Praised be Jesus Christ!

Renew Your Love for Our Lady. With our hearts focused on the Heart of Jesus during the month of August, the Church invites us to renew our love and devotion to Our Lady. Mary, the Mother of Jesus and thus the Mother of God, is a totally perfect example of how to respond to the will of the Lord. In her example of discipleship, we find strength and hope, peace, and joy.

This month we celebrate The Queenship of Mary and the Assumption. August is not usually considered by many, if not most, a ‘Marian’ month but it is a month rich with opportunity to consider and treasure Mary. August is the month we consider and celebrate the Assumption of Mary into heaven, we celebrate the Queenship of Mary over heaven and earth, we remember titles of Mary such as Our Lady of Czestochowa or as she is often called the ‘Black Madonna’. 

In considering such events as the Assumption and the Coronation of Mary as Queen we not only remember the mysteries of the Rosary but also the centrality of Jesus in the life of our mother and queen. Mary was pulled into heaven by her son, Jesus who is the Christ. She is crowned as queen of heaven and earth because it is her son, once again Jesus, who is King. 

When we consider our own lives in the light of the Lord Jesus and the life of His mother Mary we find a powerful intimacy with everything that is holy and sacred. In the great love that God the Almighty has for each of us Jesus takes flesh, he takes upon Himself our humanity. We call this undeniable manifestation of God’s love in reality the Incarnation. While we as Catholic Christians treasure this Truth, we also are given the invitation to appreciate the significance of the family in God’s love. In taking upon Himself flesh, our human nature, Jesus has a mother and a foster father, He has a home, He has a story that is to say He has a life story. 

If Life Matters then the Family must be protected. Any effort to denigrate or destroy the family is a direct assault against the plan of salvation. The reality of the nuclear family is not a threat to civilization but rather the foundation of true civilization. If Life matters then the Family must be protected and treasured for God Himself entered into the world by first coming to the Family. This Family has a mother and a father and an openness to the will of the Lord.

Stay Focused on Jesus’ Sacred Heart. Regardless of what may be in front of us or even all around us, during this month of August may we each stay focused on Jesus’ Sacred Heart, aflame with an all-forgiving love for each of us. Staying focused on His Heart may we appreciate the example and tender love of the woman who teaches us so well how to stay focused on and full of Trust in the presence of Jesus dwelling among us in His most Sacred Heart.

May the Heart of Jesus and the Motherhood of Mary be a great source of strength and consolation during this month of August and forever.

In Jesus and Mary,

Fr Stash Dailey