Saturday, February 28th
To complete today's challenge, find time to prayerfully read through the reflections below, attend a recovery meeting, and share what's on your heart and mind on today's discussion board.
REFLECT
Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary
Today is a major feast day, and the Church celebrates the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary into heaven. In centuries past, Catholics would have prepared for this day with a kind of mini-Lent, and the day itself would have been met with great rejoicing.
The Bible gives an example of something like Mary’s Assumption when the prophet Elijah “went up by a whirlwind into heaven” (2 Kings 2:11). Mary was taken up to heaven, body and soul, and from this we learn about the integrity of the human person. Our body is not just a shell or something unessential to be discarded. Having the perfection of all virtues, the Blessed Virgin merited the grace that her body would not decay in death but would be transformed.
As addicts ourselves, we have abused our bodies. When the body craved addictive pleasure, we surrendered everything to please it but in doing so, we damaged both body and soul. In recovery, we have learned that God gave us our bodies as a gift to be cared for. That is, the body is not to be given over to excess or indulgence but to be both listened to (when we’re hungry, angry, tired, and lonely, for instance) and disciplined when beset with disordered desires.
Caring for our body starts with the discipline of prayer, asking God’s grace for healing and strength. Then we can watch our diet with healthy nutrition, get appropriate exercise, and avoid excessive stress or overwork as well as make sure we receive the right amount of rest. We also must be willing to subject our bodies to the discomfort of resisted impulses.
Mary’s perfection of love was a sacrifice that left no attachments on earth. Her entire purpose was to be united with Jesus once again. From heaven, her love spills over back down to earth for all of us, her children. She was established by God, from the very beginning (as we read in the book of Genesis) to be at enmity with Satan. In the last book of the Bible, she appears again: “a woman clothed with the sun” (Revelation 12:1). She is our great protector against evil.
We may ask ourselves with Saint Elizabeth, “who are we that the mother of the Lord should care about us?” But she does truly care. The great Mother of God herself is simple and lowly. She is a mother who knows the guilt, shame, and fear that recovering addicts face and she does not judge or condemn us. And as we follow her son, Jesus, we too will have our own assumption. While our body stays behind for a while, our soul will be taken up to join the Blessed Trinity and all the heavenly host.
Reflection Questions
- How has Mary been a part of your recovery journey? How can you integrate a devotion to her more fully into your recovery today?
- In what ways have you improved the care of your body as a result of sober living?
Daily Mass Readings
First Reading: Revelation 11:19A; 12:1-6A, 10AB
Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 45:10, 11, 12, 16
Second Reading: 1 Corinthians 15:20-27
Gospel: Luke 1:39-56
Reflection by Bill B.
The Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary
“The Most Blessed Virgin Mary, when the course of her earthly life was completed, was taken up body and soul into the glory of heaven, where she already shares in the glory of her Son’s Resurrection, anticipating the resurrection of all members of his Body” (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 974) — .
“In this magnificent way all may see clearly to what a lofty goal our bodies and souls are destined. Finally it is our hope that belief in Mary’s bodily Assumption into heaven will make our belief in our own resurrection stronger and render it more effective” (Pope Venerable Pius XII, Apostolic Constitution, “Munificentissimus Deus,” defining the dogma of the Assumption on November 1, 1950). The Assumption points to the dignity of every human body and the glory every human is made for. Do we treat our bodies as temples of the Holy Spirit? Do we revere that in others?
“Do you not know that your body is a temple of the holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own? For you have been purchased at a price. Therefore, glorify God in your body” (1 Corinthians 6:19-20).
Reflection by Brad Farmer
Other Saints
Discuss
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I will be serving God and the needy in our surrounding area today through my volunteer work at our parish food pantry which I enjoy doing every Saturday. The "enemy" that I pray for are all those people in AA who are so upset with the catholic faith, and in a few cases Catholics. I believe that until they can overcome those feelings that will never be fully recovered and I find that very sad which is why I am praying daily for them.