Mother of the Church<br/><br/>

On August 15th, we celebrated the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary.<br/><br/>

The bible contains very little about Mary's life. The last mention of Mary in the bible was during Jesus' crucifixion, when he entrusted Mary in John's care.<br/><br/>

A mystery remains regarding the whereabouts of Mary, and when she ascended into heaven.<br/><br/>

Evidence was found to support John's flight along with Mary and Magdalene from Jerusalem to Ephesus, Turkey, around AD37. At the end of the 19th century, Fr. Julien Gouyet from Paris went searching in Ephesus for a place described by a German nun in her visions. Finally he found a place that fits her descriptions in the Bulbul Dagi mountains. After several years of observation and excavation, Scholars and the church in general believed that Bulbul Dagi was where Mary lived after Jesus' crucifixion.<br/><br/>

John finished writing the gospel in Ephesus; Paul preached in Ephesus for three years and wrote the Letters to the Corinthians while he was there. Some believe that Luke also wrote his gospel in Ephesus. Mark and Peter visited Ephesus also.<br/><br/>

We can imagine that a close relationship existed between Mary and the disciples; Mary must have had significant influence upon them.<br/><br/>

Let us then pray to our mother in heaven, so that she can bring us closer to her son, Jesus Christ.