Responding to God | Our Lady, Assumed into Heaven
Last week, as part of a vocations retreat, I was invited to give a conference to about 25 young men in the Diocese of Madison. The retreat entitled, “Forming a Masculine Heart”, was aimed at 6–9th grade boys. The topic of my conference was, “Responsibility vs. Cowardice”. The main objective of my discussion was to encourage the young men to begin exercising responsibility over their own lives, their family and friends, as well as the Church. Above all, my goal was to emphasize to the young men that their responsibility before God was to respond to Him and to not cower in fear as challenges arise throughout their lives.
No matter the circumstances, we are all responsible for responding to God. Our Lord is perpetually showering graces upon us. These graces, of God’s love for us, require our response. In essence, this is the entire purpose of the Holy Mass. God presents Himself to us upon the Altar each day and we respond with adoration and thanksgiving. In this act of response toward God we enter into the Divine Life of the Holy Trinity.
In the history of the Church and of all salvation history, there has only been one person who has ever responded to God in a completely perfect way. This person is none other than the Great Mother of God, Mary Most Holy. Saturday, we celebrate the Solemnity of Mary’s Assumption into Heaven. This great feast day of Our Lady illuminates for us the perfect reward for a soul who perfectly responds to the love of God.
Mary’s Assumption into Heaven charts the course for us and our pilgrimage toward our Heavenly homeland. Being assumed into Heaven is the goal of every Christian life. At the Resurrection of the Dead, we will be raised to glory with Our Heavenly King. Our Lady has gone before us, in the most perfect way, never needing to suffer the torments of an earthly tomb. She has shown us the way to our Heavenly destiny and walks with us each day as Our Mother and Greatest Advocate.
As we all continue to strive for responding to God’s grace each day, let us call upon the Queen of Heaven to help us. She has already done it perfectly and She continuously desires to draw us closer to Her Divine Son, the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. Our Lady, Assumed into Heaven, Pray for Us.