An Unexpected Find and a Generous Donation

By John Graveline, Director of Parish Life

March 22, 2026

“When Christ came into the world, he said, ‘Sacrifices and offerings you have not desired, but a body you have prepared for me; in burnt offerings and sin offerings you have taken no pleasure. Then I said: See, I have come to do your will, O God as it is written of me in the scroll of the book.’”

Hebrews 10:5-7

Finish Lent Strong (It’s Never Too Late!)

This week, we celebrate the Fifth week of Lent before the celebration of Palm Sunday and the commemoration of Holy Week. A number of years ago, the priest at the parish where I was attending Mass on Palm Sunday began by saying, “Well, if you haven’t had the Lent you were hoping for on Ash Wednesday, if you haven’t prayed as much or as fervently, if you haven’t kept your Lenten fast, if you haven’t given alms, if you have fallen back into the sins of which you repented at the beginning of Lent . . . it’s too late now. You’ve blown your opportunity! In the name of the Father . . .” Not quite the encouraging message that I was expecting!

I’ll take a different angle on this as we near the culmination of Lent. If your Lent hasn’t been what you were planning on Ash Wednesday, there is still time to finish strong! There are two Monday spiritual enrichment opportunities and Stations of the Cross this Friday in which you can participate. Commit yourself to two good weeks of prayer, fasting, and works of charity. CRS Rice Bowls are still available in the Gathering Space for collection between Palm Sunday and Easter Sunday. If you feel you’ve lost your battle with our human weaknesses, offer your woundedness to the Lord, for the Grace of God “is sufficient for you, for power is made perfect in weakness. So, I will boast more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me. (2 Corinthians 12:9). It’s never too late to look with trust to God’s love and mercy.

“Mary said, ‘Behold, I am the hand-maiden of the Lord. Let it be done unto me according to your word.’”

Luke 1:38

The Annunciation: The Apex of Human History

This Wednesday, March 25, we will celebrate the Solemnity of the Annunciation. We remember the day that the angel Gabriel came to Mary and asked her to become the mother of Jesus. This moment has been called the “fullness of time.” (Catechism of the Catholic Church, no. 744) It is the apex point of human history, the moment in time when God become human and dwelled among us. (John 1:14) Theologically, we call this mystery the Incarnation.

We are blessed at Assumption Parish to have a powerful reminder of the Incarnation in our Worship Space. Our statue of Mary Ark of the New Covenant, bearing Jesus within her womb, fashioned for us by artist Suzanne M. Young of Detroit, is an inspiring artistic representation to the pre-eminent way that Mary gives us, each of us personally and together as a parish faith community, the perfect example of Christian discipleship. The original Ark of the Covenant symbolized God’s presence among his Chosen People. Through her “Let it be” to the call of God, Mary be came the Theotokos, the God-Bearer. She became the Ark of the New Covenant. Wherever she went when pregnant with the Christ child, she brought within her the Divine Presence. When the time came for her to give birth, she revealed to the world the love of God incarnate in the Christ child. Likewise, we are called to bear the presence of God poured into our hearts at Baptism and that we receive into our bodies each week in the Eucharist. We are called, both personally and as a church to give birth to the love of God in the flesh though our participation in the works of charity and justice.

An Unexpected Find and a Generous Donation

In the fall of 2025, former Assumption parishioner and staff member Sue LeVasseur found a Mary statue at a local Goodwill store. It was an almost exact replica of our Mary Ark of the New Covenant statue. It was signed and dated similarly to our life-sized statue. Sue contacted the artist who confirmed it was a model of our statue that she created for our parish. Sue purchased the statue at Goodwill and donated it to us. Anne Fitak asked Ken Simmer to make a base for it, and we are now discerning a permanent location for it. Truly, the Lord was involved in this seeming “coincidence!”

“Jesus advanced a little and fell prostrate in prayer, saying, ‘My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from me; yet, not as I will, but as you will.’”

Matthew 26:39

At a staff meeting a few weeks ago, our Director of Youth Ministry Kathy Russell pointed out that there is no permanent crucifix in the Holy Grounds fellowship area. When I brought this to the Worship Commission, Noreen Warrick generously offered to bring a crucifix of hers to donate for this area.

Connecting Jesus’ Conception & Crucifixion

The Cross of Christ also has a possible connection to the date of March 25. According to an article published this past December on the Biblical Archeology Society website authored by Anglican theologian Andrew McGowan, Dean and President of Berkeley Divinity School at Yale University, it was a common belief in the early Church that Jesus was crucified on the same date that he was conceived, March 25. St. Augustine in the 5th century was aware of this, writing, “he [Jesus] is believed to have been conceived on the 25th of March, upon which day also he suffered; so the womb of the Virgin, in which he was conceived, where no one of mortals was begotten, corresponds to the new grave in which he was buried, wherein was never man laid, neither before him nor since.” Another person who seemed to be aware of this tradition of thought was J.R.R. Tolkien, the Catholic author of The Lord of the Rings. He designed his saga so that the climactic event of the trilogy, the destruction of the One Ring (the symbol of evil and the spirit of domination) happened on March 25, the day of Christ’s Incarnation and also his Crucifixion. We don’t know with absolute certainty the exact dates of any of the mysteries of our faith. However, there is a tradition of Christian thinking that makes it fitting to remember both the Incarnation and the Crucifixion on March 25.

Consequently, we will have Mass for the Solemnity of the Annunciation at 6:30 this Wednesday evening. During the liturgy, Fr. Rick will bless our new statue of Mary Ark of the New Covenant and our new Holy Grounds crucifix. As usual, our Wednesday evening Mass will be followed by an opportunity for Individual Reconciliation and Eucharistic Adoration. This is another opportunity to focus our Lenten observance before we enter Holy Week.

John