{"id":109714,"date":"2025-08-15T06:45:00","date_gmt":"2025-08-15T13:45:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/?p=109714"},"modified":"2025-08-15T12:48:29","modified_gmt":"2025-08-15T19:48:29","slug":"a-different-assumption","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/a-different-assumption\/","title":{"rendered":"A Different Assumption"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

T<\/span>oday is one of the great solemnities of the Church year: the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary<\/a>. Last year on this date, my beautiful bride Francine and I celebrated our twentieth Catholic anniversary. For that anniversary, I wrote an article called “How the Assumption Saved my Life<\/a>“, which delved into the history and meaning of this date for Francine and me. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why “Catholic anniversary”? On the 15th of August 2004, Francine and I walked into\u00a0Saint Patrick\u2019s Church<\/a>\u00a0in Tacoma for the first time. On that day, I discovered in a flash that every doubt I ever had about the truth of Christianity had collapsed. It was a profound moment of conversion for both of us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I ended last year’s article<\/a> with the question, “I wonder what adventures the next twenty years will bring?”<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"\"
Francine in Rome, 2005. This is one of my favourite photos of her.<\/mark><\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

On this 21st anniversary, I am much less upbeat. In fact, I’m an emotional wreck, and these past few weeks I sometimes find myself randomly walking into a room in Pistachio House and saying, “Why?” or even “No”.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

No. It isn’t happening. It didn’t happen. The world is sane and normal. Not this.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But it’s just a moment of defiance against the crushing of reality. As though my denial of the fact would somehow make it not a fact.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It comes suddenly at random moments, and it only stays a moment before evaporating.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And then I am just sad again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I need to remind myself that it is only August. Of course I am still in a tailspin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She went into hospital in April. She was diagnosed in May. She died in June. We buried her in July.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And this is only August.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And this is another anniversary we share that we can no longer celebrate together. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Today is one of the great solemnities of the Church year: the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Last year on this date, my beautiful bride Francine and I celebrated our twentieth Catholic anniversary. For that anniversary, I wrote an article called “How the Assumption Saved my Life“, which delved into the history and meaning of this date for Francine […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":109715,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[8,31,3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-109714","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-francine-my-love","category-mary","category-moments-in-time"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/462588746_10160433017090382_7755078612534786218_n.jpg?fit=360%2C480&ssl=1","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p1aGBK-sxA","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":false,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":105722,"url":"https:\/\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/sorrow-on-the-solemnity\/","url_meta":{"origin":109714,"position":0},"title":"Sorrow on the Solemnity","author":"Thom","date":"15 August 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"this day in 2004, the Blessed Virgin Mary became the instrument of my conversion, and Francine's reversion, to Jesus Christ and to His Church. 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