Feast of the Assumption - Ave Maria

The Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary

The Feast of the Assumption is also known as the Feast of the Dormition (falling asleep) of Mary. The feast commemorates Mary's assumption into heaven.

O Blessed Virgin Mary,
united to the victorious Christ in heaven,
you are the image and first-flowering of the Church
as she is to be perfected in the world to come.
You shine forth as a sign of sure hope and solace
for the pilgrim People of God.
In your Assumption,
you manifest the fullness of redemption
and appear as the spotless image of the Church
responding in joy
to the invitation of the Bridegroom, your Son,
who is the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.

Grant that we may follow your example on earth
thereby imitating your Son as well
and being enabled to share your glory,
with Him for all eternity.
______________________________________________________________
Almighty and everlasting God,
You have taken up body and soul
into the heavenly glory the Immaculate Virgin Mary,
Mother of Your Son: Grant, we beseech You,
that, ever intent upon heavenly things,
we may be worthy to be partakers of her glory.
Through Jesus Christ Your Son, our Lord,
who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit,
One God, forever and ever. Amen.

Your tears are precious to God

Your tears are precious to God

Read John 19:25-27

Tears that are cried during prayer are
very valuable, like droplets of diamonds.
There's nothing wrong with
getting emotional and pouring our
sorrows upon God. When your heart
is heavy with grief over any loss, any
worry, or any hurt, Jesus expects you
to share the burden with him. Give
yourself permission to really let it all
out, from deep within. God does not
throw these diamonds away. He
cherishes them. He cries with you.
Is Not tears prayer-diamonds, Isn't heaven
supposed to be a place of joy, where there is
no more sorrow? Yet,Heaven ::: cries because of sin
in the world ::: cries for you when you turn
away from JESUS ::: cries when someone
sins against you ::: cries with you when you
cry, and so does Jesus.

Crying seems to be a female trait; because of
the way we are made biologically, women cry
more often than men. Scientists explain that
men's hormones channel their grief into anger,
and yet Jesus — fully a man — cried for others
when he saw them weeping over the death of
Lazarus, and he cried for Jerusalem when he
foresaw its destruction, and he cried for himself
when he faced crucifixion.

God appreciates our tearful prayers, because
they mean we're being honest with him and
with ourselves. Such prayers come from a passion
deep within. Not only are they offerings of
grief, like precious diamonds for God, but they
are also an act of surrender. We have reached
the end of our ability to be strong, happy, and
accepting of life's hardships.
In that humble
surrender, God has room
to move in and comfort
us and give us his own
strength to continue onward.
Have you ever felt the
hug of God ? One of the
scriptural names for the
Holy Spirit is the Comforter,
but how can we
feel the embrace of a
God who's invisible and
intangible? Often our
tears come from being
unable to feel his touch when we need it
most.

So we have to look for the various
ways that He makes himself known to us.
Throughout the day, Jesus is at our side
doing little and large favors for us. Usually,
however, we let our pain distract us
from noticing his gifts.

In John 19:25-27, the comforting embrace
of God is made tangible between
Mary and the disciple John.

While he grieved over the suffering and loss of his
dearest friend, she grieved with a heartbreak
that only a mother can know. And
Jesus, in the midst of his own pain, gave
the gift of comfort to his mother and
friend by giving them both to each other.
It is through community — the gift of
each other — that we find comfort . There
is no greater pain than suffering alone.
God does not want you to suffer alone,
ever. He's providing you with friends who
will give you his embrace, just like he did
for Mary and John.

If you don't know who
these comfort-companions are, look
closer, look in new directions; they are
already there for you.

The ant and the contact lens

Brenda was almost halfway to the top of the tremendous granite cliff. She was
standing on a ledge where she was taking a breather during this, her first rock
climb. As she rested there, the safety rope snapped against her eye and knocked
out her contact lens. 'Great', she thought. 'Here I am on a rock ledge, hundreds
of feet from the bottom and hundreds of feet to the top of this cliff, and now
my sight is blurry.'

She looked and looked, hoping that somehow it had landed on the ledge. But it
just wasn't there.

She felt the panic rising in her, so she began praying. She prayed for calm, and
she prayed that she may find her contact lens.

When she got to the top, a friend examined her eye and her clothing for the
lens, but it was not to be found. Although she was calm now that she was at the
top, she was saddened because she could not clearly see across the range of
mountains. She thought of the bible verse ' The eyes of the Lord run to and fro
throughout the whole earth .'

She thought , ' Lord, You can see all these mountains. You know every stone and
leaf, and You know exactly where my contact lens is. Please help me.'

Later, when they had hiked down the trail to the bottom of the cliff they met
another party of climbers just starting up the face of the cliff. One of them
shouted out, 'Hey, you guys! Anybody lose a contact lens?'

Well, that would be startling enough, but you know why the climber saw it? An
ant was moving slowly across a twig on the face of the rock, carrying it!

The story doesn't end there. Brenda's father is a cartoonist. When she told him
the incredible story of the ant, the prayer, and the contact lens, he drew a
cartoon of an ant lugging that contact lens with the caption, 'Lord, I don't
know why You want me to carry this thing. I can't eat it, and it's awfully
heavy. But if this is what You want me to do, I'll carry it for You.'

I think it would do all of us some good to say, 'God, I don't know why You want
me to carry this load. I can see no good in it and it's awfully heavy. But, if
You want me to carry it, I will.'

God doesn't call the qualified, He qualifies the called.

Yes, I do love GOD. He is my source of existence and my Savior. He keeps me
functioning each and every day Without Him, I am nothing, but with Him... I can
do all things through Christ who strengthens me. (Phil. 4:13)