Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary

debbie linbrunner • August 11, 2021

From pastor’s desk of the solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary

 

 

On November 1, 1950 Pope Pius XII solemnly proclaimed the dogma of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary. This belief in the bodily assumption of the blessed Mother was long held to be true among the faithful and by theologians. The feast had already existed as early as the sixth century. In the Eastern churches this feast is also called the Dormition of Most Holy Mary.  The timing of the promulgation of this solemnity is not without significance. It was right after World War II, during which human body was treated like rubbish and millions of human lives were lost. This solemnity is to remind us that there is a great value to each human life and that what we do to our bodies and souls really matters. It is a response to the hostilities of this world that tries to deny the dignity of human person. It is a reminder that each of us is a person that consists of soul and body that are destined for greater things.

 

While celebrating this feast we acknowledge that Most Holy Mary is already in heaven. She has been taken there with Her body and soul. Why? Because of Her Divine Motherhood. She was found worthy to become the Mother of the Son of God and She became worthy to be with Her Son in heaven. Since God wanted to become in Her a true man— the Word became flesh— now God wanted Her to be assumed to heaven so that Her body may become transformed into the spiritual realm. But this is not the end, for in the Assumption of Mary we recognize our own destiny. We too are destined to be in heaven. But the way there is through the unity with Jesus Christ.

 

Unfortunately, many of our protestant brothers and sisters accuse us, Catholics, that we “worship” the Blessed Virgin Mary as a kind of a goddess while putting too much emphasis on her role in the life of the Church. Despite what they say, we know that there is One God in the Most Holy Trinity. But we also know that Mary played a role of the utmost importance in the history of Salvation and that She is not only the mother of humanity of Jesus but that, as the council of Ephesus (431 A.D.) put it, Mary is THEOTOKOS , the bearer of God. Hence, whenever we recite the prayer of Hail Mary we also say Mary, Mother of God. In this way we simply recognize the Blessed Virgin’s greatness, Her beauty, and Her singular position in the order of Salvation.

So the Blessed Virgin Mary never stands in the way of to Jesus. She is definitely not a hindrance, quite the opposite. It can be historically proven that the closer we get to the Blessed Mother the closer we get to Her Blessed Son Jesus Christ. Mary never drives people away from Jesus. On the Contrary, in the humility of Her Immaculate Heart She always leads us back to Him who is Our Lord and Savior. So we can say that wherever Mary is there is also the true Devotion to Jesus Christ. While venerating the Blessed Virgin, the faithful usually increased their devotion and reverence to the Eucharist and the Church by and large.

 

A great theologian Hans Urs von Balthasar commented how Mary should inspire each one of us to follow Her example:

“Mary, as the handmaid of the Lord, is in one sense placed on a level with everyone else in the Church. Everyone like Her is handmaiden or servant of God [when we generously and joyfully accept the will of God] – everyone can be <<a mother>> of Jesus who lets the divine Word become flesh in his own body.”  

 

We are all invited to participate in God’s grace. The example and intercession of the Blessed Virgin should encourage us to trust God more, for the more we open our hearts to God, the more Divine love we receive. As Most Holy Mary gave herself totally and unconditionally to God, so we must do it too.

 

May the example of the Blessed Mother inspire many young men and women to follow God wholeheartedly. May Her maternal intercession be effective in our lives so that we too may become humble servants of Her Son and our Lord Jesus Christ.

 

May Christ’s peace be with you. Have a wonderful week!

Fr. Janusz Mocarski, pastor

 

Mensaje del pastor para la celebración de la Pascua 2025

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Queridos hermanos y hermanas,

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From Pastor’s Desk on the Eight Sunday in Ordinary Time, year C

By Anthony Aruanna • March 2, 2025
“Can a blind person guide a blind person? Will not both fall into a pit?” — Our Lord Jesus addresses this question to His disciples trying to tell them that they need to be healed of their spiritual blindness first. In this context blindness is not to believe in Christ and healing means to have faith in Jesus who is the Light of the world. In other words, when we gain our spiritual sight through faith, then we will be able to help others on the way to salvation. Without faith in Jesus we just remain living in the darkness of sin. Without Jesus we are all like blind men bouncing against the walls of reality and against each other. However, when we embrace faith in God in the person of Jesus and let our hearts be set on Christ, then He—the Son of God and Our Lord—becomes our guide. Because of that our every step will be illumined with the light of faith. While putting our faith into action in our daily life we also start bearing good fruits of an authentic and happy life.

Del Escritorio del Párroco en el Octavo Domingo del Tiempo Ordinario, Año C

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“ ¿Puede un ciego guiar a otro ciego? ¿No caerán ambos en un pozo? ” - Nuestro Señor Jesús dirige esta pregunta a sus discípulos tratando de decirles que primero necesitan ser curados de su ceguera espiritual. En este contexto, ceguera significa no creer en Cristo y curación significa tener fe en Jesús, que es la Luz del mundo. En otras palabras, cuando ganemos nuestra vista espiritual a través de la fe, entonces seremos capaces de ayudar a otros en el camino de la salvación. Sin fe en Jesús solo permanecemos viviendo en la oscuridad del pecado. Sin Jesús todos somos como ciegos que rebotan contra las paredes de la realidad y contra los demás. Sin embargo, cuando abrazamos la fe en Dios en la persona de Jesús y dejamos que nuestro corazón se fije en Cristo, entonces Él -el Hijo de Dios y Nuestro Señor- se convierte en nuestro guía. Por eso, cada uno de nuestros pasos estará iluminado por la luz de la fe. Al poner nuestra fe en acción en nuestra vida diaria, también empezamos a dar buenos frutos de una vida auténtica y feliz.

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A menudo la gente nos pregunta a nosotros, los sacerdotes, qué hacer para profundizar en su vida espiritual. A todos se nos ocurren respuestas diferentes y, ciertamente, hay muchos caminos para una mayor vida espiritual. Hay, sin embargo, un método más probado que ha ayudado a muchos cristianos católicos a estar en la vía rápida de la santidad y a comprender mejor la vida espiritual. Es la consagración total al Corazón Inmaculado de María, o como propuso originalmente San Luis Grignon de Montfort allá por el siglo XVII, la Consagración Total a Jesús por María. Después de San Luis hubo muchos otros que siguieron sus pasos. Entre algunos de los santos más conocidos se encuentran el Papa Pío X, San Maximiliano Kolbe y San Juan Pablo II. Estos santos reconocieron que María desempeñó un papel vital en la vida de la Iglesia primitiva y que la Santísima Madre sigue desempeñando un papel importante en la Iglesia de nuestros tiempos.

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Often people ask us, priests, what to do in order to deepen their spiritual life. We all can come up with different answers and there are certainly many ways to greater spiritual life. There is, however, a more proven method that has helped many Christian Catholics to be on the fast track to holiness and to better understanding of spiritual life. It is the total consecration to the Immaculate Heart of Mary, or as originally proposed by Saint Luis Grignon de Montfort back in the XVII century, the Total Consecration to Jesus through Mary. After St. Luis there were many others that followed in his footsteps. Among some of the most known saints were Pope Pius X, St. Maximilian Kolbe, and St. John Paul II. These saints recognized that Mary played a vital role in the life of the early Church and that the Blessed Mother still plays an important role in the Church of our times.

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By Anthony Aruanna • January 26, 2025
Estoy seguro de que todos estamos atónitos y horrorizados por los incendios forestales del sur de California que afectan ya a cientos de miles de sus habitantes. La velocidad y la ferocidad del fuego sólo demuestran lo frágiles que somos como seres humanos individuales y como humanidad en general. Muchos californianos pueden estar dudando de su fe en estos momentos; muchos se plantearán preguntas: ¿Dónde está Dios? ¿Por qué permite Dios catástrofes tan terribles? Ciertamente, muchos de nosotros nos haríamos las mismas preguntas. Si Dios está detrás o no, no lo sabemos. Sin embargo, sí sabemos que vivimos en un mundo creado que tiene su propio ritmo y ciclos que se dan en la naturaleza. Las cosas suceden con y sin interrupción humana. Algunas cosas las podemos controlar (muy poco, de hecho), y muchas otras no. Lo que sí podemos reconocer es que las catástrofes naturales son una forma de llamada a la conversión y a una mayor confianza en Dios. También es una llamada a la acción para hacer la tierra más acogedora, de modo que las personas puedan prosperar en ella.

From pastor’s desk on the 2nd Sunday of Ordinary Time, year C

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I am sure that all of us are stunned and horrified by the wildfires in Southern California impacting now hundreds of thousands of its inhabitants. The speed and ferocity of fire only proves how fragile we are as individual human beings and as humanity by and large. Many Californians may be doubting his or her faith at this moment; many will pose questions: Where is God? Why does God permit such terrible disasters? Certainly, many of us would ask the same questions. Whether God is behind it or not, we do not know. However, we do know that we live in a created world that has its own rhythm and cycles that occur in nature. Things happen with and without human interruption. Some things we can control (very little, in fact), and many things we can’t. What we can recognize is that natural disasters are a form of a call to conversion and to greater trust in God. It is also a call to action to make the earth more hospitable so that people can prosper in it.

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El pasado mes de julio, más de 50.000 católicos se reunieron en Indianápolis con ocasión del 10º Congreso Eucarístico Nacional. Obviamente, el tema central del encuentro fue la Eucaristía. Uno de los principales oradores del Congreso Eucarístico, Monseñor James Shea, dijo: