Assumed

“The queen stands at your right hand, arrayed in gold.”

Psalm 45:10bc

Mary was assumed into heaven, body and soul. That is the teaching of the Church, it is a dogma that is to be held and believed. When Mary completed her earthly life, we believe that God brought her into heaven. There is no official Church teaching on whether Mary suffered death, but in the Eastern Church, this feast is known as the “Dormition of the Mother of God.” Mary fell asleep and was taken up into heaven. What’s important here, to me, is not whether Mary “died” or “fell asleep” or some other event, but rather the fact here that Mary was taken up by God. Notice when we refer to Jesus, He ascended into Heaven (active), but when it comes to Mary, she was assumed into Heaven (passive). Mary’s life shows us the importance of receiving and allowing God to work in us and through us.

From the very beginning of Mary’s life (and our lives) she allowed others and God to take care of her, help her, teach her, and work in and through her. Fast forward to when we hear about her in the Gospels, Mary’s life there too was one of submission and obedience, “Be it done to me according to Your word…” Then the first thing she did after this was go to Elizabeth. Only after listening to God and His word did she go forth. We ought to do the same. Mary remains silent throughout most of the Gospels, but that does not mean she was just sitting there doing nothing. Perhaps this silence is a model of receptivity for us, to listen and to be still. For it is only by that are we able to really do anything well.

So, today on this Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary may we come to learn from Mary the great importance of receptivity and listening in our lives as Christian disciples so that at the end of our earthly pilgrimage, we too may fall asleep in the loving embrace of the Lord and be brought into the heavenly kingdom in which Jesus promised He has gone to prepare a place for us. Let us listen so that we may be encouraged, and in our encouragement may we go forth and do the good works God has asked of us.

Be Patient with Me

"Be patient with me." Those were the words the servant used to plead with his king when he was about to be sold along with his family and possessions in the Gospel (Mt. 18:21-35). We are told that "moved with compassion the master of that servant let him go and forgave him." Compassion. Patience. Forgiveness. When the servant asked for patience, he received forgiveness.

Both the words compassion and patience find their roots in Latin meaning to "suffer." To be compassionate is to "suffer with" and to be patient is to "suffer" in some way in our own person. Someone who is compassionate is able to empathize and sympathize with others, and someone who is patient is able to recognize the shortcomings of one's self and of others and so act and make decisions with that knowledge. Forgiveness occurs when that recognition and realization propels us to reflect on how we have been shown compassion and the times when we have been treated with patience. With compassion, patience, and forgiveness the human heart is touched and obstacles removed.

The king saw how earnestly his servant begged him and perhaps felt the pain and the suffering and even the frustration and shame he must have been experiencing. Seeing that this man was sorry and wanted to do better not just for himself but for his family, the king showed mercy, was moved with compassion and bore patiently with him and forgave him of his debts. In his ignorance, the servant asked for more time so that he can repay the debt, but this debt was larger than any among he could ever earn in his lifetime. What the king gave to the servant was not patience, but forgiveness. However, when it was time for him to do the same, the forgiven servant failed to act with compassion and patience.

After being forgiven the servant himself saw someone on then streets that owed him something. But when that person pleaded with him saying, "please be patient with me," the forgiven servant ignored him and threw him in prison instead. The king found out about this and "handed him over to the torturers."

We are told that we ought to forgive others because God forgives us. Forgiveness is not just something that is received. It must be given too. When we reflect on our own lives, how often have we asked for forgiveness and it was granted to us? And, how often have others begged us for forgiveness and we have denied it? Our God and Father is the model of how we ought to forgive. When we think about all of the sins and wrongs we have committed, big or small, and reflect upon how when we sought God's forgiveness it was given to us without any conditions (other than to be sorry), shouldn't that move us to forgive others? To us it seems like sometimes certain people do not deserve our forgiveness, but forgiveness isn't given because someone deserves it. If we only gave things to people because they deserved it, where is the compassion and patience in that? We give because we do not need to. We give because our hearts move us to do so.

In the same way there is nothing we can ever do to justly earn forgiveness from God or from others. God forgives out of love, and we ought to do the same. God does not withhold His mercy from us until we have repaid everything because if that's the case, we would never be forgiven. However, we are told in today's Gospel that if we do not forgive others just as the Father forgives us, neither will we be forgiven.

Let us bear patiently with one another, treat one another with compassion, and allow God to move our hearts and turn our hearts into hearts of love so that we can give to others the gift that He so generously gives to us: forgiveness. Let us to remember that God knows all that we need and all that our hearts desire. Oftentimes we may ask for one thing, but in turn God gives us something so much better, something that goes beyond our imagining. Today let us meditate and give thanks for the forgiveness we have received and ask the Lord for the grace to forgive others as well as ask the Lord for a open heart to receive all that He wishes to give to us, even those we dare not ask.

Just Planting

“The LORD then said to him,

‘This is the land
which I swore to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob
that I would give to their descendants.
I have let you feast your eyes upon it, but you shall not cross over.’”

Deuteronomy 34:4

Imagine working very hard on a project but then at the end not being able to present it. How would you feel? That is what happened to Moses. Moses followed the instructions of the Lord and led the Israelites out of slavery from Egypt. He led them through the wilderness and to the Promised Land. However, before Moses’ death, God brought Moses to a high plain and showed him the Promised Land, the land for which they have traveled so long. But God gave Moses some shocking news: “I have let you see it, but you yourself will not cross over to it.” Some may speculate why that was the case. Did Moses do something wrong, etc. That is not the important thing here. Moses understood something that maybe we do not. Moses knew that this Promised Land did not belong to him or the Israelites. The land has always been a gift from God. These were God’s People. Moses was only an instrument, a trusted instrument that God chose to use to communicate His love and mercy. And so, Moses did not question or bargain with God about this decision. He knew it was part of God’s plan. Sometimes what we have been asked to do is only to prepare for something but not really see it to its completion.

We are asked to plant seeds. Sometimes these seeds take a long time to sprout and grow. Those who have planted them may never see its growth. Think about the trees. They must have taken a long time to grow. It is likely that those who planted them were never able to see them in their magnificence as we are able to today or were able to enjoy the shade that its leaves provide. But that didn’t stop them from planting the seed, watering it, fertilizing it, and caring for it. We have been asked to plant seeds and to tend to them. Whether or when it bears fruit is not up to us. I know it is difficult because we have a natural inclination to become attached to things and situations and peoples, but we must remember, “They are God’s.” God will take care of them and we can only do what we have been asked and are able to do.

Moses was asked to lead the Israelites out of Egypt, cross the Red Sea, go through the wilderness and to the Promised Land. That he did, and he did well. Moses was never to cross into the Promised Land, but that didn’t mean he failed or that his life was wasted because if Moses had not done what he was asked to do, Joshua would never have been able to lead them into the Promised Land. The result and the end is not the important thing; what is important is that we do each task well, because if each task is not done well, the result may never come.

St. Clare, who we remember today, I think lived that well. She fought very hard to maintain the Franciscan rule of life when others were trying to pressure her and her sisters to follow other rules of life, and she was devoted to the Blessed Sacrament. When a bunch of soldiers came to attack Assisi, St. Clare took the monstrance with the Blessed Sacrament and brought it to a wall where the soldiers could see it. She prayed, “O Lord, protect these Sisters whom I cannot protect now” and she heard a voice saying “I will keep them always in My care.” Upon seeing this, the soldiers fled in fear without harming any one of those in Assisi. Like Moses, Clare knew that the Sisters were the Lord’s and that she had only been entrusted with the task of living with them, leading them, guiding them, but ultimately she knew that it was God who could save them.

Even if in your life right now, things do not seem to be as you had hoped, do not give up. The fruits, whatever they may be, are there, but whether we see them is up to God. Have faith that all that you do, not matter how little or trivial, is building up the Kingdom. And every little thing that you do glorifies God — even looking up and saying, “I don’t know what’s going on, Lord, but I trust in You.”