Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary
Intention: That God’s peace and wisdom will touch the hearts of all whose lives are ruled by misunderstanding, anger, or fear.
Today’s Gospel | 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.
From the Meditation on the Assumption | Saint John Baptist de La Salle
The special grace we ought to ask of the Most Blessed Virgin on this day is to be removed and to be freed from the corruption of the world and especially to have great purity, which is the true incorruptibility that we ought to procure for our body. Because the Most Blessed Virgin possessed this virtue in all its perfection, she can help us very much to preserve it.
Prayer
Eternal Father, each day we work hard to build our lives. Sometimes, our possessions and our achievements begin to look to us like the meaning of our lives, even though they are not. In your plan, there are the things that are part of life and there are the things that give us life. Help us to know the difference. Open us to the real riches of truth and freedom, of peace and justice, and of compassion and love. Grant us the strength to do your will. We ask this of you who lives and reigns with your Son and the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever. Amen.