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HERALD Columnist |
I had only been a parish priest a couple of years on that memorable Feast of the Assumption, Aug. 15. I celebrated one of the morning Masses with the usual extra joy that accompanies holy days. The Church was full, and the faithful were nourished with the Christian hope expressed in the Preface of the Assumption by the words, "Today the virgin Mother of God was taken up into heaven to be the beginning and the pattern of the Church in its perfection ..."(Ps 59).
That particular feast day, one of the parishioners had arranged an "Assumption barbecue." In fact, the dessert was a "Cupcake rosary." The freshly made cupcakes were arranged on the table in the form of a rosary. The "Our Father" beads had white frosting; the "Hail Mary" beads had chocolate frosting. The children arranged them beautifully.
But walking on my way over to the barbecue, I noticed the traffic was backed up. Someone came up to me and said that a priest was needed, and I found out that a woman had been hit by a car. I ran over to the scene, and her body was right in the middle of the street, motionless and covered with a blanket. I anointed and absolved her. Later she died. Her two young children had no father. I celebrated the funeral Mass some days later, having informed the parish of what had happened.
The Church was filled with parishioners, who
had compassion on these children who now felt so alone. The faith and hope
in the Church was just like it had been a few days before, on the Feast
of the Assumption. The words of the
Preface again spoke to us of Mary as "...a sign of hope and comfort for
your people on their pilgrim way."
In my homily, I said that when I saw Brenda's body on the road, I did not see only her. I saw Christ. Where is He in our suffering? He is there, right there in the midst of it. He does not merely watch us suffer. He jumps into our suffering...and into our death. We, then, like Mary, can jump into His life, into His glory.
The Assumption is not only about Mary; it's about us. Mary has a unique privilege. Being the Mother of God, she was taken at once into glory upon the completion of her earthly life. Yet the entire Church is the Body of Christ. As we pray on the Ascension, "where He has gone, we hope to follow" (Preface of the Ascension, P26).
We, too, are called to share an everlasting life, in body and soul, in the company of Christ and all who are saved. "I will raise him up on the last day" (Jn 6:54). The tragedy of that woman on the street finds its answer in the woman in the heavens. The tragedy of the baby discarded by abortion finds its answer in the Mother of Life. How we need the Assumption.
Father Pavone is the International Director of Priests for Life
and an official at the Vatican’s Council for the Family.
Contact Priests for Life at P.O. Box 141172, Staten Island, N.Y. 10314, Tel. 888 1PFL-3448, fax 718-980-6515, email pfl@priestsforlife.org, web site http://www.priestsforlife.org/.
Copyright ©1999 Arlington Catholic Herald, Inc. All rights reserved.
This article was published in the Arlington
Catholic Herald,
200 N. Glebe Rd., Suite 607, Arlington, VA 22203; Vol 24, No 31,
dated August 5, 1999, on page 5.
.
E-mail:
letters@catholicherald.com
Fax: 703/524-2782;
Editorial: 703/841-2590;
Advertising: 703/841-2594;
Circulation: 703/841-2565
A note from the Web Master:
It is noteworthy and honorable that some folks are willing to stand up for a ban on Partial-Birth Abortion. Let us not forget that ordinary everyday run of the mill abortion is also murder. We must understand that murder is murder no matter the method. Because one method of abortion seems to be horrible does not make the other methods less so. We should be horrified and sickened by any abortion regardless of the method. The Fifth Commandment spells it out clearly:
"Thou shalt not kill."
A fetus is a person, a human being with a God given soul. Imagine the pain the Lord must feel when any abortion occurs. Please contact both of your Senators and Representative, via letter or phone, to let them know how horrified you are that abortions are legal and to stop Partial-Birth abortions and all other abortions as soon as possible.
(It has become apparent that they do not respond to
email therefore you will have more of an impact by writing or telephoning.)
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