What a wonderful reflection!
“So often I feel like I’m on a rock, battered by all sides by rising waves. The only escape route is heavenward. For an hour or a day, I let the waves beat upon the rock and look up towards God.” – Alberto Hurtado, founder of Hogar de Cristo
“If we really want to love, we must learn how to forgive.”
– St. Mother Teresa of Calcutta
Today is the Assumption. I have a little trick for school Mass to show the difference between the ascension and the assumption. Two balloons. The Ascension of Jesus is represented by a Superman balloon with helium. By his own power, Jesus (the ultimate superman) goes up. That’s the ascension. Now Mary is a blue balloon, no helium, attached to the string of the Jesus balloon. Mary goes up by the power of Christ. She is assumed into heaven, body and soul. Now Mary is closer to us than Jesus. Many find her a bit more accessible, easier to reach. The beauty is, we can reach Jesus through her. We attach ourselves to her, and she brings us up to Jesus. She directs us. She raises us up.
Today we hear all about the glory of the Lord. Ezekiel has a great vision of God’s glory. It is quite interesting. The psalmist says “Heaven and earth are filled with your glory.” And the Gospel is Jesus telling of that moment of great Glory when he will rise from the dead. “Glory” is defined as “magnificence or great beauty.” The challenge for us is to keep our eyes out for this glory. We must look for God’s magnificence and great beauty. And respond to it well.
“To put into practice the teachings of our holy faith, it is not enough to convince ourselves that they are true; we must love them. Love united to faith makes us practice our religion.” – St. Alphonsus Liguori
“To convert somebody, go and take them by the hand and guide them.”
— St. Thomas Aquinas
