The Assumption of Mary, Rubens, circa 1626
A reading according to the holy Gospel of Luke 1:39-56
Mary set out and traveled to the hill country in haste to a town of Judah, where she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. When Elizabeth heard Mary's greeting, the infant leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth, filled with the Holy Spirit, cried out in a loud voice and said, "Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb. And how does this happen to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? For at the moment the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the infant in my womb leaped for joy. Blessed are you who believed that what was spoken to you by the Lord would be fulfilled." And Mary said: "My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord; my spirit rejoices in God my Savior for he has looked with favor on his lowly servant. From this day all generations will call me blessed: the Almighty has done great things for me and holy is his Name. He has mercy on those who fear him in every generation. He has shown the strength of his arm, and has scattered the proud in their conceit. He has cast down the mighty from their thrones, and has lifted up the lowly. He has filled the hungry with good things, and the rich he has sent away empty. He has come to the help of his servant Israel for he has remembered his promise of mercy, the promise he made to our fathers, to Abraham and his children forever." Mary remained with her about three months and then returned to her home.
REFLECTION:
On November 1, 1950, Pope Pius XII defined the Assumption of Mary to be a dogma of faith: “We pronounce, declare and define it to be a divinely revealed dogma that the immaculate Mother of God, the ever Virgin Mary, having completed the course of her earthly life, was assumed body and soul to heavenly glory."
Mary's life has been a "yes" to God. And as she and Joseph obeyed and followed God's will, as she stood with the apostles, and as she lived with John, we can learn from her example. Her faith was infinite and her soul was one with God. She represents our future, our heavenly reward, if we allow her to show us the way to her Son.
In the early 1960's my brother had a quirky accident--at high noon, he was practicing his pitching, and was throwing rocks at hot full beer bottles. One sliver of glass struck his jugular vein and instead of going back to our cousin's home which was one half block away, he ran home about 6 blocks. By the time he made it home, he was almost drained of blood. As my parents rushed him to the emergency room, Javier kept praying to our Blessed Mother, begging her for his life. She indeed interceded as the best surgeon Laredo had happened to be in the emergency room. Quickly he stopped the bleeding and sutured the jugular vein. My brother has lived to care for his adoptive daughter and raise his grandson. He has never forgotten what she did for him and forever remembers how much she loves him.
The Immaculate Heart of Mary is the patron of PAPA. She is our Mother and as a mother she will never give up on her children. For today, let us share stories how Mother Mary has helped us in our lives, the lives of our children, and maybe we can share with one another in the comment section.
Recite and meditate on the Rosary today --the Luminous mysteries.
God Bless.
