Today, we celebrate the solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary in body and soul to Heaven. Today —St. Bernard says—“the Virgin, full of glory, is taken up to heaven, showering the celestial beings with joy”. And he will add these precious words: “What a beautiful present the earth is today sending to heaven! With this wonderful gesture of friendship —such as giving and receiving— the human and the divine, the earthly and the heavenly, the humble and the sublime, merge into one. It is there, the most precious earthly fruit, where the best presents and the most valuable gifts come from. Taken up to heaven, the Virgin Mary will lavish her gifts on all men”.
For pictures, goto Virgin Mary Assumption Pictures
The first gift she lavishes on us is the Word, that She knew how to keep so faithfully in her heart, by making it bear fruit from the very profound and warm silence. With this Word in her interior space, while begetting in her womb the Life for all men, “Mary set out for a town in the Hills of Judah. She entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth” (Lk 1:39-40). Mary’s presence exults in joy, and Elizabeth says: “The moment your greeting sounded in my ears, the baby within me suddenly leapt for joy” (Lk 1:44).
She, mostly, presents us with the gift of her commendation, her same joy made music, her Magnificat: “My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord, my spirit exults in God my savior!…” (Lk 1:46-47). What a beautiful gift the heaven sends back to us with Mary’s song, made word of God.
In this song we find the signs to learn how the human and the divine, the earthly and the celestial blend together, while being able to react, as She does, to the gift God presents us with, in the person of his Son, through his Saint Mother: to become a gift from God to the world, and tomorrow, a gift from mankind to God, by following Mary’s example, who precedes us in this glorification which we are bound to.
Read more on Assumption of Blessed Virgin Mary
– – - reflection by Fr. Josep ALEGRE Abbot of Santa Maria de Poblet
SAN MASSIMILIANO MARIA KOLBE
Beautiful Reasons for Praying the Rosary Even More Often
Father Gabriel Amorth, Chief Exorcist of the Vatican writes:
One day a colleague of mine heard the devil say during an exorcism, “Every Hail Mary is like a blow on my head. If Christians knew how powerful the Rosary was, it would be my end.”
The secret that makes this prayer so effective is that the Rosary is both prayer and meditation. It is addressed to the Father, to the Blessed Virgin, and to the Holy Trinity, and is a meditation centered on Christ.
I write in addition to the above: Please enunciate each word of the Rosary clearly and distinctly. Do not trample on the heels of the words of anyone with your words. Do not speak over the leader if you are following or the respondent if you are leading the Rosary. Remember that they also are having a conversation with Mary Our Mother and it is not polite to speak when someone else is speaking.
In the case of the public Rosary there are only two people speaking: the Leader and the respondents.
Each is speaking to the Blessed Mother and listening carefully to her response within their hearts as they meditate on the scene before them in their consideration of the mystery being spoken of and interpreted and translated into their lives. Spread this powerful prayer of exorcism, the Rosary, which contains the Our Father, the Perfect Prayer, prayed five times in the recitation of each set of the Rosary’s Mysteries, backed up by the powerful prayers of Our Mother who prays with us as we pray 53 Hail Mary’s.
The Eternal Father described to a group of us, through a Visionary Friend of mine, what happens when we pray the Rosary, saying, “When you pray Holy Mary Mother of God, pray for us sinners now….., the Blessed Mother comes instantly to your side to pray with you. And she does not come alone. She brings angels with her. And not just one or two for she is the Queen of Angels, so choirs of angels come with her. And she and Jesus are joined at the heart and cannot be separated so she brings Jesus with her. And Jesus cannot be separated from the Trinity so He brings the Father and the Holy Spirit with Him. And where the Holy Trinity is, all of creation is, and you are surrounded by such beauty and light as you cannot imagine in this life.
Your Mother comes as Our Lady of Grace with her hands outstretched. Rays of light emit from her hands piercing your body, healing you and filling you with graces. This is your inheritance which was poured out from the heart of Jesus on the Cross, when the centurion pierced His Heart with the spear, into the only pure vessel ready to receive such graces at that time, Your Mother.
Now as you pray the Rosary, or even just recite one Hail Mary, you receive your portion of these graces. He also said at this time, “Anyone who goes to Mary and prays the Rosary cannot be touched by Satan.” Is it any wonder that anyone who prays the Rosary from the heart is so blessed and protected and powerful in their prayers for others?
How long will you deceive your self. The bible says 1 Timothy 2:5
5 For there is one God and one mediator between God and mankind, the man Christ Jesus,
Please understand Mary was just a human as you and me. But she lived a holy life to deserve the GRACE Lord granted her. Also please read this story of a ROMAN CATHOLIC GIRL FROM SOUTH AMERICA. PLEASE GIVE JESUS A CHANCE.
http://spiritlessons.com/Documents/Prepare_to_meet_your_God/index.htm
Patricia…you are 100% correct! There is nothing more beautiful than to be blessed and to receive the graces of Our Blessed Virgin Mary and Our Lord through the rosary!
For those who try to understand the BIBLE through logic, all that Catholics do will seem to be foolish. Through logic let us try to understand the stand of Catholics. It was founded by Jesus Christ himself and He appointed Peter as His follower to carry on His work.(Mtt. 16:17,18,19.) And that work has come up to 2012 with Pope Benedict XVI as the latest successor to St. Peter. (The Catholic Church has withstood all kinds of worldly powers trying to destroy it.)
There are many others who believe in Christ other than Catholics which we call ‘Christians’ under different names of churches.
One has to understand that none of these churches were found by Christ. Again, all these churches are formed by humans who separated themselves from Catholic church and other churches. The first split came in 1516 (until then there was only one Church)and the first Protestant church was formed with their own interpretation of the Scripture to suit their own desires. But later there came difference of opinion in this Protestant church which gave way to many other churches and it continues each coming up with a different name. Sadly they say only they know the scripture. Those who read the Bible — first learn to obey everything what it says, not just only what is suitable for them.
All that the Catholic Church teaches are on the basis of the Holy Bible: All the Sacraments and all the prayers. Unless the Holy Spirit is in you, you will not understand the real meaning of the Divine Scripture verses.
A spiritual man interprets in the spiritual way and a worldly man interprets in the worldly way. The Spirit gives you INNER PEACE and the world gives you carnal pleasure.
The teachings of the Catholic Church is the true one–For those who believe, no explanation is necessary; for those who do not believe, no explanation is possible.