BEADS OF JOY 08-15-17
“Assumption of Our Lady”
©2017 James Dacey, Jr. OFS
My Friends,
Today’s Gospel: Luke 1:39-56 (The Canticle of Mary)
“In those days Mary arose and
went with haste into the hill country, to a city of Judah, and she entered the
house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. And when Elizabeth heard the greeting
of Mary, the babe leaped in her womb; and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit
and she exclaimed with a loud cry, "Blessed are you among women, and
blessed is the fruit of your womb! And why is this granted me, that the mother
of my Lord should come to me? For behold, when the voice of your greeting came
to my ears, the babe in my womb leaped for joy. And blessed is she who believed
that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her from the
Lord."
And Mary said, "My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, 48 for he has regarded the low estate of his handmaiden. For behold, henceforth all generations will call me blessed; for he who is mighty has done great things for me, and holy is his name. And his mercy is on those who fear him from generation to generation. He has shown strength with his arm, he has scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts, he has put down the mighty from their thrones, and exalted those of low degree; he has filled the hungry with good things, and the rich he has sent empty away. He has helped his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy, as he spoke to our fathers, to Abraham and to his posterity forever." And Mary remained with her about three months, and returned to her home.
Assumption of Our Lady
“Open the portals! The Queen is
approaching. Lift up, O eternal gates!”
The endless parade of the blessed crowded about the wide-open gates of heaven. There was tense expectancy, such as one finds along a line of march as a parade approaches. A roadway of clouds billowed the pathway from an uncorrupted grave to an incorruptible throne.
At last, borne by angels, the lovely Lady arrives. It is the first Assumption Day, the Assumption of Mary. The heavenly throng gasps with admiration. The celestial singers burst into song. The angels hurry to and fro to catch a glimpse of her and to tell their companions of her beauty.
Jesus waits at the open entrance, throws His arms about His Mother, leads her triumphantly and happily to the very throne of the heavenly Father, who leans forward and places solemnly and smilingly upon her beauteous head the crown, as the Holy Spirit, heavenly Spouse of the Virgin Mother casts warmth and light upon the welcome newcomer.
The Assumption of Mary! Sweet
scene of Mary’s bliss! Who can measure her happiness? Who can count the throbs
of joy in her heart: joy that now her lonesome life on earth without Jesus is
over; joy that now she has Him, never again to lose Him; joy that now she can
enjoy His company without the interruptions of earth or sense; joy that now she
can help everyone on earth who is devoted to her Son; joy that all the honor
and all the praise and all the glory is given to her because of her Son; joy
that the very crown she is wearing as the Queen of heaven and earth, is given
to her because she is the Mother of Jesus, the Son of God; joy that an eternity
is just beginning during which she can wrap herself in her Child and her
Redeemer, even more closely than their lives had been entwined upon earth.”
Our Lady assumed into Heaven!
Entering body and soul into the presence of the Most Blessed and Eternal
Trinity! The Assumption of Mary! Her sufferings, great beyond all measure, are
nothing now as she finds her reward in the greatness of the Infinite God. What
eternal joy in His possession; what peace in being eternally possessed by Him –
surely the richest reward for the obedient Handmaid of the Lord.
Our reward is likewise the
possession of the same Triune God – our way to Him is likewise along the same
royal way as tread so humbly and submissively the feet of our obedient Queen.
Her last recorded words in Sacred Scripture, her counsel to the servants at the
wedding feast, applies to us with equal and unfailing force: “Do whatever He
tells you!” Our obedience to Christ is our way to joy and peace.
Mary’s death was caused by love
that consumed her heart; her death was not meant for punishment nor expiation,
hence there was no violence nor was it painful, since she was preserved from
the dominion given to death by sin.
According to an opinion accepted
since the Middle Ages, Mary’s death resembled Christ’s, because she accepted it
voluntarily out of humble and loving obedience; so, she died of love in the
strict sense of the word. Death came to her in the form of the weakening of the
body caused by the supernatural might of Dying Love. Her natural vitality was
exhausted by love-longing, by the strength of an ecstasy of love and her great
love moved God to cease keeping her alive. Mary’s death was a holocaust of love
where the sacrifice offered long before at the foot of the Cross in poignant
and spiritual anguish was at last completed.
This feast, the Assumption of
Mary, was instituted, according to Saint Bernard, in the very time of the
apostles.
*from Feasts of Our Lady, by Msgr. Arthur Tonne, and The Woman in Orbit
LOVE YOU GUYS !!!!
Your brother in Christ Jesus
And His Most Blessed Mother,
Jim (The Rosary Man) Dacey Jr OFS
Today is Tuesday: We pray the Sorrowful Mysteries:
The Sorrowful Mysteries
1. Agony on the Garden (Sorrow for sin) –Matt 26:36-46
2. Scourging at the Pillar (Purity) –Mark 15:1-16
3. Crowning with Thorns (Moral Courage) –Matt 27:27-31
4. Carrying of the Cross (Patience) –Mark 15:20-22
5. The Crucifixion (Perseverance) –Luke 23:33-46
Thank you Lord for loving us so much…
Rosary Man Jim’s Sorrowful Reflection: http://beads-of-joy-blog.blogspot.com/2014/02/the-sorrowful-mysteries_11.html
