My family and I went to church last Friday to celebrate the feast of the Assumption of Mary, a holyday of obligation in England and Wales. The church wasn't jam packed, but the atmosphere was solemn.
As we sung the final hymn, I was touched with these lines:
All I have I give you,
Every dream and wish are yours,
Mother of Christ,
Mother of mine, present them to my Lord.
We have recently heard the sad news of the demise of the Most Rev. Leonardo Legaspi, OP, Archbishop Emeritus of Caceres, former President of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines, President of the Second Plenary Council of the Philippines (PCP II), and first Filipino Rector of UST. Diagnosed to have lung cancer in 2009, Among (as he was fondly called by the Bicolanos) "...spent hours before the miraculous icon [of Our Lady of Peñafrancia, Bicolandia’s patroness] praying he survive the disease until after the 300th anniversary celebration of the devotion in September 2010" (http://www.cbcpnews.com/cbcpnews/?p=39350). Indeed, his prayers were granted. He later retired in 2012.
For me, Archbishop Legaspi is an example of how it is to be a devotee of Mary, of how it is to entrust to her our "every dream and wish". Our tasks, responsibilities, wishes, and dreams may pale in comparison to what this beloved Marian prelate may have done or aspired for, but if we place them wholeheartedly in Mary's hands, she will present them all to the Lord. Why? Here's what Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI writes: "precisely because Mary is with God and in God, she is very close to each one of us. While she lived on this earth she could only be close to a few people. Being in God, who is actually 'within' all of us, Mary shares in this closeness of God".
Mary, our Mother assumed into heaven, pray for us!
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I'd like to take this opportunity to congratulate my brother Giovanni for his safe arrival in the US last week. Keep up the good work there, Gio! Pray to Mama Mary as you have always been doing! Take care and see you soon!
