The Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary

At last a holy day of obligation that we observe as a holy day of obligation! Our faith is so beautiful. It is a joy to celebrate what God has done in the world for us and for our salvation. What an incredible mystery of love that God became incarnate through a humble young woman from Nazareth. If we stop and think about these things, we begin to grasp how God works in the world. Why would God choose to become human at that time, in that place, with Miriam as his mother?

Anyway, may we today and always invoke the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary. In her sinless beauty she never ceases interceding for us to her Son, seeking to draw us nearer to him. As we ponder the assumption as the penultimate of the Glorious Mysteries of the rosary, we are mindful that the fruit of this mystery is the joy of a happy death. Yes, dear friends, dying in the friendship of Christ is a joy indeed, as his mother shows us.

This daughter of Jerusalem is lovely and beautiful as she ascends to heaven like the rising sun at daybreak.

(Antiphon for Canticle of Zechariah Morning Prayer for The Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary)

It also bears noting that today marks the ninety-eight anniversary of the initial dedication of The Cathedral of the Madeleine, the community I am privileged to serve.