Dear Friends,
I am writing this on the solemn feast of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary. A feast of great hope and encouragement for all of us. Where our Lady has gone in both body and soul, we look forward to following her.
Magnificat publication sends me emails on a regular basis about many things as I am a subscriber. I know that many of you are as well. Today, they sent this beautiful reflection, a quote from Saint John Paul II which I am enclosing here ~
"Mary...is a consoling sign of our hope. In looking to her, carried up amid the rejoicing of the angelic hosts, the whole of human life, marked by lights and shadows, is opened to the perspective of eternal happiness. If our experience of daily life allows us to feel tangibly that our earthly pilgrimage is under the sign of uncertainty and strife, the Virgin assumed into heavenly glory assures us that we will never lack divine help....
Today a great sign appears for us in heaven: the Virgin Mother! The sacred author of the Book of the Apocalypse speaks of her.... What an extraordinary miracle meets our astonished eyes! Used to looking at earthly realities, we are invited to lift our gaze: to heaven, which is our definitive homeland, where the Blessed Virgin awaits us....
Mary's Assumption is an event that concerns us precisely because every human being is destined to die. But death is not the last word. Death - the mystery of the Virgin's Assumption assures us - is the passage to life, the encounter with Love. It is the passage to the eternal happiness in store for those who toil for truth and justice and do their utmost to follow Christ....
In Mary the promise is fulfilled: the Mother is blessed and we her children will be blessed if, like her, we listen to and put into practice the Lord's words.
May we walk in the footsteps of Mary’s surrender and humble service, confident and unafraid in facing the troubles of this world, lifting our gaze to heaven, our ultimate destiny and homeland. “O Mary, conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to thee!”
God bless you, God love you,
Monsignor McCulken
