NV-Assumption

NOVENA FOR THE FEAST OF OUR LADY'S ASSUMPTION INTO HEAVEN AUGUST 15TH

What is a Novena?
A novena is a traditional devotion consisting of specific prayers recited on nine successive days. Besides being a form of praise, a novena is frequently offered for a particular intention. The first novena took place in the Cenacle, during the nine days preceding Pentecost, or the coming of the Holy Ghost. As a regular popular custom, this practice began in 12th century Christianity and continues to be beneficial today as a way of praying for healing, protection or other blessings for ourselves or others.

This particular novena is prayed to God in honor of and thanksgiving for the Assumption of Our Lady, with both body and soul, into Heaven. The taking of Our Lady into Heaven is a reminder to us that our true home is Heaven. Earth is merely a place of pilgrimage, that is full of temptations, traps and snares that seek to prevent us from reaching our true home. The prime purpose of this novena, besides our own personal private intentions, is to beg of God, through Our Lady, the grace to seek, desire and love Heaven above the allurements and false promises of this passing world.

In praying this Novena, as in the case of all prayer, it is good to begin by opening ourselves wholeheartedly to God's will, offering a simple act of trust in God's wisdom and in His providential love for us all, that disposes all things for the ultimate benefit of our souls and their salvation.

How to Pray This Novena
This novena is based on our ultimate goal, which is to reach God in Heaven. Each day of the novena is divided into the following parts: (1) a quote from Holy Scripture, (2) a section from the writings of Blessed Anne Catherine Emmerich or the Venerable Mary of Agreda on the topic of death and assumption of Our Lady (3) an occasional quote from a saint or a pope; (4) a Meditation; (5) a Prayer; (6) after mentioning your intention, pray the Our Father and the Hail Mary; (7) a Closing Prayer.

ACT OF CONSECRATION TO OUR LADY
ON THE FEAST OF HER ASSUMPTION INTO HEAVEN, AUGUST 15TH
Based on the Prayer of Pope St. Pius X

O Immaculate Virgin, Mother of God and mother of humanity, we believe with all the fervor of our Faith in thy triumphal assumption, both in body and in soul, into Heaven; where thou art acclaimed as Queen by all the choirs of angels and all the legions of saints! We unite with them to praise and bless the Lord, Who has exalted thee above all other pure creatures and to offer thee the tribute of our devotion and our love.

We know that thy gaze, which on Earth watched over the humble and suffering humanity of Jesus, in Heaven is filled with the vision of that humanity glorified and with the vision of uncreated Wisdom, and that the joy of thy soul, in the direct contemplation of the adorable Trinity, causes thy Immaculate Heart to beat with overwhelming tenderness. We, poor sinners, whose body weighs down the flight of our soul to Heaven, humbly beg thee to purify our hearts so that, while we remain below, we may learn to see God and God alone in the beauties of His creatures.

To that end we consecrate ourselves to thee on this the feast of thy Assumption into Heaven. We trust that thy merciful eyes may deign to gaze down upon our miseries and anguish, upon our struggles and our weaknesses; that thy countenance may smile upon us and bring us joys and victories; that thou may hear the voice of Jesus saying to you, of each one of us, as He once said to thee of His beloved disciple: “Behold thy son,” and we who call upon thee as our Mother, we, like John, take thee as the guide, strength and consolation of our mortal life.

We are inspired by the certainty that thy eyes, which wept over the Earth crimsoned by the Blood of Jesus, are yet turned toward this world racked by wars and persecutions, the oppression of the just and the weak. From the shadows of this valley of tears, we seek in thy heavenly assistance, tender mercy, comfort for our aching hearts, and help in the trials of Church and country.

We believe, finally, that in the glory where thou reignest, clothed with the sun and crowned with stars, thou art, after Jesus, the joy and gladness of all the angels and the saints, and from this Earth, over which we tread as pilgrims, comforted by our Faith in the future resurrection, we look to thee, our life, our sweetness, our hope! Draw us onward with the sweetness of thy voice, so that one day, after our exile, thou mayest show us Jesus, the blessed Fruit of thy womb.

O clement, O loving, O sweet Virgin Mary.

Amen.

LITANY OF THE ASSUMPTION

Lord, have mercy on us.
Christ, have mercy on us.
Lord, have mercy on us. Christ, hear us.
Christ, graciously hear us.

God the Father of Heaven,
Have mercy on us.
God the Son, Redeemer of the world,
Have mercy on us.
God the Holy Ghost,
Have mercy on us.
Holy Trinity, One God,
Have mercy on us.

Holy Mary, pray for us.
Holy Mother of God, pray for us.
Holy Virgin of virgins, pray for us.

O Queen assumed into Heaven, pray for us that our hearts may always be in Heaven

O Queen assumed into Heaven, pray for us that may not be distracted by the world

O Queen assumed into Heaven, pray for us that we may always seek God above all things

O Queen assumed into Heaven, pray for us that we may love God above all things

O Queen assumed into Heaven, pray for us that we may seek God’s will above our own will

O Queen assumed into Heaven, pray for us that we may rise above the things and cares of this world

O Queen assumed into Heaven, pray for us that our conversation may always be in Heaven

O Queen assumed into Heaven, pray for us that our hearts may be always humble

O Queen assumed into Heaven, pray for us that our minds may love to dwell on heavenly things

O Queen assumed into Heaven, pray for us that our minds and hearts may be always pure

O Queen assumed into Heaven, pray for us that we may despise the things of earth and love those of Heaven

O Queen assumed into Heaven, pray for us that we may obtain true contrition for our sins

O Queen assumed into Heaven, pray for us that that we bring forth worthy fruits of penance

O Queen assumed into Heaven, pray for us that we may grow in our knowledge of thee

O Queen assumed into Heaven, pray for us that we grow in our love of thee

O Queen assumed into Heaven, pray for us that we serve thee better for the future

O Queen assumed into Heaven, pray for us that we might hate sin above everything else

O Queen assumed into Heaven, pray for us that we preserve the grace of God in our souls

O Queen assumed into Heaven, pray for us that persevere in grace until death

O Queen assumed into Heaven, pray for us that after this life we may join thee in Heaven

O Queen assumed into Heaven, pray for us that we save our souls

Lamb of God, Who takest away the sins of the world, Spare us, O Lord.

Lamb of God, Who takest away the sins of the world, Graciously hear us, O Lord.

Lamb of God, Who takest away the sins of the world, Have mercy on us.

V. Pray for us, O Queen assumed into Heaven
R. That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.

Let us pray:
Almighty everlasting God, Who hast taken into Heaven both the body and soul of the Immaculate Virgin Mary, Mother of thy Son and our Lord Jesus Christ; grant we beseech thee, that by steadfastly keeping Heaven as our life’s goal, we may be counted worthy to join her in glory. We ask this through Jesus Christ Thy Son. Amen.

FIRST DAY OF THE NOVENA (new meditations posted for each day)
Theme: Mary's Soul Was Fixed and Focused on God and Heaven

Holy Scripture Says:
“Know therefore this day, and think in thy heart that the Lord, He is God in Heaven above, and in the Earth beneath, and there is no other” (Deuteronomy 4:39).

“Behold Heaven is the Lord's thy God, and the Heaven of Heaven, the Earth and all things that are therein” (Deuteronomy 10:14).

Reading from the Revelations and Writings of the Mystics:
Blessed Anne Catherine Emmerich and the Venerable Mary of Agreda

The Venerable Mary of Agreda writes: "I find myself indeed poor in words now, when I am to speak of the activity of the most blessed Mary’s love during the last days of her life, of her desires and incomparable yearnings to reach the close embraces of the Divinity. I find no similitude in all nature; and if anything could serve for a comparison, it might perhaps be the element of fire, on account of its correspondence with love. Fire will either die in confinement, or burst its bonds, in order to rise up unconstrained to its proper sphere. If it finds itself imprisoned within the Earth, [then like the fire and force of a volcano] it will tear up the surface, break in two the mountains and shatter the rocks, hurling them with irresistible violence aside until its fury is spent. And, as experience teaches, though its prison be of bronze as in the cannon, if it does not burst it, it at least forces an opening for itself with terrific violence and sends forth the metal ball on its course of destruction.

"But if, in the heart of the most holy Mary, the fire of divine love was concentrated to one point, then clearly the effects corresponded to their cause; and the effects of fire are not more wonderful in the order of nature, than the effects of her love in the order of grace, and of such immense grace. Our great Queen was always a pilgrim in the world and when she was ready to depart for Heaven, although her blessed body still lingered upon Earth, the flame of her most pure love, with irresistible flight, pressed upward to the Divinity. She could not withhold or constrain the impetus of her heart, nor seemed to be master of her interior activities, or keep contol over them; for she had yielded all her liberty to the sway of love and to her desire of possessing the highest Good, in whom she lived transformed and forgetful of earthly mortality.

"Her love did not burst the narrow prison walls of natural life, because it was preserved more by a miracle than by natural forces; nor did it bear up with it her mortal body, because it had not yet arrived at its destined ending, although the activity of her spirit and of her love was sufficient to ravish it from Earth. But in this sweet and unquenchable contest of love, the operations of nature were suspended, so that this godlike soul seemed to receive its life only from the divine love; and, in order to preserve the natural life, a continuous miracle was necessary, requiring the intervention of some supernatural activity for encountering and preventing death at each instant and sustaining her natural existence.It happened many times during these last days, that in order to abate somewhat the excesses of her love and in order to prevent her bosom from being forced asunder, she broke the silence of her retreat and spoke to the Lord."

Prayer
Lord Jesus Christ, Thou hast destroyed the power of death and given the hope of eternal life to both body and soul. Thou didst grant Thy Mother a special place in Thy glory, and did not allow decay to touch her body. As we rejoice in the glorious Assumption of Mary, give to us a renewed confidence in the victory of life over death. Thou Who livest and reignest forever and ever. Amen.

Immaculate Virgin, Mother of Jesus and our Mother, we believe in thy triumphant assumption into Heaven, where the angels and saints acclaim thee as Queen of Heaven and Earth. We join them in praising thee and we bless the Lord who raised thee above all creatures. With them we honor thee. We are confident that thou dost watch over our daily lives and we ask that thee to intercede for us now.

Meditation
Mary lived for God alone! Wherever God was, there was her heart! She saw everything in God, through God and with God. If anyone ever loved God with their whole heart, whole mind, whole strength and whole soul, then it was Mary. She loved God in those creatures in whom was found the grace of God, for through His grace, God dwelt in them, and Mary loved them because God was in them. Sinners she loved, not because they were sinners, but because they had been made by God and in their blindness they had lost Him—she, in her love and compassion, wanted to reunite the sinner with God. The sinners was God's creation and through Christ's Redemption, the sinner was God's possession and had to cleaned and cured of sin. The fire of her love was all embracing and all powerful. Yet, like God, she cannot and will not twist anyone's arm. We have been given free will and she respects that, even if we damn ourselves with it. Let us not hide from the fire of her love, but let us place ourselves willingly in its path, so that may also inflame us with the same love of God!

The Declaration of Pope Pius XII on the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin:
"The most bountiful God, Who is almighty, the plan of Whose Providence rests upon wisdom and love, tempers, in the secret purpose of His own mind, the sorrows of peoples and of individual men by means of joys that He interposes in their lives from time to time, in such a way that, under different conditions and in different ways, all things may work together unto good for those who love Him.

"Now, our pontificate is weighed down by ever so many cares, anxieties, and troubles, by reason of very severe calamities that have taken place and by reason of the fact that many have strayed away from truth and virtue. Nevertheless, we are greatly consoled to see that, while the Catholic Faith is being professed publicly and vigorously, piety toward the Virgin Mother of God is flourishing and daily growing more fervent, and that almost everywhere on Earth it is showing indications of a better and holier life [Sadly, this no longer the case today]. Thus, while the Blessed Virgin is fulfilling, in the most affectionate manner, her maternal duties on behalf of those redeemed by the blood of Christ, the minds and the hearts of her children are being vigorously aroused to a more assiduous consideration of her prerogatives.

"God, who from all eternity regards Mary with a most favorable and unique affection, has "when the fullness of time came" put the plan of His Providence into effect in such a way that all the privileges and prerogatives He had granted to her, in His sovereign generosity, were to shine forth in her in a kind of perfect harmony ... It is in our own age that the privilege of the bodily Assumption into Heaven of Mary, the Virgin Mother of God, has certainly shone forth more clearly." (Pope Pius XII, Munificentissimus Deus, November 1st, 1950, Dogmatic Declaration on the Assumption).

[Mention Intention]

We are comforted by our Faith in the coming Resurrection and we look to thee for prayers and comfort. After this earthly life, show us Jesus, the blessed fruit of thy womb, O clement, O loving, O sweet virgin Mary. O Queen Assumed into Heaven, pray for us. Amen.

Pray:
Say the Our Father and the Hail Mary.

Final Invocation:
O Queen assumed into Heaven, pray for us who have recourse to thee.

SCROLL FURTHER DOWN FOR DAY 2 OF THE NOVENA

LITANY OF THE ASSUMPTION

SECOND DAY OF THE NOVENA (new meditations posted for each day)
Theme: Eucharistic Gateway to Heaven

Holy Scripture Says:
"But our conversation is in Heaven; from whence also we look for the Savior, our Lord Jesus Christ” (Philippians 3:20).

“O taste, and see that the Lord is sweet: blessed is the man that hopeth in Him” (Psalm 33:9).

Reading from the Revelations and Writings of the Mystics:
Blessed Anne Catherine Emmerich and the Venerable Mary of Agreda

The Venerable Mary of Agreda writes: "During the last days of her life she not only enjoyed the favors mentioned above, namely those of the feast days and the Sundays, and many other favors impossible to enumerate, but in order to sustain and nourish her in her anguishes of love, her divine Son visited her more frequently than before.

"During these visits He recreated her and comforted her with wonderful favors and caresses, assuring her again and again that her banishment would now be short, that He would bear her up to His right hand, where she would be placed on her royal throne by the Father and the Holy Ghost and be absorbed in the abyss of the Divinity. Thus was she to be the source of new joy to the saints, all of whom were awaiting and desiring to see her.

"On these occasions the loving Mother multiplied her petitions and prayers for the Holy Church, for the Apostles and disciples, and all the ministers, who in coming ages were to serve in the preaching of the Gospel and the conversion of the world, and for all the mortals who were to accept its teachings and to come to the knowledge of the divine truth.

"Among the wonders which the Lord wrought with the most blessed Mother during these last years, there was one, which was manifest not only to the Evangelist, but to many of the faithful. This was, that when the blessed Lady received Holy Communion, she shone for some hours with a clearness so wonderful, that she seemed transfigured and gifted with glory. This was caused by the sacred body of her Son, who, as I have before stated, showed Himself to her in a transfigured and more glorious state than on Mount Tabor. All that then beheld her were filled with a joy and with effects so divine that they could be indeed felt but not described."

The Declaration of Pope Pius XII on the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin:
"That privilege has shone forth in new radiance since our predecessor of immortal memory, Pius IX, solemnly proclaimed the dogma of the loving Mother of God's Immaculate Conception.

"These two privileges are most closely bound to one another. Christ overcame sin and death by His own death, and one who through Baptism has been born again in a supernatural way has conquered sin and death through the same Christ. Yet, according to the general rule, God does not will to grant to the just the full effect of the victory over death until the end of time has come. And so it is that the bodies of even the just are corrupted after death, and only on the last day will they be joined, each to its own glorious soul.

"Now God has willed that the Blessed Virgin Mary should be exempted from this general rule. She, by an entirely unique privilege, completely overcame sin by her Immaculate Conception, and as a result she was not subject to the law of remaining in the corruption of the grave, and she did not have to wait until the end of time for the redemption of her body.

"Thus, when it was solemnly proclaimed that Mary, the Virgin Mother of God, was from the very beginning free from the taint of Original Sin, the minds of the faithful were filled with a stronger hope that the day might soon come when the dogma of the Virgin Mary's bodily Assumption into Heaven would also be defined by the Church's supreme teaching authority.

"Actually it was seen that not only individual Catholics, but also those who could speak for nations or ecclesiastical provinces, and even a considerable number of the Fathers of the Vatican Council, urgently petitioned the Apostolic See to this effect." (Pope Pius XII, Munificentissimus Deus, November 1st, 1950, Dogmatic Declaration on the Assumption).

Meditation
Separated from her Son physically, she loved Him to high Heaven sacramentally. Holy Communion, for her, was what it should be for us: the greatest gift that God can give to man here on Earth! She was sinless, yet her preparations and thanksgivings would put the greatest saint to shame. We, as sinners, should be in even greater awe, fear, respect and love for this inexpressibly and unimaginably great Gift! Yet are we? Of course not! But are we at peace with our lukewarmness and quasi-indifference, or are we ashamed and contrite about our deficiencies in this regard? Our minds and hearts should truly be assumed into Heaven at each Holy Communion we make! Let us humble ourselves, castigate ourselves, and beg for forgiveness for our past neglect, and for a greater fervor in the future, so that our minds and hearts are henceforth assumed into Heaven with each Holy Communion we make!

Prayer
Lord Jesus Christ, Thou hast destroyed the power of death and given the hope of eternal life to both body and soul. Thou didst grant Thy Mother a special place in Thy glory, and did not allow decay to touch her body. As we rejoice in the glorious Assumption of Mary, give to us a renewed confidence in the victory of life over death. Thou Who livest and reignest forever and ever. Amen.

Mary, Assumed into Heaven, we venerate thee as the Queen of Heaven and Earth. As thou tasted the bitterness of pain and sorrow with thy Son on Earth, thou dost now enjoy eternal bliss with Him in Heaven. Loving Queen, intercede for us in our needs.

[Mention Intention]
We praise Jesus for giving us such a loving mother. O Queen Assumed into Heaven, pray for us. Amen.

Pray:
Say the Our Father and the Hail Mary.

Final Invocation:
O Queen assumed into Heaven, pray for us who have recourse to thee.

SCROLL FURTHER DOWN FOR DAY 3 OF THE NOVENA

LITANY OF THE ASSUMPTION

THIRD DAY OF THE NOVENA (new meditations posted for each day)
Theme: Example of Devotion

Holy Scripture Says:
“Thou shalt love the Lord thy God, with thy whole heart, and with thy whole soul, and with thy whole mind, and with thy whole strength. This is the first commandment!” (Mark 12:30).

Reading from the Revelations and Writings of the Mystics:
Blessed Anne Catherine Emmerich and the Venerable Mary of Agreda

The Venerable Mary of Agreda writes: "The devout Queen resolved to take leave of the holy places before her departure into Heaven, and, having obtained the consent of St. John, she left the house with him and with the thousand angels of her guard. Although these sovereign princes had always served and accompanied her in all her errands, occupations and journeys, without having absented themselves, for one moment, since the instant of her birth; yet, on this occasion, they manifested themselves to her with greater beauty and refulgence, as if they felt special joy in seeing themselves already at the beginning of her last journey into Heaven. The heavenly Princess, setting aside human occupations, in order to enter upon her journey to the real and true fatherland, visited all the memorable places of our Redemption, marking each with the sweet abundance of her tears, recalling the sorrowful memories of what her Son there suffered, and fervently renewing its effects, by most fervent acts of love, clamors and petitions for all the faithful, who should devoutly and reverently visit these holy places during the future ages of the Church. On Calvary she remained a longer time, asking of her divine Son the full effects of His redeeming Death, for all the multitudes of souls there snatched from destruction. The ardor of her ineffable charity, during this prayer, rose to such a pitch, that it would have destroyed her life, if it had not been sustained by divine power.

"Thereupon her divine Son descended in person from Heaven and appeared to her on this place of His death. Answering her petitions He said: “My Mother and my Dove, Co-adjutrix in the work of human Redemption, thy petitions have come to My hearing and have touched My heart. I promise Thee that I shall be most generous with men, and I shall dispense to them continually the helps of My graces and favors, in order that, with their own free will, they may merit the glory earned for them by My Blood, if they do not, of their own accord, despise this happiness. In Heaven thou shalt be their Mediatrix and Advocate; and, all those that shall obtain thy intercession, I shall fill with My treasures and infinite mercies.”

"This promise therefore was renewed by the Lord on the very place on which He had redeemed us. The most Blessed Virgin, prostrate at His feet, gave Him thanks and there begged Him by His precious and bloody Death, to give her His last benediction. The Lord gave it, ratified all His royal promises, and then returned to the right hand of His eternal Father. Comforted in her loving anguish, the most blessed Mary pursued her devotions, kissed and worshiped the ground on Calvary, saying: “Holy earth and consecrated spot, from Heaven shall I look upon thee with reverence, bathed in that light, which manifests all in its fount and origin, and from whence came forth the divine Word, to enrich thee in His immortal flesh.”

"Then she again charged the holy angels to assist her in the custody of those sacred places, to inspire with holy thoughts all the faithful who should visit them with devotion, so that they might know and esteem properly the admirable blessing of the Redemption wrought thereon. She charged them also with the defense of those sanctuaries; and if the temerity and the crimes of men had not demerited this favor, without a doubt the holy angels would have warded off the profanations of the heathens and the infidels. Even as it is, they defend them in many ways to the present day."

The Declaration of Pope Pius XII on the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin:

"During the course of time such postulations and petitions did not decrease but rather grew continually in number and in urgency. In this cause there were pious crusades of prayer. Many outstanding theologians eagerly and zealously carried out investigations on this subject either privately or in public ecclesiastical institutions and in other schools where the sacred disciplines are taught. Marian Congresses, both national and international in scope, have been held in many parts of the Catholic world.

"These studies and investigations have brought out into even clearer light the fact that the dogma of the Virgin Mary's Assumption into Heaven is contained in the deposit of Christian Faith entrusted to the Church. They have resulted in many more petitions, begging and urging the Apostolic See that this truth be solemnly defined. In this pious striving, the faithful have been associated in a wonderful way with their own holy bishops, who have sent petitions of this kind, truly remarkable in number, to this See of the Blessed Peter.

"Consequently, when we were elevated to the throne of the supreme pontificate, petitions of this sort had already been addressed by the thousands from every part of the world and from every class of people, from our beloved sons the Cardinals of the Sacred College, from our venerable brethren, archbishops and bishops, from dioceses and from parishes.

"Consequently, while we sent up earnest prayers to God that He might grant to our mind the light of the Holy Spirit, to enable us to make a decision on this most serious subject, we issued special orders in which we commanded that, by corporate effort, more advanced inquiries into this matter should be begun and that, in the meantime, all the petitions about the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary into Heaven which had been sent to this Apostolic See from the time of Pius IX, our predecessor of happy memory, down to our own days should be gathered together and carefully evaluated" (Pope Pius XII, Munificentissimus Deus, November 1st, 1950, Dogmatic Declaration on the Assumption).

Meditation
Our Lady was totally devoted to the spiritual. Her prayer life was one of the greatest assiduity, sincerity and devotion. She would also give great importance to the holy places and this was shown by her frequent visits to those places. Sadly, we in the world, treasure earthly worldly locations and spend more time in those than we do in sacred places. We seek to know more about worldly locations, rather than those which have been blessed by Heaven in one way or another. If we cannot visit such places as Fatima, Lourdes, La Salette, Guadalupe, the Holy Land, or some other shrine to Our Lady or some saint, let us at least take time to read and learn about those places. All that show signs of a devotion that is something more than just a superficial skin-deep devotion. For example, begin by visiting the shrines posted on this website, or but books on the shrines, etc. Let us seek first the kingdom of God and heavenly things, in imitation of our Holy Mother.

Prayer
Lord Jesus Christ, Thou hast destroyed the power of death and given the hope of eternal life to both body and soul. Thou didst grant Thy Mother a special place in Thy glory, and did not allow decay to touch her body. As we rejoice in the glorious Assumption of Mary, give to us a renewed confidence in the victory of life over death. Thou Who livest and reignest forever and ever. Amen.

O Mother, Assumed into Heaven, because thou didst share in all the mysteries of our Redemption here below, Jesus has crowned thee with glory. With thy most glorious and powerful intercession, help us, O loving Mother, and present to Jesus our request.

[Mention Intention]

Teach us how to find Jesus in our daily lives. O Queen assumed into Heaven, pray for us. Amen.

Pray:
Say the Our Father and the Hail Mary.

Final Invocation:
O Queen assumed into Heaven, pray for us who have recourse to thee.

SCROLL FURTHER DOWN FOR DAY 4 OF THE NOVENA

LITANY OF THE ASSUMPTION

FOURTH DAY OF THE NOVENA (new meditations posted for each day)
Theme: Heart on Fire

Holy Scripture Says:
“I am come to cast fire on the Earth; and what will I, but that it be kindled?” (Luke 12:49).

“And they said one to the other: ‘Was not our heart burning within us, whilst He spoke in this way, and opened to us the Scriptures?’” (Luke 24:32).

Reading from the Revelations and Writings of the Mystics:
Blessed Anne Catherine Emmerich and the Venerable Mary of Agreda

The Venerable Mary of Agreda writes:
"The Queen asked also the angels of the sanctuaries and the Evangelist to give her their blessing in this last leave-taking; and therewith she returned to her oratory shedding tears of tenderest affection for what she loved so much upon earth. There she prostrated herself with her face upon the earth and poured forth another long and most fervent prayer for the Church; and she persevered in it, until in an abstractive vision of the Divinity, the Lord had given her assurance that He had heard and conceded her petitions at the throne of His mercy. In order to give the last touch of holiness to her works, she asked permission of the Lord to take leave of the Holy Church, saying: “Exalted and most high God, Redeemer of the world, head of the saints and the predestined, Justifier and Glorifier of souls, I am a child of the Holy Church, planted and acquired by thy blood. Give me, O Lord, permission to take leave of such a loving Mother [Holy Mother Church], and of all my brethren, thy children, belonging to it.”

"This was the parting of the most Blessed Mary from the Mystical Body of the Holy Roman Catholic Church, the Mother of the faithful, in order that all who should hear of her, might know by her sweet tears and endearments, in what veneration, love and esteem she held that Holy Church. After thus taking leave, the great Mistress, as the Mother of Wisdom, prepared to make her last Will and Testament. When she manifested this most prudent wish to the Lord, He deigned to approve of it by His own royal presence. She heard a voice speaking to her: “Our chosen Spouse, make thy last will as thou desirest, for We shall confirm it and execute it entirely by our infinite power ... My Daughter, thy will shall be pleasing and acceptable to Me; for thou art not wanting in the merits of good works in parting from this mortal life, that I should not satisfy thy desires.” The same encouragement was given to her by the Son and the Holy Ghost.

The Declaration of Pope Pius XII on the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin:

"And, since we were dealing with a matter of such great moment and of such importance, we considered it opportune to ask all our venerable brethren in the episcopate directly and authoritatively that each of them should make known to us his mind in a formal statement. Hence, on May 1st, 1946, we gave them our letter "Deiparae Virginis Mariae," a letter in which these words are contained: "Do you, venerable brethren, in your outstanding wisdom and prudence, judge that the bodily Assumption of the Blessed Virgin can be proposed and defined as a dogma of Faith? Do you, with your clergy and people, desire it?" But those whom "the Holy Spirit has placed as bishops to rule the Church of God" gave an almost unanimous affirmative response to both these questions. This "outstanding agreement of the Catholic prelates and the faithful," affirming that the bodily Assumption of God's Mother into Heaven can be defined as a dogma of Faith, since it shows us the concordant teaching of the Church's ordinary doctrinal authority and the concordant Faith of the Christian people which the same doctrinal authority sustains and directs, thus by itself and in an entirely certain and infallible way, manifests this privilege as a truth revealed by God and contained in that divine deposit which Christ has delivered to His Spouse to be guarded faithfully and to be taught infallibly.

Certainly this teaching authority of the Church, not by any merely human effort but under the protection of the Spirit of Truth, and therefore absolutely without error, carries out the commission entrusted to it, that of preserving the revealed truths pure and entire throughout every age, in such a way that it presents them undefiled, adding nothing to them and taking nothing away from them. For, as the First Vatican Council teaches, "the Holy Spirit was not promised to the successors of Peter in such a way that, by his revelation, they might manifest new doctrine, but so that, by His assistance, they might guard as sacred and might faithfully propose the revelation delivered through the Apostles, or the deposit of Faith."

Thus, from the universal agreement of the Church's ordinary teaching authority we have a certain and firm proof, demonstrating that the Blessed Virgin Mary's bodily Assumption into Heaven―which surely no faculty of the human mind could know by its own natural powers, as far as the heavenly glorification of the virginal body of the loving Mother of God is concerned―is a truth that has been revealed by God and consequently something that must be firmly and faithfully believed by all children of the Church. For, as the First Vatican Council asserts, "all those things are to be believed by divine and Catholic Faith which are contained in the written Word of God or in Tradition, and which are proposed by the Church, either in solemn judgment or in its ordinary and universal teaching office, as divinely revealed truths which must be believed."

Various testimonies, indications and signs of this common belief of the Church are evident from remote times down through the course of the centuries; and this same belief becomes more clearly manifest from day to day" (Pope Pius XII, Munificentissimus Deus, November 1st, 1950, Dogmatic Declaration on the Assumption).

Meditation
Our Lady may have lived on Earth, but her conversation was in Heaven. She was a true model of the pilgrim that each Christian should be—a simple wayfarer on Earth, merely passing through on the way to the true home, which is Heaven. Our Lord had said: "Lay not up to yourselves treasures on Earth: where the rust, and moth consume, and where thieves break through and steal. But lay up to yourselves treasures in Heaven: where neither the rust nor moth doth consume, and where thieves do not break through, nor steal. For where thy treasure is, there is thy heart also" (Matthew 6:19-21).

Our Lady's heart is in Heaven; her conversation is with Heaven; her dealings with those in this world are because of Heaven, so that she might lead them to Heaven. There was no division in her; no vain attempt at trying to live and earthly life like most of the people around her; no compromise and not straddling Heaven and Earth. As the Apostles write: "Love not the world, nor the things which are in the world. If any man love the world, the charity of the Father is not in him" (1 John 2:15) ... "Know you not that the friendship of this world is the enemy of God? Whosoever therefore will be a friend of this world, becometh an enemy of God" (James 4:4). Our life is a perpetual struggle to detach ourselves from the things of this world, and to attach ourselves more and more to Heaven.

Prayer
Lord Jesus Christ, Thou hast destroyed the power of death and given the hope of eternal life to both body and soul. Thou didst grant Thy Mother a special place in Thy glory, and did not allow decay to touch her body. As we rejoice in the glorious Assumption of Mary, give to us a renewed confidence in the victory of life over death. Thou Who livest and reignest forever and ever. Amen.

O dearest Mother Mary, Assumed into Heaven, God placed by His side, so that thou mayest intercede for His little ones as the Mother of God. In the midst of all the Saints thou stand as their Queen and ours — dearer to the Heart of God than any other creation. Thou dost pray for thy children and givest to us every grace won by our loving Savior on the Cross. Please intercede for us in our needs and ask Jesus to grant our request, if it be for the good of our souls.

[Mention Intention]

Obtain the grace of God for us, O Mediatrix of all Grace, unworthy though we may be. O Queen Assumed into Heaven, pray for us. Amen.

Pray:
Say the Our Father and the Hail Mary.

Final Invocation:
O Queen assumed into Heaven, pray for us who have recourse to thee.

SCROLL FURTHER DOWN FOR DAY 5 OF THE NOVENA

LITANY OF THE ASSUMPTION

FIFTH DAY OF THE NOVENA (new meditations posted for each day)
Theme: Heart So Humble

Holy Scripture Says:
"But our conversation is in Heaven; from whence also we look for the Savior, our Lord Jesus Christ” (Philippians 3:20)

Reading from the Revelations and Writings of the Mystics:
Blessed Anne Catherine Emmerich and the Venerable Mary of Agreda

The Venerable Mary of Agreda writes: Therewith the most Blessed Mary made her last Will in this form:

“Highest Lord and eternal God, I, a vile wormlet of the Earth, confess and adore Thee with all the reverence of my inmost soul as the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost ... I confess Thee as the one true Creator and Preserver of all that has being. In Thy Kingly presence, I declare and say, that my last will is this: Of the goods of mortal life and of the world, in which I live, I possess none that I can leave; for never have I possessed or loved anything beside Thee, Who art my good and all my possession. Two tunics and a cloak, which served to cover me, I leave to John for his disposal, since I hold him as a son. My body I ask the earth to receive again, for Thy service, since it is the common mother and serves Thee as Thy creature; my soul, despoiled of its body and of all visible things, I resign into Thy hands, in order that it may love and magnify Thee through all thy eternities. My merits and all the treasures, which with Thy grace through my works and exertions I have acquired, I leave to the Holy Church―my Mother and my Mistress―as my residuary heiress, and with Thy permission I there deposit them, wishing them to be much greater. And I desire that before all else they redound to the exaltation of Thy Holy Name and procure the fulfillment of Thy will on earth, as it is done in Heaven, and that all the nations come to the knowledge, love and veneration of Thee, the true God.”

“In the second place, I offer these merits for my masters, the Apostles and priests, of the present and of the future ages, so that, in view of them, Thy ineffable clemency may make them apt ministers, worthy of their office and state, filled with wisdom, virtue and holiness, by which they may edify and sanctify the souls redeemed by Thy Blood. In the third place, I offer them for the spiritual good of my devoted servants, who invoke and call upon me, in order that they may receive Thy protection and grace, and afterwards eternal life. In the fourth place, I desire that my services and labors may move Thee to mercy toward all the sinning children of Adam, in order that they may withdraw from their sinful state. From this hour on I propose and desire to continue my prayers for them, in Thy divine presence, as long as the world shall last. This, Lord and my God, is my last will, always subject to Thy own.” At the conclusion of this testament of the Queen, the most blessed Trinity approved and confirmed it; and Christ the Redeemer, as if authorizing it all, witnessed it by writing in the heart of His Mother these words: “Let it be done as thou wishest and ordainest.”

If all we children of Adam, and especially we who are born into the law of grace, had no other obligation toward the most Blessed Mary, than this, of having been constituted heirs of her immense merits, and of all that is mentioned in this short and mysterious testament, we could never repay our debt, even if, in return, we should offer our lives and endure all the sufferings of the most courageous martyrs and saints. I do not compare them with the infinite merits and treasures left by Christ our Savior in the Church, because that is not possible. But what excuse or pretense have the reprobate, who avail themselves neither of the one nor the other? All of them they despise, forget and squander. What torment and despair will be theirs, when they unavailingly come to know that they have lost forever such great blessings and treasures for a momentary delight? Let them confess the justice and equity with which they are chastised and cast off by the Lord and His loving Mother, whom they despised in such foolish temerity.

When the great Queen had made her testament, she gave thanks to the Almighty and asked permission to add another petition, saying: “Most clement Lord and Father of mercies, if it is according to Thy pleasure, my soul desires that at its departure be present the Apostles, my masters and Thy anointed, together with the other disciples, in order that they pray for me and bless me at my transition from this to the eternal life.” To this her divine Son answered: “My most beloved Mother, the Apostles are already on the way to come to thee, and those that are near shall shortly arrive, while those that are far off shall be carried by my angels; because, for My and thy greater glory it is My will that all assist at thy glorious departure for the eternal mansions, so that thou and they may be consoled.” For this new favor the most Blessed Mary gave thanks prostrate upon the ground, and therewith the three divine Persons returned to the empyrean heavens."

The Declaration of Pope Pius XII on the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin:

"Christ's faithful, through the teaching and the leadership of their pastors, have learned from the sacred books that the Virgin Mary, throughout the course of her earthly pilgrimage, led a life troubled by cares, hardships, and sorrows, and that, moreover, what the holy old man Simeon had foretold, actually came to pass, that is, that a terribly sharp sword pierced her heart as she stood under the cross of her divine Son, our Redeemer. In the same way, it was not difficult for them to admit that the great Mother of God, like her only begotten Son, had actually passed from this life. But this in no way prevented them from believing, and from professing openly, that her sacred body had never been subject to the corruption of the tomb, and that the august tabernacle of the Divine Word had never been reduced to dust and ashes. Actually, enlightened by divine grace and moved by affection for her, God's Mother and our own dearest Mother, they have contemplated, in an ever clearer light, the wonderful harmony and order of those privileges, which the most provident God has lavished upon this loving associate of our Redeemer; privileges which reach such an exalted plane that, except for her, nothing created by God, other than the human nature of Jesus Christ, has ever reached this level.

The innumerable churches, which have been dedicated to the Virgin Mary assumed into Heaven, clearly attest this Faith. So do those sacred images, exposed therein for the veneration of the faithful, which bring this unique triumph of the Blessed Virgin before the eyes of all men. Moreover, cities, dioceses, and individual regions have been placed under the special patronage and guardianship of the Virgin Mother of God assumed into Heaven. In the same way, religious institutes, with the approval of the Church, have been founded and have taken their name from this privilege. Nor can we pass over in silence the fact that in the Rosary of Mary, the recitation of which this Apostolic See so urgently recommends, there is one mystery proposed for pious meditation which, as all know, deals with the Blessed Virgin's Assumption into Heaven" (Pope Pius XII, Munificentissimus Deus, November 1st, 1950, Dogmatic Declaration on the Assumption).

Meditation
Our Lady, even though she was the masterpiece of God's creation and the richest in grace before God, was also one of the poorest creatures living on the earth. According to human habits, tendencies, customs and attitudes, she ought to have been made the most famous, richest and powerful woman in the world. But such extravagance is not the way of God. “‘For My thoughts are not your thoughts: nor your ways My ways!’ saith the Lord. ‘For as the heavens are exalted above the earth, so are My ways exalted above your ways, and My thoughts above your thoughts” (Isaias 55:8-9).

Yet we still want to bend God's will our will, and make Him change His ways to suit our ways. Even though He has told us that we cannot server God and mammon (Matthew 6:24), we stubbornly refuse to accept in practice, even though we may accept in theory. Most Catholics are hell-bent on trying to prove that to be wrong, in the feverish pursuit of fun, frolics, fame and finance. Whereas Our Lady could not wait for the day of her death and departure to Heaven; these worldlings do all they can to avoid and prevent that day from coming. They may well give lip-service to their Faith and their God; but their actions show adoration for earthly gods and idols.

Prayer
Lord Jesus Christ, Thou hast destroyed the power of death and given the hope of eternal life to both body and soul. Thou didst grant Thy Mother a special place in Thy glory, and did not allow decay to touch her body. As we rejoice in the glorious Assumption of Mary, give to us a renewed confidence in the victory of life over death. Thou Who livest and reignest forever and ever. Amen.

O merciful and loving Mother, may thy glorious beauty fill our hearts with a distaste for earthly things and an ardent longing for the joys of Heaven. May thy merciful eyes glance down upon our struggles and our weakness, in this vale of tears. Hear then loving Mother, our request and plead to Jesus for us.

[Mention Intention]

Crown us with the pure robe of innocence and grace here below, and with immortality and glory in Heaven. O Queen Assumed into Heaven, pray for us. Amen.

Pray:
Say the Our Father and the Hail Mary.

Final Invocation:
O Queen assumed into Heaven, pray for us who have recourse to thee.

SCROLL FURTHER DOWN FOR DAY 6 OF THE NOVENA

LITANY OF THE ASSUMPTION

SIXTH DAY OF THE NOVENA (new meditations posted for each day)
Theme: Gradual Decreasing of Self until Death

Holy Scripture Says:
“He must increase, but I must decrease” (John 3:30).

“For they that are according to the flesh, mind the things that are of the flesh; but they that are according to the spirit, mind the things that are of the spirit.” (Romans 8:5).

Reading from the Revelations and Writings of the Mystics:
Blessed Anne Catherine Emmerich and the Venerable Mary of Agreda

The Venerable Mary of Agreda writes:
"And now, according to the decree of the Divine Will, the day was approaching, in which the true and living Ark of the Covenant was to be placed in the Temple of the celestial Jerusalem, with a greater glory and higher jubilee than its prophetic figure was installed, by Solomon, in the sanctuary beneath the wings of the cherubim in the Temple of Jerusalem (3 King 8:8). Three days before the most happy Transition, of the great Lady, the Apostles and disciples were gathered in Jerusalem and in the Cenacle. The first one to arrive was St. Peter, from Rome. At that place the angel appeared to him and told him that the passing away of the most blessed Mary was imminent and that the Lord commanded him to go to Jerusalem in order to be present at that event. Thereupon the angel took him up and brought him from Italy to the Cenacle. There, the Queen of the world had retired, somewhat weakened in body by the force of her divine love; for since she was so near to her end, she was subjected more completely to love’s effects.

"The great Lady came to the entrance of her oratory, in order to receive the vicar of Christ our Savior. Kneeling at his feet she asked his blessing and said: “I give thanks and praise to the Almighty, that He has brought to me the Holy Father for assisting me in the hour of my death.” Then came St. Paul, to whom the Queen showed the same reverence with similar tokens of her pleasure at seeing him. The Apostles saluted her as the Mother of God, as their Queen and as Mistress of all creation; but with a sorrow equal to their reverence, because they knew that they had come to witness her passing away. After these Apostles came the others and the disciples still living. Three days after, they were all assembled in the Cenacle. The heavenly Mother received them all with profound humility, reverence and love, asking each one to bless her. All of them complied, and saluted her with admirable reverence. By orders of the Lady given to St. John, and with the assistance of St. James the less, they were all hospitably entertained and accommodated.

"Some of the Apostles were seized with tenderest grief and shed abundant tears at the thought of losing their only protection and consolation. Others were as yet ignorant of their approaching loss, especially the disciples, who had not been positively informed by the angels, but were moved by interior inspirations and a sweet and forcible intimation of God’s will to come to Jerusalem. They immediately conferred with St. Peter, desirous of knowing the occasion of their meeting; for all of them were convinced, that if there had been no special occasion, the Lord would not have urged them so strongly to come.

"The Apostle St. Peter, as the head of the Church, called them all together in order to tell them of the cause of their coming, and spoke to the assembly: “My dearest children and brethren, the Lord has called and brought us to Jerusalem from remote regions not without a cause most urgent and sorrowful to us. The Most High wishes now to raise up to the throne of eternal glory His most blessed Mother, our Mistress, our consolation and protection. His divine decree is that we all be present at her most happy and glorious Transition. When our Master and Redeemer ascended to the right hand of His Father, although He left us orphaned of His most delightful presence, we still retained His most blessed Mother. As our light now leaves us, what shall we do? What help or hope have we to encourage us on our pilgrimage? I find none except the hope that we all shall follow her in due time.”

"St. Peter could speak no farther, because uncontrollable tears and sighs interrupted him. Neither could the rest of the Apostles answer for a long time, during which, amid copious and tenderest tears, they gave vent to the groans of their inmost heart. After some time the vicar of Christ recovered himself and added: “My children, let us seek the presence of our Mother and Lady. Let us spend the time left of her life in her company and ask her to bless us.” They all betook themselves to the oratory of the great Queen and found her kneeling upon a couch, on which she was wont to recline for a short rest. They saw her full of beauty and celestial light, surrounded by the thousand angels of her guard."

The Declaration of Pope Pius XII on the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin:

"This belief of the sacred pastors and of Christ's faithful is universally manifested still more splendidly by the fact that, since ancient times, there have been both in the East and in the West solemn liturgical offices commemorating this privilege. The holy Fathers and Doctors of the Church have never failed to draw enlightenment from this fact since, as everyone knows, the sacred liturgy, "because it is the profession, subject to the supreme teaching authority within the Church, of heavenly truths, can supply proofs and testimonies, of no small value, for deciding a particular point of Christian doctrine." In the liturgical books, which deal with the feast, either of the dormition, or of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin, there are expressions that agree in testifying that, when the Virgin Mother of God passed from this earthly exile to Heaven, what happened to her sacred body was, by the decree of divine Providence, in keeping with the dignity of the Mother of the Word Incarnate, and with the other privileges she had been accorded. Thus, to cite Adrian I, our predecessor of immortal memory, who sent to the Emperor Charlemagne these words: "Venerable to us, O Lord, is the festivity of this day, on which the holy Mother of God suffered temporal death, but still could not be kept down by the bonds of death, who has begotten your Son Our Lord incarnate from herself."

What is here indicated is presented more clearly and completely in other ancient liturgical books. To take one as an example, the Gallican sacramentary designates this privilege of Mary's as "an ineffable mystery all the more worthy of praise as the Virgin's Assumption is something unique among men." And, in the Byzantine liturgy, not only is the Virgin Mary's bodily Assumption connected time and time again with the dignity of the Mother of God, but also with the other privileges, and in particular with the virginal motherhood granted her by a singular decree of God's Providence. "God, the King of the universe, has granted you favors that surpass nature. As He kept you a virgin in childbirth, thus He has kept your body incorrupt in the tomb and has glorified it by his divine act of transferring it from the tomb."

The fact that the Apostolic See, which has inherited the function entrusted to the Prince of the Apostles, the function of confirming the brethren in the Faith, has by its own authority, made the celebration of this feast ever more solemn, has certainly and effectively moved the attentive minds of the faithful to appreciate always more completely the magnitude of the mystery it commemorates. So it was that the Feast of the Assumption was elevated from the rank which it had occupied, from the beginning, among the other Marian feasts, to be classed among the more solemn celebrations of the entire liturgical cycle. Again, Pope St. Leo IV saw to it that the feast, which was already being celebrated under the title of the Assumption of the Blessed Mother of God, should be observed in even a more solemn way when he ordered a vigil to be held on the day before it and prescribed prayers to be recited after it until the octave day. When this had been done, he decided to take part himself in the celebration, in the midst of a great multitude of the faithful. Moreover, the fact that a holy fast had been ordered from ancient times for the day prior to the feast is made very evident by what our predecessor, Pope St. Nicholas I, testifies in treating of the principal fasts which "the Holy Roman Church has observed for a long time, and still observes." (Pope Pius XII, Munificentissimus Deus, November 1st, 1950, Dogmatic Declaration on the Assumption).

Meditation
After the Death, Resurrection and then the Ascension of Our Lord into Heaven, which was at first very painful for the Apostles, they were at least consoled by the presence of His most Holy Mother among them. To them it was a lifeline to Heaven, a last remaining point of contact with Christ, through His Mother.

Now, that last thread was about to be severed, and Mary would also leave them, as she, too, would leave this Earth to rejoin her Son in Heaven. From both a natural and a supernatural perspective, the Apostles were forlorn. One could vaguely or remotely compare these losses to the losing of our parents here below; but Jesus and Mary were infinitely more precious and necessary than any parents could ever be!

All this reinforces the fact that this earth is not our home! It is a place of pilgrimage. It is a temporary residence or stopping-off point on our journey to one of two permanent addresses—Heaven or, God forbid, Hell. Even Purgatory is a temporary residence. The conditions for Heaven have been laid down many times: in Holy Scripture; in the writings of the Fathers and Doctors of the Church; in the writings of the Saints; in the Magisterial writings of the Popes; in the writings of countless theologians. No one can plead ignorance to what it takes to get to Heaven.

The Spiritual Masters also tell us that, according to the normal spiritual paths followed by Divine Providence, God will gradually and increasingly strip us of any and all attachment and dependence upon earthly things, so as to finally bring us to total union and dependence upon Him, even in this world. That is why we must be like fools, who complain and rebel in the face such progressive 'annihilation' in this world. We need look no further than Our Lord and Our Lady to see that progressive 'annihilation' taking place all throughout their lives. As St. John the Baptist said of Our Lord: "He must increase, but I must decrease!" (John 3:30). The same holds true for us. Our decreasing or 'annihilation' will not be complete until we can truthfully say with St. Paul: “For to me, to live is Christ; and to die is gain” (Philippians 1:21). “And I live, now not I; but Christ liveth in me” (Galatians 2:20). “Our old man is crucified with Him, that the body of sin may be destroyed, to the end that we may serve sin no longer” (Romans 6:6).

Prayer
Lord Jesus Christ, Thou hast destroyed the power of death and given the hope of eternal life to both body and soul. Thou didst grant Thy Mother a special place in Thy glory, and did not allow decay to touch her body. As we rejoice in the glorious Assumption of Mary, give to us a renewed confidence in the victory of life over death. Thou Who livest and reignest forever and ever. Amen.

Mary, our dear Mother and mighty Queen, take and receive our poor hearts, with all their freedom and desires, all the love, and all the virtues and graces, with which they may be adorned. All we are and all we might be, all we have and hold in the order of nature as well as of grace, we have received from God through thy loving intercession. Help us dear Mother, to surrender to God all that we have, including our petitions.

[Mention Intention]

Our Lady and Queen, into thy gentle hands, we entrust all that we have and all that we are and all that we seek to be, that all may be returned to its noble origin. O Queen Assumed into Heaven, pray for us. Amen.

Pray:
Say the Our Father and the Hail Mary.

Final Invocation:
O Queen assumed into Heaven, pray for us who have recourse to thee.

SCROLL FURTHER DOWN FOR DAY 7 OF THE NOVENA

LITANY OF THE ASSUMPTION

SEVENTH DAY OF THE NOVENA (new meditations posted for each day)
Theme: Humility in Death

Holy Scripture Says:
“The days of man are short” (Job 14:5).

“In the morning man shall grow up like grass; in the morning he shall flourish and pass away: in the evening he shall fall, grow dry, and wither” (Psalm 89:6).

Reading from the Revelations and Writings of the Mystics:
Blessed Anne Catherine Emmerich and the Venerable Mary of Agreda

The Venerable Mary of Agreda writes:
"The natural condition and appearance of Our Lady’s sacred and virginal body were the same as at her thirty-third year; for, as I have already stated, from that age onward it experienced no change. It was not affected by the passing years, showing no signs of age, no wrinkles in her face or body, nor giving signs of weakening or fading, as in other children of Adam, who gradually fall away and drop from the natural perfection of early man or womanhood. This unchangeableness was the privilege of the most blessed Mary alone, as well because it consorted with the stability of her purest soul, as because it was the natural consequence of her immunity from the sin of Adam, the effects of which in this regard touched neither her sacred body nor her purest soul.

"The Apostles and disciples, and some of the other faithful, occupied her chamber, all of them preserving the utmost order in her presence. St. Peter and St. John placed themselves at the head of the couch. The great Lady looked upon them all with her accustomed modesty and reverence and spoke to them as follows: “My dearest children, give permission to your servant to speak in your presence and to disclose my humble desires.” St. Peter answered that all listened with attention and would obey her in all things; and he begged her to seat herself upon the couch, while speaking to them. It seemed to St. Peter that she was exhausted from kneeling so long; and that she had taken that position in order to pray to the Lord, and that in speaking to them, it was proper she should be seated as their Queen.

"But she, who was the Teacher of humility and obedience unto death, practiced both these virtues in that hour. She answered that she would obey in asking of them their blessing, and besought them to afford her this consolation. With the permission of St. Peter she left the couch and, kneeling before the Apostle, said to him: “My lord, I beseech thee, as the universal pastor and head of the Holy Church, to give me thy blessing in thy own and in its name. Pardon me thy handmaid for the smallness of the service I have rendered in my life. Grant that John dispose of my vestments, the two tunics, giving them to the two poor maidens, who have always obliged me by their charity.”

"She then prostrated herself and kissed the feet of St. Peter as the vicar of Christ, by her abundant tears eliciting not less the admiration than the tears of the Apostle and of all the bystanders. From St. Peter she went to St. John, and kneeling likewise at his feet, said: “Pardon, my son and my master, my not having fulfilled toward thee the duties of a Mother as I ought and as the Lord had commanded me, when from the Cross He appointed thee as my son and me as thy mother. I humbly and from my heart thank thee for the kindness which thou hast shown me as a son. Give me thy blessing for entering into the vision and company of Him who created me.”

The Declaration of Pope Pius XII on the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin:

"However, since the liturgy of the Church does not engender the Catholic Faith, but rather springs from it, in such a way that the practices of the sacred worship proceed from the faith as the fruit comes from the tree, it follows that the holy Fathers and the great Doctors, in the homilies and sermons they gave the people on this feast day, did not draw their teaching from the feast itself, as from a primary source, but rather they spoke of this doctrine as something already known and accepted by Christ's faithful. They presented it more clearly. They offered more profound explanations of its meaning and nature, bringing out, into sharper light, the fact that this feast shows, not only that the dead body of the Blessed Virgin Mary remained incorrupt, but that she gained a triumph out of death, her heavenly glorification, after the example of her only begotten Son, Jesus Christ—truths that the liturgical books had frequently touched upon concisely and briefly.

Thus St. John Damascene, an outstanding herald of this traditional truth, spoke out with powerful eloquence when he compared the bodily Assumption of the loving Mother of God with her other prerogatives and privileges. "It was fitting that she, who had kept her virginity intact in childbirth, should keep her own body free from all corruption, even after death. It was fitting that she, who had carried the Creator as a Child at her breast, should dwell in the divine tabernacles. It was fitting that the spouse, whom the Father had taken to Himself, should live in the divine mansions. It was fitting that she, who had seen her Son upon the cross, and who had, thereby, received into her heart the sword of sorrow, which she had escaped in the act of giving birth to Him, should look upon Him as He sits with the Father. It was fitting that God's Mother should possess what belongs to her Son, and that she should be honored by every creature as the Mother and as the handmaid of God."

These words of St. John Damascene agree perfectly with what others have taught on this same subject. Statements no less clear and accurate are to be found in sermons delivered by Fathers of an earlier time or of the same period, particularly on the occasion of this feast. And so, to cite some other examples, St. Germanus of Constantinople considered the fact that the body of Mary, the virgin Mother of God, was incorrupt and had been taken up into Heaven, to be in keeping, not only with her divine motherhood, but also with the special holiness of her virginal body. "You are she who, as it is written, appears in beauty, and your virginal body is all holy, all chaste, entirely the dwelling place of God, so that it is, henceforth, completely exempt from dissolution into dust. Though still human, it is changed into the heavenly life of incorruptibility, truly living and glorious, undamaged and sharing in perfect life." And another very ancient writer asserts: "As the most glorious Mother of Christ, our Savior and God and the Giver of life and immortality, has been endowed with life by Him, she has received an eternal incorruptibility of the body together with Him, Who has raised her up from the tomb and has taken her up to Himself, in a way known only to Him." (Pope Pius XII, Munificentissimus Deus, November 1st, 1950, Dogmatic Declaration on the Assumption).

Meditation
As death approached, Mary's humility increased. She could well have once more sung her canticle, the Magnificat, at this moment: “My soul doth magnify the Lord. And my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour. Because He hath regarded the humility of His handmaid; for behold from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed. Because He that is mighty, hath done great things to me; and holy is His Name. And His mercy is from generation unto generations, to them that fear Him. He hath showed might in His arm: He hath scattered the proud in the conceit of their heart. He hath put down the mighty from their seat, and hath exalted the humble. He hath filled the hungry with good things; and the rich He hath sent empty away. He hath received Israel His servant, being mindful of His mercy: as He spoke to our fathers, to Abraham and to his seed for ever” (Luke 1:46-55).

Mary knew that she was not going to Hell. She knew that she was not destined for Purgatory. Heaven was her destination. When we imagine the way in which people celebrate winning something or achieving something—with all the hype, hysteria and hoop-la that accompanies it--then Our Lady's celebration is the lowest key event of history. For what achievement is greater than the winning of Heaven? What can give greater joy than salvation? No birth, no wedding, no graduation, no award, no trophy comes anywhere near this! Yet, in her humility, or should we say honesty, for the humility and honesty are flip sides of the same coin, she deflects all this. Like the Magnificat, she gives all glory to God. She magnifies, not herself, but God; for, despite being His masterpiece, she is His humble handmaid. For she is only a masterpiece because "He that is mighty, hath done great things" to her. It is because she is humble, that God exalts her and fills her with graces beyond measure. Humble in life, humble in death, still humble in Heaven—for she knows where all greatness really comes from.

Prayer
Lord Jesus Christ, Thou hast destroyed the power of death and given the hope of eternal life to both body and soul. Thou didst grant Thy Mother a special place in Thy glory, and did not allow decay to touch her body. As we rejoice in the glorious Assumption of Mary, give to us a renewed confidence in the victory of life over death. Thou Who livest and reignest forever and ever. Amen.

Mary, Queen of every heart, accept all that we are and bind us to Jesus with the bonds of love, that we may be thine forever and may be able to say in all truth: “I belong to Jesus through Mary”. Our Mother, Assumed into Heaven and Queen of the Universe, ever-Virgin Mother of God, obtain for us what we ask for if it be for the glory of God and the good of our souls.

[Mention Intention]

Our Mother, assumed into Heaven, we love thee. Give us a greater love for Jesus and thee. O Queen Assumed into Heaven, pray for us. Amen.

Pray:
Say the Our Father and the Hail Mary.

Final Invocation:
O Queen assumed into Heaven, pray for us who have recourse to thee.

SCROLL FURTHER DOWN FOR DAY 8 OF THE NOVENA

LITANY OF THE ASSUMPTION

EIGHTH DAY OF THE NOVENA (new meditations posted for each day)
Theme: Preparing for Death

Holy Scripture Says:
“Thou seest that I am old, and know not the day of my death” (Genesis 27:2).

“And the Lord said to Moses: ‘Behold the days of thy death are nigh!’” (Deuteronomy 31:14).

“For there was the fear of death in every city, and the hand of God was exceeding heavy” (1 King 5:12).

Reading from the Revelations and Writings of the Mystics:
Blessed Anne Catherine Emmerich and the Venerable Mary of Agreda

The Venerable Mary of Agreda writes:
"The sweetest Mother proceeded in her leave-taking, speaking to each of the Apostles in particular and to some of the disciples; and then to all the assembly together; for there were a great number. She rose to her feet and addressed them all, saying: “Dearest children and my masters, always have I kept you in my soul and written in my heart. I have loved you with that tender love and charity, which was given to me by my divine Son, whom I have seen in you, His chosen friends. In obedience to His holy and eternal will, I now go to the eternal mansions, where I promise you as a Mother I will look upon you by the clearest light of the Divinity, the vision of which my soul hopes and desires in security.”

"The words of the most blessed Mary, like arrows of a divine fire, penetrated the hearts of all the Apostles and hearers, and as she ceased speaking, all of them were dissolved in streams of tears and, seized with irreparable sorrow, cast themselves upon the ground with sighs and groans sufficient to move to compassion the very earth. All of them wept, and with them wept also the sweetest Mary, who could not resist this bitter and well-founded sorrow of her children. After some time she spoke to them again, and asked them to pray with her and for her in silence, which they did.

"During this quietness the incarnate Word descended from Heaven on a throne of ineffable glory, accompanied by all the saints and innumerable angels, and the house of the Cenacle was filled with glory. The most blessed Mary adored the Lord and kissed His feet. Prostrate before Him she made the last and most profound act of faith and humility in her mortal life. On this occasion the most pure Creature, the Queen of the heavens, shrank within herself and lowered herself to the earth more profoundly than all men together ever have or ever will humiliate themselves for all their sins. Her divine Son gave her His blessing and spoke to her these words: “My dearest Mother, whom I have chosen for My dwelling place, the hour is come in which thou art to pass from the life of this death and of the world into the glory of My Father and Mine, where thou shalt possess the throne prepared for thee at My right hand and enjoy it through all eternity. And since I have caused thee to enter the world free and exempt from sin, therefore also death shall have no tight or permission to touch thee at thy exit from this world. If thou wishest not to pass through it, come with Me now to partake of my glory, which thou hast merited.”

"The most prudent Mother prostrated herself at the feet of her Son and with a joyous countenance answered: “My Son and my Lord, I beseech Thee let Thy mother and Thy servant enter into eternal life by the common doorway of natural death, like the other children of Adam. Thou hast suffered death without being obliged to do so; it is proper that, as I have followed Thee in life, so I follow Thee also in death.” Christ the Savior approved of the decision and the sacrifice of His most blessed Mother, and consented to its fulfillment.”

The Declaration of Pope Pius XII on the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin:

"When this liturgical feast was being celebrated ever more widely and with ever increasing devotion and piety, the bishops of the Church and its preachers in continually greater numbers considered it their duty openly and clearly to explain the mystery that the feast commemorates, and to explain how it is intimately connected with the other revealed truths. Theologians have always considered it worthy of note that this privilege of the Virgin Mary's Assumption is in wonderful accord with those divine truths given us in Holy Scripture.They insist upon the fact that, out of filial love for his mother, Jesus Christ has willed that she be assumed into Heaven. They base the strength of their proofs on the incomparable dignity of her divine motherhood and of all those prerogatives which follow from it. These include her exalted holiness, entirely surpassing the sanctity of all men and of the angels, the intimate union of Mary with her Son, and the affection of preeminent love which the Son has for his most worthy Mother.

Often there are theologians and preachers who have been rather free in their use of events and expressions taken from Sacred Scripture to explain their belief in the Assumption. Some have employed the words of the psalmist: "Arise, O Lord, into your resting place: you and the ark, which you have sanctified"; and have looked upon the Ark of the Covenant, built of incorruptible wood and placed in the Lord's temple, as a type of the most pure body of the Virgin Mary, preserved and exempt from all the corruption of the tomb and raised up to such glory in Heaven. They also describe her as the Queen entering triumphantly into the royal halls of Heaven and sitting at the right hand of the divine Redeemer. Likewise they mention the Spouse of the Canticles "that goes up by the desert, as a pillar of smoke of aromatical spices, of myrrh and frankincense" to be crowned. These are proposed as depicting that heavenly Queen and heavenly Spouse who has been lifted up to the courts of Heaven with the divine Bridegroom.

Scholastic Doctors have recognized the Assumption of the Virgin Mother of God as something signified, not only in various figures of the Old Testament, but also in that woman clothed with the sun whom John the Apostle contemplated on the Island of Patmos. Similarly they have given special attention to these words of the New Testament: "Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with you, blessed are you among women," since they saw, in the mystery of the Assumption, the fulfillment of that most perfect grace granted to the Blessed Virgin and the special blessing that countered the curse of Eve. Amadeus, Bishop of Lausarme, held that the Virgin Mary's flesh had remained incorrupt—for it is wrong to believe that her body has seen corruption—because it was really united again to her soul and, together with it, crowned with great glory in the heavenly courts.

St. Anthony of Padua, while explaining the prophet's words: "I will glorify the place of my feet," he stated it as certain that the divine Redeemer had bedecked with supreme glory His most beloved Mother from whom He had received human flesh. He asserts that "you have here a clear statement that the Blessed Virgin has been assumed in her body, where was the place of the Lord's feet. Hence it is that the holy Psalmist writes: 'Arise, O Lord, into Your resting place: You and the ark which you have sanctified."'

St. Albert the Great had gathered together many proofs from Sacred Scripture, from the statements of older writers, and from the liturgy, concluded in this way: "From these proofs and authorities and from many others, it is manifest that the most blessed Mother of God has been assumed above the choirs of angels. And this we believe in every way to be true."

Following the footsteps of his distinguished teacher, the Angelic Doctor [St. Thomas Aquinas], despite the fact that he never dealt directly with this question, nevertheless, whenever he touched upon it, always held together with the Catholic Church, that Mary's body had been assumed into heaven along with her soul.

St. Bernardine of Siena collected and diligently evaluated all that the medieval theologians had said and taught on this question. He was not content with setting down the principal considerations which these writers of an earlier day had already expressed, but he added others of his own. The likeness between God's Mother and her divine Son, in the way of the nobility and dignity of body and of soul — a likeness that forbids us to think of the heavenly Queen as being separated from the heavenly King — makes it entirely imperative that Mary "should be only where Christ is." Moreover, it is reasonable and fitting that not only the soul and body of a man, but also the soul and body of a woman should have obtained heavenly glory. Finally, since the Church has never looked for the bodily relics of the Blessed Virgin, nor proposed them for the veneration of the people, we have a proof on the order of a sensible experience.

In more recent times, gathering together the testimonies of the Christians of earlier days, St. Robert Bellarmine exclaimed: "And who, I ask, could believe that the ark of holiness, the dwelling place of the Word of God, the temple of the Holy Spirit, could be reduced to ruin? My soul is filled with horror at the thought that this virginal flesh which had begotten God, had brought him into the world, had nourished and carried him, could have been turned into ashes or given over to be food for worms."

In like manner St. Francis de Sales asks this question: "What son would not bring his mother back to life and would not bring her into Paradise after her death if he could?" And St. Alphonsus Liguori writes that "Jesus did not wish to have the body of Mary corrupted after death, since it would have redounded to His own dishonor to have her virginal flesh, from which He Himself had assumed flesh, reduced to dust."

St. Peter Canisius adds these words of warning: "This teaching has already been accepted for some centuries, it has been held as certain in the minds of the pious people, and it has been taught to the entire Church in such a way that those who deny that Mary's body has been assumed into Heaven are not to be listened to patiently, but are everywhere to be denounced as over-contentious or rash men, and as imbued with a spirit that is heretical rather than Catholic."

At the same time the great Suarez was professing in the field of Mariology the norm that "keeping in mind the standards of propriety, and when there is no contradiction or repugnance on the part of Scripture, the mysteries of grace which God has wrought in the Virgin must be measured, not by the ordinary laws, but by the divine omnipotence." Supported by the common Faith of the entire Church on the subject of the mystery of the Assumption, he could conclude that this mystery was to be believed with the same firmness of assent as that given to the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin. Thus he already held that such truths could be defined." (Pope Pius XII, Munificentissimus Deus, November 1st, 1950, Dogmatic Declaration on the Assumption).

Meditation
"The wages of sin is death" says Holy Scripture (Romans 6:23). The great humility of the Mother of God imitates the great humility of the Son of God. Neither deserved to die, but willingly chose and accepted death. “Greater love than this no man hath, that a man lay down his life for his friends” (John 15:13). Innocence chose death so that guilt could have life. Jesus proved His love for us by His death, and Mary proved her love for Him and for us by dying as His Co-Redemptrix.

"The wages of sin is death." We have sinned and we need to collect our wages. We can already collect some of those wages by dying while we live! We can die to the world, the allurements of the world, the fashions of the world, the maxims of the world, the company of the world. We can also die to ourselves, our own pride, our self-interest, our self-opinionatedness, our self-will, our seeking of comforts, praise, fame and glory. Thus, stripped of all that can cause sin, we will be better prepared at our physical death and more likely to enter the halls of Heaven with a minimal stay in the purifying fires of Purgatory.

Prayer
Lord Jesus Christ, Thou hast destroyed the power of death and given the hope of eternal life to both body and soul. Thou didst grant Thy Mother a special place in Thy glory, and did not allow decay to touch her body. As we rejoice in the glorious Assumption of Mary, give to us a renewed confidence in the victory of life over death. Thou Who livest and reignest forever and ever. Amen.

Mary, Queen Assumed into Heaven, we rejoice that thou art the Queen of Heaven and Earth. Thou hast given thy holy “fiat” to God and became the Mother of our Savior. Obtain peace and salvation for us through thy prayers, for thou hast given birth to Christ our Lord, the Savior of all mankind. Intercede for us and bring our petitions before the Throne of God.

[Mention Intention]

Through thy prayers, may our souls be filled with an intense desire to be like thee, a humble vessel of the Holy Ghost and a servant of the Almighty God. Pray for us O Queen Assumed into Heaven, that we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ. Amen.

Pray:
Say the Our Father and the Hail Mary.

Final Invocation:
O Queen assumed into Heaven, pray for us who have recourse to thee.

LITANY OF THE ASSUMPTION

NINTH DAY OF THE NOVENA (new meditations posted for each day)
Theme: Home at Last!

Holy Scripture Says:
“Lay not up to yourselves treasures on Earth: where the rust, and moth consume, and where thieves break through and steal. But lay up to yourselves treasures in Heaven: where neither the rust nor moth doth consume, and where thieves do not break through, nor steal. For where thy treasure is, there is thy heart also” (Matthew 6:19-21).

Reading from the Revelations and Writings of the Mystics:
Blessed Anne Catherine Emmerich and the Venerable Mary of Agreda

The Venerable Mary of Agreda writes:
"The Apostles sadly recited prayers for the dying, St. Peter entered the room and gave Mary her last Holy Communion, after which he anointed her with the oils of Extreme Unction. The most blessed Mary reclined back upon her couch or bed. Her tunic was folded about her sacred body, her hands were joined in prayer, while her eyes fixed upon her divine Son, Who was present for her death, and she was entirely inflamed with the fire of divine love. The intensity of her love for Him and the fervor of her longing to be with Him completely transfigured her radiant features. She seemed to become utterly inflamed with the fire of her seraphic charity. On her beautiful face appeared an expression of heavenly joy, and her lips parted in the sweet, gentle smile of her youth. Mary whispered: "Into Thy hands, O Lord, I commend my spirit." Then the eyes of the Mother of God gently closed. And her soul, without effort, left her body. She died of love. The sickness which took away her life was love, without any other weakness or accidental intervention of whatever kind. She died at the moment when the divine power suspended the assistance. As soon as this miraculous assistance was withdrawn, the fire of her love consumed the life of her heart and thus caused the cessation of her earthly existence.

"Then this most pure Soul passed from her virginal body to be placed in boundless glory, on the throne at the right hand of her divine Son. The sacred body of the most blessed Mary, which had been the temple and sanctuary of God in life, continued to shine with an effulgent light and breathed forth such a wonderful and unheard of fragrance, that all the bystanders were filled with interior and exterior sweetness. The Apostles and disciples, amid the tears and the joy of the wonders they had seen, were absorbed in admiration for some time, and then sang many hymns and psalms in honor of the most blessed Mary now departed. The Apostles and disciples with others of the faithful broke forth in tears and sighs. Many sick persons came who all were cured. The souls in Purgatory were released.

"They therefore brought in a plain wooden bier. And with their own hands they reverently took Mary's robe at both ends and carefully lifted her light body onto the bier. Numerous candles were then lit and set around it, and although .they burned for many hours they were not at all consumed. During all this time great numbers of the faithful quietly entered the room, prayed for a moment, and left, weeping and mourning. On the day of the funeral, the Apostles took up the bier and bore it in a solemn procession from the Cenacle to the tomb, in the Valley of Josaphat, near the Garden of Gethsemane. When the procession reached the prepared tomb, St. Peter and St. John reverently carried the bier into the sepulcher, which was then filled with aromatic flowers and closed with a large stone, while everyone present wept and prayed in profound sorrow. The heavenly chanting of the angels continued, and many persons noticed an extraordinary light shining around the tomb. Gradually most of the mourners returned to the city, but some of the Apostles and Holy Women remained watching and praying before the sepulcher.

Later, after the funeral, the Lord descended in a dazzling beam of light to the tomb of the Blessed Virgin, accompanied by Mary's soul and by innumerable angels. Then the holy soul of the Mother of God penetrated into her body in the sepulcher, reanimated it, and rose up again united to it, utterly radiant, gloriously attired, and indescribably beautiful. Now amid celestial music a magnificent triumphant procession ascended from the tomb to Heaven."

The Declaration of Pope Pius XII on the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin:

"All these proofs and considerations of the holy Fathers and the theologians are based upon the Sacred Writings as their ultimate foundation. These set the loving Mother of God as it were before our very eyes as most intimately joined to her divine Son and as always sharing his lot. Consequently it seems impossible to think of her, the one who conceived Christ, brought Him forth, nursed Him with her milk, held Him in her arms, and clasped Him to her breast, as being apart from Him in body, even though not in soul, after this earthly life. Since our Redeemer is the Son of Mary, He could not do otherwise, as the perfect observer of God's law, than to honor, not only His eternal Father, but also Hiis most beloved Mother. And, since it was within His power to grant her this great honor, to preserve her from the corruption of the tomb, we must believe that He really acted in this way. We must remember especially that, since the second century, the Virgin Mary has been designated by the holy Fathers as the new Eve, who, although subject to the new Adam, is most intimately associated with him in that struggle against the infernal foe, which would finally result in that most complete victory over the sin and death. Consequently, just as the glorious resurrection of Christ was an essential part and the final sign of this victory, so that struggle, which was common to the Blessed Virgin and her divine Son, should be brought to a close by the glorification of her virginal body, for the same Apostle says: "When this mortal thing hath put on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written: 'Death is swallowed up in victory.'"

"Hence the revered Mother of God, from all eternity joined in a hidden way with Jesus Christ, in one and the same decree of predestination, immaculate in her conception, a most perfect virgin in her divine motherhood, the noble associate of the divine Redeemer, Who has won a complete triumph over sin and its consequences, finally obtained, as the supreme culmination of her privileges, that she should be preserved free from the corruption of the tomb and that, like her own Son, having overcome death, she might be taken up body and soul to the glory of Heaven where, as Queen, she sits in splendor at the right hand of her Son, the immortal King of the Ages.

"Since the universal Church, within which dwells the Spirit of Truth, Who infallibly directs it toward an ever more perfect knowledge of the revealed truths, has expressed its own belief many times over the course of the centuries, and since the bishops,, of the entire world are almost unanimously petitioning that the truth of the bodily Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary into Heaven should be defined as a dogma of divine and Catholic Faith—this truth which is based on the Sacred Writings, which is thoroughly rooted in the minds of the faithful, which has been approved in ecclesiastical worship from the most remote times, which is completely in harmony with the other revealed truths, and which has been expounded and explained magnificently in the work, the science, and the wisdom of the theologians—we believe that the moment appointed in the plan of Divine Providence, for the solemn proclamation of this outstanding privilege of the Virgin Mary, has already arrived.

"We are confident that this solemn proclamation and definition of the Assumption will contribute in no small way to the advantage of human society. It is to be hoped that all the faithful will be stirred up to a stronger piety toward their heavenly Mother, and ... increasing their love for her, who shows her motherly heart to all the members of this august body. Finally it is our hope that belief in Mary's bodily Assumption into Heaven will make our belief in our own resurrection stronger and render it more effective.

"We have poured forth prayers of supplication again and again to God, and have invoked the light of the Spirit of Truth, and by our own authority, we pronounce, declare, and define it to be a divinely revealed dogma: that the Immaculate Mother of God, the ever Virgin Mary, having completed the course of her earthly life, was assumed body and soul into heavenly glory. Hence if anyone, which God forbid, should dare willfully to deny or to call into doubt that which we have defined, let him know that he has fallen away completely from the divine and Catholic Faith" (Pope Pius XII, Munificentissimus Deus, November 1st, 1950, Dogmatic Declaration on the Assumption).

Meditation
We have all heard the saying: "As we live, so shall we die!" Our Lady lived in love, she died in love. Love dictated her life; love dictated her death. The words of St. Paul are most applicable to Our Lady: “Whether we live, we live unto the Lord; or whether we die, we die unto the Lord. Therefore, whether we live, or whether we die, we are the Lord’s” (Romans 14:8). Will we follow her? If we follow her example, then we will follow her to Heaven.

Furthermore, these words of Our Lord are also applicable: "For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also" (Luke 12:34). Our Lady's treasure was Our Lord and He was in Heaven; therefore her heart was in Heaven and her body and soul followed. Where our heart is, that is where we will end up. Let us make sure our heart is in the right place before it is too late!

Prayer
Lord Jesus Christ, Thou hast destroyed the power of death and given the hope of eternal life to both body and soul. Thou didst grant Thy Mother a special place in Thy glory, and did not allow decay to touch her body. As we rejoice in the glorious Assumption of Mary, give to us a renewed confidence in the victory of life over death. Thou Who livest and reignest forever and ever. Amen.

O Blessed Mother Assumed into Heaven, after years of heroic martyrdom on Earth, we rejoice that thou, at last, hast been taken to the throne prepared for thee in Heaven by the Holy Trinity. Lift our hearts with thee, in the glory of thy Assumption, above the dreadful touch of sin and impurity. Teach us how small Earth becomes when viewed from Heaven. Make us realize that death is the triumphant gate, through which we shall pass to meet thy Son; and that someday, our bodies shall rejoin our souls in the unending bliss of Heaven. From this Earth, over which we tread as pilgrims, we look to thee for help. In honor of thy Assumption into Heaven, we ask for this favor.

[Mention Intention]

When our hour of death has come, lead us safely to the presence of Jesus to enjoy the vision of God for all eternity together with thee. Pray for us O Queen Assumed into Heaven, that we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ. Amen.

Pray:
Say the Our Father and the Hail Mary.

Final Invocation:
O Queen assumed into Heaven, pray for us who have recourse to thee.

ACT OF CONSECRATION TO OUR LADY ON THE FEAST OF
HER ASSUMPTION INTO HEAVEN, AUGUST 15TH
Based on the Prayer of Pope St. Pius X

O Immaculate Virgin, Mother of God and mother of humanity, we believe with all the fervor of our Faith in thy triumphal assumption, both in body and in soul, into Heaven; where thou art acclaimed as Queen by all the choirs of angels and all the legions of saints! We unite with them to praise and bless the Lord, Who has exalted thee above all other pure creatures and to offer thee the tribute of our devotion and our love.

We know that thy gaze, which on Earth watched over the humble and suffering humanity of Jesus, in Heaven is filled with the vision of that humanity glorified and with the vision of uncreated wisdom, and that the joy of thy soul, in the direct contemplation of the adorable Trinity, causes thy Immaculate Heart to beat with overwhelming tenderness. We, poor sinners, whose body weights down the flight of our soul to Heaven, humbly beg thee to purify our hearts so that, while we remain below, we may learn to see God and God alone in the beauties of his creatures.

To that end we consecrate ourselves to thee on this the feast of the Assumption. We trust that thy merciful eyes may deign to gaze down upon our miseries and anguish, upon our struggles and our weaknesses; that thy countenance may smile upon us and bring us joys and victories; that you may hear the voice of Jesus saying to you, of each one of us, as He once said to you of His beloved disciple: “Behold thy son,” and we who call upon thee as our mother, we, like John, take thee as the guide, strength and consolation of our mortal life.

We are inspired by the certainty that thy eyes, which wept over the earth crimsoned by the blood of Jesus, are yet turned toward this world racked by wars and persecutions, the oppression of the just and the weak. From the shadows of this valley of tears, we seek in thy heavenly assistance, tender mercy, comfort for our aching hearts, and help in the trials of Church and country.

We believe finally that in the glory where thou reignest, clothed with the sun and crowned with stars, thou art, after Jesus, the joy and gladness of all the angels and the saints, and from this Earth, over which we tread as pilgrims, comforted by our Faith in the future resurrection, we look to thee, our life, our sweetness, our hope! Draw us onward with the sweetness of thy voice, so that one day, after our exile, thou mayest show us Jesus, the blessed fruit of thy womb.

O clement, O loving, O sweet Virgin Mary.

Amen.