Dear Parishioners,

As we celebrate both the Ascension of Our Lord and Mother’s Day, I wanted to reflect on the experience of the Blessed Virgin Mary at the Ascension. This is especially appropriate because this is the Month of Mary. Mary only appears in a few passages in the Scriptures. However, each of her appearances are profound and greatly affects our Catholic Spirituality because each time we see her we see her being asked to do the hardest thing any mother can do: give up her life for her Son.

At the Annunciation of Our Lord by the Angel Gabriel (Luke 1:26-38) we see that she accepts the angel’s message even though she does not see how it is possible for her to conceive. She confirms that message at the Visitation (Luke 1:39-45) by traveling a long distance to see her cousin Elizabeth and rejoices to see that it is all true. This confidence was further confirmed at the Nativity and bearing the witness of the Wise Men (Matthew 2:1-12) and shepherds (Luke 2:15-20) that this child is special. After all this confirmation in the faith, she then experiences the challenge of knowing that her son will suffer. For at the Presentation at the Temple (Luke 2:22-38) she is told that He will suffer and a sword will pierce her heart too. We see her cooperate with this destiny at the Wedding of Cana (John 2:1-12) where she asks Our Lord to do His first public miracle. This is the first public sign that Jesus does and he tells her about His hour which is a prediction of His death. All of this is fulfilled at His Crucifixion at which she is present. (John 19:25-27) We see throughout these scriptural events that she is asked to give of herself more and more. It must have been harder on her than anyone else to see her son suffer since she loved Him more than anyone else does.

As we turn to the Ascension, we do not hear how the Blessed Mother reacts. I imagine that she would open the same wounds over again. She is losing Him for the rest of her life. But we also know she was prepared for this moment by all the little deaths she suffered along the way and that she trusts in God more than anything else. No other woman is as good as the Blessed Virgin Mary and no other woman was asked to sacrifice more than her. That is why she is also called Our Lady of Sorrows.

Every time a mother is asked to sacrifice for the sake of their children, they are reflecting the love of the Blessed Mother and it is a beautiful thing. So, I thank all the mothers out there who sacrificed for their children. As our Lord reminded us in last week’s Gospel, “No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.” (John 15:13)

God Bless!

Fr. Carter

P.S. On June 2nd at the Noon Mass, we are having another Eucharistic Procession. Please stay tuned for more details.