Upon The Palms of My Hands...

Solemnity of the Assumption of Our Lady is just round the corner. I will celebrate it in Divine Mercy parish, a parochial community in Skawina, a town in the vicinity of Kraków, where I was asked to substitute for one of my colleagues, who is on vacation now. I will have an opportunity to raise mission awareness by preaching in all five Masses tomorrow and hopefully to collect some funds to pay for expenses of my new book. We will see how it goes... I am too old to be either overoptimistic or over-pessimistic. I guess I am more realistic with a positive attitude...
In my homily I want to talk about hands. Women hands to be precise. I will reminisce my Grandma's hands which I was in love with when I was a young kid. I always wanted to have such smooth and silky hands and she had. I once asked her why they are like this? She chuckled and said that they got smooth because of constant washing of dishes and clothes for my Mum and Uncle for years and years. I said to myself - 'Wow! I want hands like these, a sign of love, worn and polished by care and love for beloved ones!'

Then, when I grew up, I found this passage in the Bible which made me think more deeply and admire the meaning of the worn hands of my Grandma: 'Can a mother forget her infant, be without tenderness for the child of her womb? Even should she forget, I will never forget you. See, upon the palms of my hands I have written your name'(Isa 49:15-16) Wow! Upon the palms of my hands I have written your name...I have written you... Since then, I loved to look at my parents' hands, my Grandma's hands...They have written my bro and myself in them, by their love, work, care and commitment to us...

Their hands are the visible sign of God's love and commitment to us all too... God, our Father, has written all of us in the palms of His hands...Our Lady has written us in the palms of Her hands... Whenever I see a picture of Our Lady with Her hands outstretched, showing us the palms of Her hands, I think to myself that Our Lady is telling us: 'See, upon the palms of my hands I have written you...'

I guess this will be the main starting point for my tomorrow's homily there in Skawina. Paying tribute to Our Lady's hands, paying tribute to our Mums, Grandmas, wives, teachers, women we met in our lives who cared for us and showed us love and helped us in many ways - in schools, neighborhoods, parishes, religious communities, relatives and friends... We owe them so much...

On the day we celebrate Solemnity of the Assumption of Our Heavenly Mum, I will celebrate and honor all women who mean so much in my life, bowing and kissing their caring hands with respect, love and gratitude.