We get a glimpse of Mary as a young woman full of joy, hope and happiness, setting out in haste over the hill country to visit her cousin Elizabeth. Both women had great news to share. Their conversation was an outpouring of joy. Mary experienced happy times but she was not spared any of the trials of a mother rearing her child. There were many things in life she did not understand, much that she found painful to accept and still through all, not knowing what lay before her, Mary never took back the "Yes" she had answered to the angel. Jesus was always the centre of her existence.

Mary, having completed her earthly pilgrimage, was assumed, body and soul into heavenly glory. It was the final crowning grace of her relationship with God. Mary's Assumption reinforces hope in our own future because she points forward to our final homecoming. Where she has gone we hope to follow. This feast is a reminder that the joys of eternal life are what God wishes to share with us all. Our chief concern in the meantime is to become more like Jesus by allowing our lives to be influenced by Mary, who has so much to teach us about her son.

Stay safe and well!

Fr. Arsenio