Pope Francis offered this reflection on this beautiful feast of Mary:

“When Neil Armstrong first set foot on the moon, he said a phrase that became famous: “That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind”. Humanity had reached a historic new goal. But today, in Mary’s Assumption into Heaven, we celebrate an infinitely greater conquest. The Madonna has set foot in paradise: she went there not only in spirit, but with her body as well, with all of herself. This step of the lowly Virgin of Nazareth was a huge leap forward for humanity. Going to the moon serves us little if we do not live as brothers and sisters on Earth. But that one of us dwells in the flesh in Heaven gives us hope: we understand that we are precious, destined to rise again. God does not allow our bodies to vanish into nothing. With God, nothing is lost! In Mary, the goal has been reached and we have before our eyes the reasons why we journey: not to gain the things here below, which vanish, but to achieve the homeland above, which is forever. And Our Lady is the star, the moon that guides us. She went there first.”

Today we celebrate Mary’s Assumption into heaven at the end of her earthly life as a sign of hope for us all – hope of God’s desire that we too one day will join her in heaven. But also Mary embodies the radical hope and thirst for justice of all the powerless & oppressed here on earth – going to heaven begins with building God’s kingdom here on earth. In her Magnificat, which we hear in today’s Gospel, Mary voices God’s opposition to tyranny & injustice, and how he will humble the powers that brutalise & dehumanise his people. Mary is not a silent, passive woman - she hungers for a new justice on earth, reflecting the justice of God. So Mary is with us in all the human struggles we see in the world today such as crippling poverty, racism, ecological chaos, the dehumanisation of refugees... She has not left us behind but, as our heavenly Mother, is with us in our ongoing spiritual battles.



With blessings & prayers from Fr Richard, Fr Ephrem & all the parish team
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