Four Blessings

This year I received four blessings on the Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary. My first blessing came from Father Jim’s sermon, which focused my thoughts on the  hope and new life which we find in “God’s true presence in the Eucharist”.

After his homily, I received my second blessing. We heard from our own parishioner and former youth minister, Ben Schumann. He encouraged us by saying, “We are all pilgrims on a journey of faith” and that we belong to a “pilgrim church”. He then gave us short highlights and reflections from his family’s past seven-year journey as missionaries in Mexico. I was touched and moved by Ben and his wife Natalia’s, story of being blessed as pilgrims serving the poorest of the poor in Mexico and their belief that we can show reverence to the Lord by consecrating ourselves to Mother Mary and to St. Joseph.

“Devotion to St. Joseph is one of the choicest graces that God can give to a soul. For it is tantamount to revealing the entire treasury of our Lord’s graces.  When God wishes to raise a soul to greater heights, he unites it to St Joseph by giving it a strong love for the good saint.”

~St. Peter Julian Eymard

That afternoon, the Knights of Columbus blessed me a third time. We prayed a rosary for the Solemnity of the Assumption of Mary. Along with twenty of my fellow parishioners, I was moved by the peaceful recitation of the Rosary of Our Lady.

Finally, Chris Massarotti gave me my fourth blessing of the day. He presented a video about the construction of the 90-foot statue of Our Lady of the Rockies in Butte, MT. The builders faced many challenges in the construction of the statue, but God miraculously intervened in marvelous ways every time they thought they were defeated. The continued perseverance in prayer and trust by all those involved in its building were truly inspiring. 

I thank the Lord for so many blessings in one day.