her smiles.” How about this for a mother who was strong yet kind? “She never took no for an answer and pushed ahead when others paused. But a kinder, gentler woman you will never meet again.” Which one fits your mother? Which one do you think fits the mother of Jesus? All of the above?
For those without faith, a grave and a headstone are a sad reminder of the absence of the once living presence in our lives. The grieving heart desperately reaches out wanting to touch the person one last time, but it feels like grasping for thin air. But for those with faith in Jesus, a grave and a headstone are a sign that our eternal home is not here on earth but with the Heavenly Father. Mary, our heavenly mother, shows us on her feast of Assumption that her motherhood never ceases even with the end of her earth. Her kind and gentle yet protective presence never leaves us. Just as her motherly instinct protected her son from the clutches of the dragon, she protects us from harm, especially from the the evil one, on our journey on this earth.
She is with us each day in our joys, our sorrows, our trials, successes, our rest and work. She wants to teach us by her life what it means to be a missionary disciple. Immediately after receiving the grace of becoming God's mother, Mary went in haste to help her cousin, Elizabeth. Her immediate response after receiving Jesus, the most precious gift from God, was to be of service and to bring Jesus to others. Today, let us ask Our Lady to help us to bring Christ’s joy to our families, our friends, and to everyone.
Holy mother Mary,
we all rejoice with you today
on the feast of your glorious Assumption into heaven.
It is a great comfort to us
to realize that your precious body,
the tabernacle of the infant Christ,
is now in heaven with him.
Your being taken into heaven is also,
like the resurrection of Christ’s body,
a pledge to us of the resurrection of our own bodies.
It is wonderful to think that these hands,
with which we now earn our bread,
will one day, with our bodies,
be glorified forever in heaven.
Help us to realize this
as we go about our work from day to day.
Help us to have great respect for these bodies of ours,
and for those of others because we recognize in them
the temple of the Holy Spirit,
and because we look forward to seeing each other,
body and soul, with you and your Son Jesus Christ
forever in heaven. Amen.
— Anonymous
