Friday, August 15, 2025
Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary
My sisters and brothers in the Lord,
Happy Feast of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Ave Maria! And welcome to week thirty-three of BMW, Be My Witnesses. This week’s session is a reminder that we are not alone as witnesses of the Lord. We belong to a parish and we belong to a diocese.
Belong: My Parish, my Diocese
When my parents’ parish reduced its Mass schedule due to consolidation with neighboring parishes, this caused some angst for my mother. She walked into her church at a new Mass time and told dad, “Someone is sitting in my seat.” This is a reminder to us that often our brothers and sisters do not really belong to a parish but to a Mass and those are the only people they are aware of.
In fact, it may be the case that our next-door neighbor is a Catholic but may attend a different Mass and so we never see one another at church. We hardly know ourselves to be fellow parishioners.
This situation is only exaggerated when we consider all the Catholics of our various counties belonging to the same diocese. We are usually aware of our bishop only when he reassigns our priest or when he takes up the annual diocesan collection. Nonetheless, belonging to a diocese, which arranges the sacramental life through many parishes, is something that defines us as Catholics. It was an apostolic group which spread the good news of Jesus Christ; it remains an apostolic college of bishops in communion with the Bishop of Rome which continues this missionary work.
Pope Saint Paul VI put it this way: “In the mind of the Lord the Church is universal by vocation and mission, but when she puts down her roots in a variety of cultural, social, and human terrains, she takes on different external expressions and appearances in each part of the world” (Evangelii nuntiandi, 62).
Our Baptism not only made us God’s sons and daughters, but brothers and sisters to one another as members of the Body of Christ, his Church and Bride. We truly are not alone when Jesus says that we will be his witnesses. We need to recognize this reality, be aware of it and embrace it. This means that we should see our missionary activities as part of the work of our parish and part of the work of our diocese. Rugged individualism in this case must be overcome.
The Challenge
For this week’s challenge, try to attend a Mass at your parish that you usually do not attend and take a good look around, seeing brothers and sisters in the Lord. If you have only one parish Mass, then try to attend a Mass at another parish, perhaps one that is linked with yours. As always, talk about what all this might mean for you with your small group.
Until next week, may God Bless you.
+ Earl Boyea
Bishop of Lansing
P.S. Here is a video version of this week's Be My Witnesses. Please do share with friends and family. Thank you.