Before I get carried away in other directions, I want to encourage all of us to the celebrations of the Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Our liturgies here at St. Peter’s will be at 8AM and 7PM on the day itself, August 15.
At the evening Mass we will remember in our prayers most gratefully the deceased members of the Sisters of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Some of you will remember days when the Sisters lived across the street from our current campus and virtually spent their lives serving the needs of our Parish Community, our children and their families in the Parish School. We honor and thank them in our prayers, and pray for the women who continue their ministry as Sisters of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary today.
As we gather this weekend, the Sacred Scriptures continue to invite us to consider ever more deeply and prayerfully the Mystery of Our Lord who chooses to be present to us and with us in the Bread of Life, the Eucharist. The words of Jesus in John’s Gospel make it clear that we must listen to and learn from Divine Wisdom, the very Word from the Father if we hope to accept and find meaning in this truth that exceeds both our expectations and our knowledge, necessarily limited by our humanity. While human experience and knowledge provide the building blocks for our further learning and living, the Mystery we celebrate comes to us from God. We must trust that God will re-direct us if and when we hit a roadblock in our thinking or understanding of this Mystery.
What limitations we might experience are not limitations inherent in God. We are called to be imitators of God. Especially when the love or compassion of which we are capable seems limited, we can feel that God loves of us less, also. But we are called to know in faith that God’s love is for us and within us, without measure, just as God’s Presence on the altar is true, beyond the capacity of human words or knowledge to explain!
Fr. Tom