This weekend, we remember the Assumption of Our Lady, the mother of the Savior, the mother of his Church. You cannot look to the Lord Jesus without including in your gaze, his mother and her husband Joseph. Joseph and Mary accepted the will of God and the law of God, and Jesus grew up a devout Jew, with the Torah to guide him. His mother cherished every moment of her time with her son, and carried all in her heart. At the Assumption, we proclaim the Church's teaching that at the end of her life on earth, Mary was taken up to the mystery of the Kingdom, God's heaven. There, she prays for us, that we will do whatever he tells you (John 2.5).
And as a member of SJN and as your pastor, I believe that we are being obedient to the Lord Jesus. Within a month to six weeks, Catholic Charities will begin serving the needs of the community, using our re-furbished Neumann Center as their regional office. This office will serve all, with a special regard for the poorest of the poor. In this, we are remembering the Word of Jesus: whatever you do for the least ones, you do for me (Matthew 25.40). We care for the least ones close to us, in our cooperation with the St. Vincent de Paul Society. Members of the SJN family help staff the SVDP thrift store on Lawrenceville Highway. In all of this... the partnership with Catholic Charities... all of our work with SVDP... the outreach ministries... we are following Our Lady's word, and following her son in obedience.
The design and art of the new worship space is also a sign of our obedience to the Lord. Our parish church reflects the heart of our Catholic faith: that Christ Jesus is the Redeemer that all of humanity longs for; that Christ Jesus has called us to enter his life, as braches of the Vine; that Christ Jesus gives us this life in the sacred vocation of baptism.
Look at the design of the new worship space: you enter from the plaza or lower level, and you find yourself at the sign of our new life, the baptismal font. Stand with your back to the plaza, right in front of the font, and tell me what you see? You peer down the aisle, to see the Crucifix, the sign of his passion (his obedience to God) and the Altar that allows us to participate in his redemptive love. This same Altar serves as our table of fellowship, our participation in the community that the Lord desired to establish... until the Kingdom is in full blossom. Look at the back wall: you see the shape of a chalice and in the middle of that chalice, the Crucifix, his body. The art and architecture saying Eucharist!
In and through baptism, you and I are called to live Jesus Christ... to live holy lives, here and now... imitating his willingness to give himself away for love. The art and architecture of the new worship space manifests this Christ-centered faith that is the Roman Catholic Church. After baptism, after receiving this absolute gift of God, we begin a pilgrimage of faith. This is what the center aisle represents, our pilgrimage with the Spirit. The Crucifix and the tables of Word (ambo) and Sacrament (Altar) are the heart of worship; we do not simply worship and adore: we worship and adore... then... we leave the sacred space to re-enter the world... to bring the light and love of the Lord to all we meet. We are called to leave our new worship space each Sunday and do whatever he tells you.
On this feast day of the Assumption, let us ask the Mother of the Lord Jesus to pray for us, that we may give ourselves to her son, in obedience to his Way of Life. When you're in Church, stop by the image of Our Lady of Guadalupe, the Mother of the Americas. Light a candle in prayer, asking that we be given the strength to live Jesus Christ.
Msgr. David Talley
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