Good morning from Joy Valley and welcome to the month of June! Yep! It’s *actually* June already! How did this happen?! Didn’t we just make New Year’s resolutions a few weeks ago?!
At last we find ourselves at the beginning of the long-anticipated summer months, and we couldn’t be happier (even if time is flying faster than we’d like!)
Tomorrow we celebrate the Solemnity of Jesus’ Ascension (you can find the readings for the Mass here) and it got us thinking about Heaven a lot. What do we know about Heaven? What will it be like? Who will be there?
With this in mind, we wanted to use this Saturday’s Cause of Our Joyto explore these questions and also to share some great seasonally-appropriate resources we found this week. We had a lot of fun curating the content of this email and we’re hoping you enjoy it!
So, without further ado, let’s get into this!
Jesus’ Ascension
The Ascension of Jesus is 40 days after Easter—so this past Thursday—but in all but a few U.S. diocese the celebration of this solemnity is transferred to the following Sunday to ensure the faithful will be able to fully participate in the holy day. If you’d like to know a little more about this solemnity, Pope Benedict XVI had a nice short explanation of the meaning of the Ascension.
Jesus’ ascending into Heaven very much reminds us that this the goal of our lives: to join God and the Communion of Saints in Heaven! Jesus’ friends had to be heartbroken to see Jesus go, just as we are heartbroken when our loved ones leave us. We found this article, The Bittersweet Experience of Ascension, that speaks to this paradox of sadness and joy.
Celebrating the Ascension with Children
If you are looking for a couple little craft ideas for the kids or grandkids, we found some at Catholic Icing. (We always find such fun, creative resources there!)
Heaven
Obviously there is a lot of mystery surrounding Heaven and the afterlife, but there are some things that we do know and that we think will bring you much comfort!
So what’s Heaven like? The Church teaches that Heaven is a state of utter and absolute fulfillment, a state of radical union with God—something that words cannot describe! (Tim Staples does a nice job explaining it in this article.)
Who will be there? There is great consolation for those of us who have lost someone! While Heaven is not guaranteed, there is the hope that you will meet again, and oh what a joy that will be! This article from the National Catholic Register speaks to that very thing!
Looking for some good quotable quotes from the saints regarding Heaven? We found “10 Inspiring Quotes from the Saints on Our Eternal Home” to be just what we were looking for!
Discerning Your Vocation
Many high schools have already or will soon be graduating their seniors, and it reminded us about when we were that age and discerning our vocations. It’s such a fun and exciting time, but it can also feel a little overwhelming. This article from Catholic Exchange explains why your vocation is not about you.
Along these same lines, we found a piece discussing the difficulty of having children in this day and age and really emphasizes the importance of not letting the current culture raise our kids. It’s a good “wake up call” on the role of Christian parenting.
Marian Minute
The Marian Center is offering a Marian Consecration class right now both for those consecrating themselves to Jesus through Mary for the first time and for those renewing their consecration. One of the things we hear over and over again is that Marian Consecration changes lives! It seems we’re not the only ones who hear this! This article from National Catholic Register focuses on how devotion to Our Lady will change your life!
Saint Spotlight
On June 3, we remember St. Charles Lwanga and companions, Ugandan martyrs. Their story is an incredible testament of faith in Christ. They faced their martyrdom (on the Feast of the Ascension) with grace and dignity. May we all stand for the truth in the face of persecution as did these brave souls.
Marian Center Update
June – August – Eucharistic Miracles of the World Exhibit at the Center with guided tours at 11:00, 1:00, and 3:00.
June 8th – Eucharistic Retreat with Fr. Peter Wigton from 10-2 at the Center
To Christ Through Mary,
Katie Moe and Lori Mercer
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