August 15, 2012 – Job 9


I had a couple of thoughts that have nothing to do with the reading today (I haven’t read it yet) but that I had while I was at Mass today. Today, Catholics celebrate the Assumption of Mary into Heaven. I am not going into the teaching on that, but that is why I was at Mass. I am in Chicago for a conference and went to St. Peter’s in Downtown Chicago. One thing I thought of was how much peace I got just walking into the Church. You are walking down the street, Madison in this case, surrounded by skyscrapers and traffic and then you step into the church and there was a sense of peace. It was something that I really felt more than I can describe in words.

The second thought I had was brought up during the priest homily. He was talking about Mary after Christ Ascension into Heaven. I don’t think it was what he was really trying to point out, but he mentioned Mary receiving strength from the Sacraments while she was still on Earth. That got me thinking about Mary receiving the Eucharist. What must that have been like for Mary. Mary carried Christ in her womb for 9 months. Her receiving the Eucharist would be her bringing Christ back into her body in a very special way. With her belief, her faith, her connection with Christ, her receiving the Eucharist must have been an extraordinary event. I would venture to say that she would fully feel Christ inside her until the Eucharist would be completely dissolved and Christ was no longer present in that way (usually about 10 minutes). And we know that she spent time with the Apostles and she would have helped them realize and understand the Eucharist actuality and strengthened their belief, especially John because of the time spent with him. I just thought that was something we could reflect on this day we celebrate God bringing Mary up to Heaven to be with Him for all eternity.