A reflection on the Solemnity of the Assumption of Mary, recorded after mass in the friary on 31st Street in Manhattan, NY.
I spent many summers growing up as a kid, wasting the days away with my cousins playing make-believe or running through sprinklers in our grandparents' backyard. To this day my cousins are still some of my closest friends. Maybe you have a family member or a friend that, no matter how much time you've spent apart, it always feels natural and good to be back in their presence once again.
I think Mary found that friend in her cousin Elizabeth. I have to imagine that Mary was at least a little nervous about what was going to happen to her, what her future might look like, or how people might judge her. But in our gospel, Elizabeth welcomes and affirms her cousin Mary, and the two friends spend 3 months caring for each other and building each other.
Our gospel encourages us to remember those people in our lives who nourish us, who bring out our best, and challenge us to be that affirming presence for one another so that we can live up to the gospel's call to "lift up the lowly... and fill them with good things."
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