News - August 2021 RSS Feed

Today, our Gospel readings return to the Gospel of Mark. For the last seven (7) weeks we read from the sixth chapter of the Gospel of John on the discourse of the Bread of Life and on the 15 th of August we celebrated the Assumption of Mary. In the Second Reading today, Saint James tells us to “humbly welcome the word that has been planted in you and is able to save your souls. Be doers of the word and not hearers only…” May each one of us take a few minutes today and reflect on how we are implementing Saint James’ instruction.

The theme for today’s Scripture Readings is fidelity between God and His people. Today, we hear Joshua ask the tribes of Israel which god they will serve. They had other options, for their neighbors worshiped other gods. We have other options as well. We could serve wealth or status or power or pleasure, allowing something else to lead us and drive us in another direction. We come here today, along with our families, friends, neighbors, as a sign of our commitment to serve the living God, to follow Christ, the true Bread of Life, as we journey through life to the life promised us at our baptism.

Today, we celebrate the Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary. The feast of the Assumption was first celebrated near Jerusalem where it is said that Mary rested on her way to Bethlehem. By the end of the fifth century, the feast was celebrated at her tomb in the basilica in Gethsemane. Originally, the feast was called the Dormition, “the falling asleep of Mary.” The word “Assumption” wasn’t used until around 770 A.D. Devotion to Mary grew, but liturgical prayer remained vague until November 1, 1950, when Pope Pius XII, in his apostolic constitution, Munificentissimus Deus, declared the Assumption dogma.

Each year all Catholic church parishes participate in the missionary activity of the Roman Catholic Church. There are three goals of the Missionary Cooperative Plan: a) to educate the people of the Archdiocese regarding the missionary work of Christ, b) to solicit prayers and financial support for the missionaries, and c) to harmonize efforts and guarantee a fair distribution of aid. This year the Diocese of Obala, Cameroon was assigned by Archbishop Aymond for the appeal. As I mentioned earlier, because of the COVID-19 pandemic the missionary for the Diocese of Obala, Cameroon will not be present for the appeal. I will incorporate the appeal message into my homily this weekend. The second collection this weekend will be for the Diocese of Obala, Cameroon.