Assumption

“’Finally the Immaculate Virgin, preserved free from all stain of original sin, when the course of her earthly life was finished, was taken up body and soul into heavenly glory, and exalted by the Lord as Queen over all things, so that she might be more fully conformed to her Son, the Lord of lords and conqueror of sin and death.’ The Assumption of the Blessed Virgin is a singular participation in her Son’s Resurrection and an anticipation of the resurrection of other Christians…’”

 Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2nd ed., 966, citing Pius XII, Deus Munificentissimus.

15. 08. – Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary

What the pope solemnly declared was already a common belief in the Catholic Church.

We find homilies on the Assumption going back to the sixth century. In following centuries the Eastern Churches held steadily to the doctrine, but some authors in the West were hesitant. However, by the thirteenth century there was universal agreement. The feast was celebrated under various names (Commemoration, Dormition, Passing, Assumption) from at least the fifth or sixth century.

Scripture does not give an account of Mary’s Assumption into heaven. Nevertheless, Revelation 12 speaks of a woman who is caught up in the battle between good and evil. Many see this woman as God’s people. Since Mary best embodies the people of both Old and New Testament, her Assumption can be seen as an exemplification of the woman’s victory.

Furthermore, in 1 Corinthians 15:20 Paul speaks of Christ’s resurrection as the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.

Since Mary is closely associated with all the mysteries of Jesus’ life, it is not surprising that the Holy Spirit has led the Church to belief in Mary’s share in his glorification. So close was she to Jesus on earth, she must be with him body and soul in heaven.

Comment:

In the light of the Assumption of Mary, it is easy to pray her Magnificat (Luke 1:46–55) with new meaning. In her glory she proclaims the greatness of the Lord and finds joy in God her savior. God has done marvels to her and she leads others to recognize God’s holiness. She is the lowly handmaid who deeply reverenced her God and has been raised to the heights. From her position of strength she will help the lowly and the poor find justice on earth and she will challenge the rich and powerful to distrust wealth and power as a source of happiness.

Quote:

“In the bodily and spiritual glory which she possesses in heaven, the Mother of Jesus continues in this present world as the image and first flowering of the Church as she is to be perfected in the world to come. Likewise, Mary shines forth on earth, until the day of the Lord shall come (cf. 2 Peter 3:10), as a sign of certain hope and comfort for the pilgrim People of God” (Dogmatic Constitution on the Church, 68).

19 Sunday of Ordinary Time - Year A

"You have so little faith, why did you doubt?"

The spectacular miracle of walking on the water seems to be -at least- incomprehensible. Jesus walking on the water is –for the apostles fighting with strong winds and turbulent waves- a kind of ghost. He scares them and they don't know how to react. After all, they know their job and yet with the tempest they cannot handle the boat. And, behold, Jesus walks on stormy waves of a lake, as on the paved road, as if nothing was happening around him, as if there was no storm and strong wind, no waves, if these elements do not have any power over Him.

Because they do not have … ANY power over HIM !!!

Is it not similar in our lives that very often we are in the same situation? We cannot cope with the well-known matters of our life? The life is simply beyond us that is beyond our strength, beyond our capacity or ability to handle it. We face it and try to do something, but nothing we do seems to work. What should be known and be familiar to us suddenly becomes strange and hostile. And then, Jesus comes and we treat him like a ghost or phantom, like an unreal spirit. And when -as to the disciples in the boat- Jesus says, "Fear not, I am" we disbelief and like Peter we try to verify these words. Like Peter we try to march on the water and we are sinking like Peter, because we lack faith, because our faith is small.

The event described in today's Gospel ceases to be incomprehensible and only spectacular, if you look at it from that perspective. Jesus wants us -as well as all His disciples- to show that He really is the Lord of the world, the Lord of matter, the Lord of all the elements and the Lord of our lives. He wants to assure us that where we do not know how to cope and where our efforts are futile or ineffective He can make extraordinary things. He wants us to make sure that He is not only a ghost or spirit, that going into our lives He won't to frighten and terrify us, but to help and to silence all the storms and all the worries. If I could trust and believe Him, if I don't expose Him to the tests, if I have more faith ... then I could walk on the rough waves of the lake ...

18 Sunday in Ordinary Time - A

You give them something to eat ....

When it was evening, the disciples approached him and said,
“This is a deserted place and it is already late;
dismiss the crowds so that they can go to the villages
and buy food for themselves.” 
Jesus said to them, “There is no need for them to go away;
give them some food yourselves.” 
But they said to him,
“Five loaves and two fish are all we have here.” 
Then he said, “Bring them here to me, ”

It’s obvious that today’s Gospel is presenting us the miracle of the multiplication of food as an announcement, a foretelling of this what is happening on the altar during every Eucharistic celebration. But I think that this event is bringing to our minds also some social justice issues. We cannot avoid this problem, because Jesus is telling openly: “There is no need for them to go away; give them some food yourselves.”

***************

According to the report PNUD “Reconsidérer la Richesse” prepared by Patrick Viveret in 1998

• We need 6 billion dollars yearly to assure the education for all children in the world who are not yet in school

• At the same time in the USA, people spend annually 8 billion dollars on perfumes

• Nearly 1 billion people entered the 21st century unable to read a book or sign their names.

• The world needs 13 billion dollars annually to feed all who are hungry

• At the same time in the USA, 25 billion dollars is spent each year on pet food

So, wealthy Christians in the USA are spending almost twice as much on pet food as is needed to feed the hungry of the whole world.

• Each day some 30 thousand children under the age of 5 are dying due to poverty. And they “die quietly in some of the poorest villages on earth, far removed from the scrutiny and the conscience of the world. Being meek and weak in life makes these dying multitudes even more invisible in death.” That is about 210,000 children each week or just under 11 million children under five years of age, each year.

• Each day in France with a population of 63 million, 60 thousand tons of food goes to the garbage

The 3 richest people (and two of them are Christians) in the world have more total wealth than the total GDP (Gross Domestic Product) of the world’s 48 poorest countries.

GDP = 46 billion 890 million dollars almost 50 billions dollars

Global Priority                                                       $U.S. (Billions)

Basic education for all                                          6 billion

Water and sanitation for all                                   9 billion

Reproductive health care for all women                 12 billion

Basic health and nutrition                                   13 billion

                                                Total               40 billion

Military spending in the world                           780 billion

only in USA                                                   550 billion

Pope John Paul II said:

We are fortunate. We have much more than what we need to be content. 20% of the populations in the developed nations consume 86% of the world’s goods.

Let’s try not to feed this endless cycle of consumerism and immorality in which this “modern and advanced” society forgets and ignores the other two thirds of our brothers and sisters.

“The biggest scandal of the contemporary world and especially of the Christianity is that while in one corner of this world thousands of people is starving every day, at the same time in the other corner of the same world thousands of people is dying because of the health problems caused by obesity.”