Category: Mary, Our Blessed Mother

On August 15th, the Catholic church celebrates the Assumption of Mary. The Orthodox church celebrates Mary’s Assumption later in August. It is also celebrated by the Anglican church and by many Lutheran churches.

The Assumption of Mary is a public holiday in these countries: Austria, Belgium, Chile, Croatia, France, parts of Germany, Guatemala, Greece, Italy, Poland, Portugal, Slovenia, Spain, and Switzerland.

Mary our Blessed Mother’s died in Ephesus, which was originally a Greek settlement and later became part of modern day Turkey. She died and was placed in the Grotto. Her Soul went first to Heaven and then Her body was Assumed into Heaven as well.

It’s hard to imagine how happy God must have been to see Her! She had suffered so much. And yet, She was always Willing. Especially close to the Holy Spirit, Mary was always Willing to do as our Father, Her Son Jesus or the Holy Spirit Willed. She helped Jesus’ Apostles and the early church so much and made a very real difference!

And even though She missed her Son Jesus so very much, She constantly loved His people and gave Her love and Help to all of them with unceasing Grace!

Today, Mary, our Blessed Mother, can help us in so many ways. One very important way is that She points the way to Her Son, and She can help to enrich our Faith in Jesus so very much 🙂

Never be afraid to call on Mary. She is Jesus’s Mother. She is our Mother. She loves us all as only a Mother can. And She will help us on our journey as we Follow Jesus Home.

Prepare, Pray & Be Ready!

Someone once asked me, “Why do I pray the Rosary?”. There are a lot of reasons that I pray the Rosary, but a very important reason is that Mary, Our Blessed Mother, always brings us closer to Her Son Jesus. She points the way to Jesus and prays for us as we go.

I find praying the Rosary also gives me a lot of Peace. I worry less :). The Lord is with Mary; and He loves Her. She is His Mother. And the Rosary, all Rosaries, begin with the Cross 🙂

Much of the Rosary is actually in the Bible. It begins with the Our Father, the prayer our Lord Jesus Christ taught us. (Matthew 6:9-13)

Much of the Hail Mary is also in the Bible: Diocese of Brooklyn and the University of Dayton are just two sources you can read more about this on line.

When I think back to when Mary was on earth, caring for Jesus, loving Him as only a Mother can, I stand in awe. To be charged with raising the Son of God! Wow! To stand at His Cross, hurting with Him and for Him, but Trusting God. The Love and Trust that Mary had in God, Her willingness to obey God no matter what the cost, are simply amazing 🙂

I know that God would have picked the most loving Mother for His Son possible, and the most obedient! And to think She loves us! We are indeed Blessed 🙂

Prepare, Pray & Be Ready!

While praying the Rosary I saw a huge eagle flying towards me and I was reminded of the Bible verse:

“But those who wait on the Lord
Shall renew their strength;
They shall mount up with wings like eagles,
They shall run and not be weary,
They shall walk and not faint.” – Isaiah 40:31

“shall renew their strength”. Notice, it doesn’t say that we will necessarily be healed. Perhaps we will be. But perhaps our strength will be renewed to help us to deal better with the physical and emotional symptoms of our ailments.

Perhaps our strength will be renewed so that we can deal with the loss of a loved one, the loss of a dream, the loss of our job which allows us to support our family…

Perhaps our strength will be renewed so that we might do our Father’s Will. Perhaps it will be renewed so that we might love more like Jesus does.

Whatever the reason, we need to seek what God would He have us do with our “renewed strength” 🙂

Prepare, Pray & Be Ready 🙂

While praying the Rosary, I saw soldiers walking down stone stairs to a small beach . They wore green helmets and camouflage uniforms. They had guns on their shoulders and backpacks on their backs.