Dear friends in Christ

This weekend we are celebrating the Assumption of Mary into Heaven. Normally celebrated on 15th August, this year it gets moved to the nearest Sunday. I am personally very happy that I shall get to celebrate this lovely feast in Lourdes on Monday together with our Bishop and hundreds of pilgrims from our Diocese, including twenty-five of our Parish Family. I shall offer Holy Mass for the intentions of the Parish whilst there and, it goes without saying, I shall keep you and all your special intentions in my Masses and Rosaries during the days we are in Lourdes. I always feel very privileged to be able to visit Lourdes, not just because our Parish is under the special patronage of Our Lady, but because it is always such a boost to the spiritual life.

This great Solemnity of Mary’s Assumption into Heaven reminds us of the great truth we hold: God loved His Mother so much that at the end of her earthly life He took her body and soul into the glory of Heaven. In other words, He did not allow her body to experience the normal process that follows-on from death. Why? It was not just because she was His Mother, but also because she had been preserved from all stain of sin, especially Original Sin, from the first moment of her conception. For this reason the Church has great cause to celebrate this Day each year as we recall that Mary awaits us and beckons us onwards and upwards to live the life of the Blessed Trinity that she now experiences in Heaven, ahead of us. God bless you and keep you all!

Msgr Kevin Hale