A True Miracle

By John Graveline, Director of Parish Life

May 10, 2026

“Faith of our mothers/Faith and pray’r/Shall win all nations unto thee . . . Faith of our mothers, holy faith/We will be true to thee till death.”

–James G. Walton, adapted for the hymn Faith of our Fathers by Frederick W. Faber

Some quick thoughts this week:

Happy Mother’s Day to all the mothers, grandmothers, great-grandmothers, godmothers, stepmothers, foster mothers, and maternal figures! Our hearts are filled with gratitude for you every day, but especially on this day when we commemorate the love that you have given us and the sacrifices that you have made so that we can become all that God has created us to be. I know that I would not be who I am and would not be blessed to serve this faith community without the faith of my mother, grandmothers, and all the women who have inspired, taught, and mentored me. May God bless you always!
This past Wednesday, May 6, we commemorated the 25th anniversary of the dedication of our current worship space. Once again, we are filled with gratitude for those who planned, built, gave sacrificial offerings, and have cared for this house of God and God’s people. According to theologian Walter Kasper, to be church (ekklesia in Greek and qahal in Hebrew) is to be a people who have been gathered together by the Holy Spirit, around the Eucharist, through which we become the Body of Christ. It is truly a blessing to have such a dignified and beautiful church building in which we, as a people, can be and become church. We will continue to celebrate this anniversary throughout the year, and we will discuss as the year goes on how we can best steward this precious gift with which we have been blessed.
As the weather gets better and the school year winds down, I would like to encourage us all to participate in the Eucharist every week, no matter where our summer leisure plans will take us. At Mass, we encounter Jesus in a privileged manner, in God’s Word and at the Eucharistic table. Every week, we have the opportunity to deepen our Communion with God in a sacramental way. It can be tempting to put Mass on the “back burner” in the summer; however, let’s make the commitment to keep our connection to God and God’s people at the forefront this summer.
In a similar vein, we often see not only a decline in attendance over the summer, but also a decline in weekly tithes. Taking advantage of our online giving option has been a blessing for our family. Family gatherings and celebrations, vacation, and other summer activities can mean that sometime worship at another Catholic parish. But our online giving ensures that our tithes continue according to our budgeted plan. I would encourage you to sign up for online giving using our website or bulletin before summer begins. This would be a blessing for us, and a blessing for you, helping keep our hearts grateful for the many blessings with which God has blessed us.

“As a mother comforts her child, so I will comfort you.”

–Isaiah 66:13

Finally, I was asked to share this message with the parish family from parishioner Mark Bassett. Please continue to keep the Bassett family in your prayers. God is good all the time, and all the time God is good!

John

To the parishioners of Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary Parish,

Everyone has a different definition of a miracle. My wife Mary is very generous with her use of the term, which is one of the reasons I love her and need her. She sees the work of God’s hands in her everyday life which is a beautiful way to see the world. I, on the other hand, tend to be much stingier with my use of the term, a true “Doubting Thomas.” I’ve searched back in my life many times and I’ve had one maybe two events that meet my bar for the definition of miracle. There are many times I wish I could see the world through Mary’s eyes.

As some of you know, our family has had to deal with an unbelievable tragedy. Despite that, we’ve had blessings and also something that meets my definition of a miracle. Jaclyn, our son Matthew’s wife, was 7 1/2 months pregnant when her uterus suddenly ruptured. Tragically our granddaughter Lilianne didn’t make it through the event and Jaclyn was without a pulse for roughly 55 minutes as they performed CPR in the ambulance and the emergency room while undergoing an emergency C-section. She also had a minor stroke. When they were finally able to restore a weak pulse, the initial prognosis was that IF she survived, statistics show that <1% of people survive after having CPR that long, there was a very good chance that she would have permanent and severe brain damage.

At that point, we reached out to people all over the country asking for prayers. The way people responded was amazing and true blessing to me. It reminds me of the ending sequence of It’s a Wonderful Life. We were also blessed with the opportunity to meet and hold our beautiful granddaughter Lilianne before they had to take her away. We will forever cherish the opportunity to hold, kiss, and speak to her and I know she’s in heaven praying for all of us. The true miracle is what has happened with Jaclyn. Not only has she survived but her prognosis is miraculous. The doctors now believe that she will return to full health with no severe damage. I want to thank Father Rick, John, and the people of this parish for their prayers and support. I know without a shadow of a doubt that they were heard, and God blessed us by saving Jaclyn. Even my cynical eyes can see the work of God’s hand through all of this. Thank you again to all of you who kept our family in your prayers through this crisis.

Sincerely, Mark Bassett