Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary
Our Blessed Mother is a powerful intercessor for all of humanity. We read of her influence on Jesus at the wedding feast at Cana. What seemed to be a non-event became a pivotal historical point, the beginning of Jesus’s public ministry. In Revelation, we read in symbols the great power she has for the good of all humanity. She is one of the first fruits of the risen Christ—a glimpse of heaven for us all as she is taken up, body and soul, into heaven.
I have seen her power and was privileged to be part of her intersession as I prayed to her for respect for life. She inspired Saint Peter Julian Eymard to press onward as the apostle of the Eucharist. He had witnessed her power before. He once had a group of young people build a pedestal on which to put a statue of Mary. It must not have looked sturdy. After all, he prayed to Mary that he would be sorry if the statue did not stay perched on the pedestal because he may not be around to set it back on. Later in the year, a great flood passed through the town and wiped out a lot of the church property, but the school for the young people survived, and so did the pedestal with the statue. I doubt Peter Julian needed a reminder of Mary’s power and protection, but maybe the young people did.
With confidence and devotion to Mary, we, too, will rise body and soul with the risen Christ. Mary is truly our first glimpse of heaven.
Prayer:
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 the lowly.