4th Glorious Mystery: The Assumption of Mary

By Ivonne Hernandez

St Peter Julian Eymard's Words:

“Mary died of love. The longing to see her Son, and to be fully united to Him, snapped her thread of life. Jesus is about to accord her a grand triumph. O what passed between Jesus and Mary at the moment of their meeting! We know the joy of a mother and a son meeting after a long separation.” [1]

"In Communion we receive an unfailing pledge of immortality. ‘He that eats my flesh, and drinks my blood, has everlasting’ eternal life. We lose our temporal life. But it is not a life worthy of the name; it is only a halt on the journey to true life.” [2]


MEDITATION:

The mystery of the Assumption speaks to us of the resurrection of the body. “The Assumption of the Blessed Virgin is a singular participation in her Son’s Resurrection and an anticipation of the resurrection of other Christians.” (CCC, 968) Just like Mary has been taken up into Heaven, body and soul, we live in the hope of the Resurrection, in that “unfailing pledge of immortality” we receive in Communion.

In the book “Our Lady of the Most Blessed Sacrament”, St Peter Julian explores the life of Mary in the Cenacle in the early years of the Church. He writes: “The Blessed Virgin had so powerful an attraction for the Eucharist that she could not live away from It.” [3] It is sometimes hard to imagine that Our Lady’s love for Jesus could grow even more than when she stood at the foot of the Cross, but we have to remember that love, being from God, if nurtured, can always grow. Mary’s love for Jesus, nurtured by Holy Communion and Adoration, grew until her longing “snapped her thread of life” and she “died of love”.

When we meditate on Our Mother being taken up into Heaven, into the loving arms of the Father, and reunited with her Son, we are filled with hope. She is always our mother, and as such, she is interceding for us, and she is teaching and encouraging us. Let us then imitate her, remaining close to Jesus in the Most Blessed Sacrament. Let us receive Him often with great love and adore Him in the Tabernacle. Let us see His Body, glorious but hidden in the Host, and remember that He wants to sow the seed of His own Life in us, and raise us with Him on the last day.

SEND:

When you meditate on the mystery of the Assumption think of Mary receiving Communion from the hands of the Apostles. Think of how she loved her Son and longed to be reunited with Him. Ask for the grace to receive Him always with an ever increasing love and hope in the resurrection.
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[1] Eymard, Our Lady of the Most Blessed Sacrament p.
[2] Eymard, The Real Presence, p. 237
[3] Eymard, Our Lady of the Most Blessed Sacrament p.34