“My Soul Magnifies the Lord”

by DS

Sandakan: The Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary was celebrated on Tuesday, 15th August 2017. The feast began with the tri-lingual recitation of the Holy Rosary and the blessing of the statue of Mother Mary by Rt. Rev Julius Dusin Gitom, Bishop of Sandakan at 6.30 pm at the Diocesan Pastoral Centre.

More than a thousand parishioners gathered for the procession and the outdoor mass in front of the grotto. The solemn procession highlighted the statue of Mother Mary being carried from the Pastoral Centre to the grotto.

The mass was presided over by Bishop Julius and con celebrated by Fr David Garaman, Fr Christopher Ireneus, Fr Thomas Makajil and Fr Stanley Matakim.

In his homily, Bishop Julius explained that God has preserved Mary from original sin and chosen her to be the Mother of the Savior. ‘My soul magnifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Saviour’ (Luke 1 : 46-47) is the theme of this year’s 134^th Parish Day celebration.  It’s a very simple saying, but it reflects the attitude of Mary towards God.

The prelate continued, that to test the quality of our faith, we need to ask ourselves, “do my ideas resemble that of Mary’s vision of God?  Mary combined sincere worship of God with deep joy in his presence. In fact, St Paul advised the first Christian community at Thessalonica, “rejoice always, pray without ceasing” (1 Thessalonian 5:17)

In her Magnificat, Mary is totally captivated by the love of God. She submits herself unto God. She thinks only of the goodness of God. She is the most pure because she is chosen to be the handmaid of God, a willing and joyful servant of God. God has taken her, body and soul, into heaven.

This year marks the hundred years of her apparition at Fatima. Mary herself appeared at Fatima to the three humble children, to tell them and to bring the message of peace so that peace may avail in this world. And her other message in Fatima is conversion. We need to be converted to God. Pope Francis says “hope is the virtue of those who experience conflict, those who are struggling between life and death, struggling between good and evil and still believe in the resurrection of Christ, still believe in the redemption of Christ.  And that is the victory of love.”

We are called to be like her, to share Christ’s glory. We are to be willing and joyful servants of God in our parish, serving our community with dedication and love. Mother Mary is a model of a dedicated life bringing Christ to the world. if we are dedicated and possess strong faith, we too can magnify the Lord. And like Mother Mary, we too can bring Christ to the world in our particular ways.

Due to unfavorable weather condition, the Eucharistic celebration continued in the Cathedral.