Most Catholics know that the Assumption of our Blessed Virgin Mary is a holy day of obligation on August 15, but we sometimes struggle to understand this feast day’s relevance to our modern day lives. Your family here at Mary’s Association wants to help.
Beginning August 6, at 8:00 a.m., CT, we will honor our Blessed Mother here at the National Shrine of Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal with a very special Assumption Novena of Masses.
On each of these nine days we will celebrate the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass in devotion to Mary, asking her to show us what her Assumption means for us today.
As a preparation to this beautiful novena, I urge you to send me your special prayer intentions to be placed at our Lady’s Altar and remembered in each of the nine Assumption Novena Masses we celebrate, as well as in the Solemnity Mass on August 15.
You may also wish to burn a Votive Light at the Shrine as an expression of your desire to honor Mary and seek her intercession. All donations will help the Association bring others to Jesus through Mary. Your kindness will also assist the Vincentian community in its ministries of evangelization and service to the poor.
Mary’s Assumption reveals to us the final fruit of life in Christ. Mary’s faith and trust in God were tested repeatedly. This is why you should never be discouraged by life’s struggles and temptations. Yes, baptism freed us from original sin, but until we are perfectly united with God in heaven, our earthly pursuit of sainthood will always be a journey.
Thankfully, our Lady intercedes for us, asking Jesus to fill us with faith, hope, and love. Through the sacramental graces of his Church, as well as the fruits of the Holy Spirit in our lives, we can journey through life with contagious joy, knowing that in the end, we will be reunited with the Lord, just like Mary.
The Solemnity of the Assumption provides us with a wonderful opportunity to honor Mary, glorious in heaven and always interceding for us.
As a reminder of just how powerful our Lady’s intercession is, I want to share the testimonial below from an Association member.
“Our Blessed Mother is always there for my family. We have been through a roller coaster ride of difficulties, especially my daughter. She has been through so many things since an early age. She has been homeless, jailed, diagnosed with mental illness, suffered addiction, and more. Our Blessed Mother saved her. She has been healed emotionally and physically. I joined your Association, ordered Miraculous Medals, and handed them out to others. Life has been so much better, and many of our issues have been resolved. I continue to pray in thanksgiving for deliverance and to be living a normal life again. Thanks to Jesus and Mary for saving my daughter, and us!”
Please join us in spirit by sending your intentions to participate with us as we pray for you and all the Association’s members during the Assumption Novena and Solemnity, August 6-15.
You are in my prayers. May Jesus bless you, and may Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal keep you in her tender, maternal care.
In the love of Mary,
Fr. Kevin McCracken, C.M.
Spiritual Director
P.S. This year’s Solemnity of the Assumption Mass (8:00 a.m., CT) will be live-streamed on our Facebook page. You are invited to follow along with us.