Today, the 16^th August, the Catholic Church celebrates the great ‘feast’ of the Assumption. This is the belief held universally in the Church that Mary the mother of Jesus was taken up – assumed – into heaven without physically dying.

The gospel reading for today is Luke 1:29 – 56 which gives an account of Mary, a teenager and pregnant with Jesus by the Holy Spirit, visiting her cousin Elizabeth Elizabeth who was much older and also pregnant. She was expecting John the Baptist who was later the herald for Jesus and who baptised Jesus in the river Jordan. This event would change the world forever. In the moment of his baptism the Holy Spirit appeared in the form of a dove and the voice of God was heard audibly declaring Jesus is the beloved Son.

There are many things about this meeting between Mary and her cousin which are remarkable but what stands out is the verse, “Now as soon as Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the child leapt in her womb and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit.”

The historian Luke who would have heard of this account much later, records a definite and significant spiritual experience for both Elizabeth and her unborn baby John.

Every mother to be knows when her baby begins to move. Usually around 18 – 20 weeks or as early as 16 weeks for a subsequent pregnancy, or perhaps even 13 weeks. The movements of the baby can be felt when a hand is placed on the mother’s tummy around 24 weeks.

We know that around 25 / 26 weeks babies react to external noise. The baby can be affected by alcohol and drug abuse, smoking and many other things besides.

What is remarkable about this story is that John sensed spiritually the presence of Jesus we are told.

Christians and many others, believe that we are body mind and spirit. The different aspects of a person interact for good or ill. We are created in the image and likeness of our Creator Father God. St Augustine said;  

“Thou hast made us for thyself, O Lord, and our heart is restless until it finds its rest in thee.”

We are spiritual beings.

In the UK 8,745,508 abortions were carried out from 1967 to 2014.

In 2018 there were 205,295

Do we see anyone on one knee in public for any of these lost lives?

Babies Lives Matter

If you have been affected by abortion, help is out there.

www.archtrust.org.uk