REV. FR. CHANDRA ERY

CATHOLIC LAKES CLUSTER

My dear beloved Parishioners,
 
Grace and peace be with you in this new month of August.
 
As we enter this blessed month, Mother Church invites us to lift our eyes from the dust of this earth to the glory of heaven. For the month of August is Mary's month. At its heart is the great Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary into Heaven.
 
August is not just another month. It is a school of hope.
 
In a world filled with fear, war, sickness, economic hardship, and broken families, many ask: Is there hope? Will goodness win at the end? The Assumption answers us with a loud YES.
 
What do we celebrate on the Assumption?
 
On November 1, 1950, Pope Pius XII declared as dogma that: "The Immaculate Mother of God, the ever Virgin Mary, having completed the course of her earthly life, was assumed body and soul into heavenly glory."
 
Note this well, dear friends:
Mary did not ascend by her own power like Jesus. Jesus ASCENDED. Mary was ASSUMED — she was taken up by God. It is God’s final honor to the woman who said YES at Nazareth.
 
Why body and soul? Because Mary never knew sin. Her womb was the first tabernacle. Her body carried Christ, fed Christ, and embraced Christ. It was fitting that such a body would not see corruption. Where Jesus went, Mary follows — body and soul.
 
What does the Assumption teach us, her children?
 
It teaches us our destiny.
Mary is not an exception. She is the first-fruit. She is what we shall become. As we hear in the second reading for that feast from 1 Corinthians 15: "Christ has been raised, the first-fruits of all who have fallen asleep." Mary shows us where we are going. Heaven is real. Our bodies are sacred. We are made for glory, not for the grave.
 
It teaches us the dignity of our body.
In a time when bodies are abused through impurity, drugs, alcohol, and violence, the Assumption reminds us: Your body is meant for heaven. St. Paul says, "Your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit." Let us keep it pure.
 
It teaches us to say YES like Mary.
Mary’s Assumption began at the Annunciation. Because she said, "Be it done to me according to your word" on earth, God said "Come, reign with me" in heaven. Every small YES to God now is a step towards our own assumption.
 
My Pastoral Appeal for this Month:
 
Family Rosary: I invite every family in our Cluster to pray the Rosary daily in this month. Let no home go to bed without honoring our Mother.
 
Let us entrust our Parishes, our families, our youth, and our country to her Immaculate Heart. May she who was assumed into heaven intercede for us who still journey on earth.
 
I entrust you all to Jesus through Mary.
 
HAPPY MONTH OF AUGUST!
 
Yours in Christ,
Rev. Fr. Chandra Ery