From the pages of Vivificat!

Today we celebrate the Assumption of Our Lady, the Theotokos, Mary Most Holy

Today we remember a deed of power: Our Lord Jesus Christ called his Mother to himself, in body, soul, and spirit.

For Catholic Christians this means something simultaneously simple and grandiose: that the resurrection of the dead has been verified in Mary, the Mother of Jesus and Our Mother. She has received her crown, and she is as close to God as a mere creature can get, closer to Him than the Seraphim and the Cherubim. The Church rightly sings:

You are truly deserving of glory, O Theotokos, the ever-blessed and most pure Mother of our God. More honorable than the Cherubim and beyond compare more glorious than the Seraphim, who as a Virgin gave birth to God the Word, true Birth-giver of God, we magnify you.

The Church also rightly prays:

Under your protection, we hasten, O Virgin Birth-giver of God. Do not turn away from us in our time of need, but pure and blessed Lady, save us!

Redemption has been completed: A Man redeemed Mankind by dying on a cross and restored our life by rising triumphantly from the dead, thus removing the guilt of Adam; by calling Woman upon himself, he then restored Womankind to her rightful place in this New Eve.

Powerful and glorious are the deeds of Our Lord!

The Lord has called his Ark of his Majesty into his Tent!

This is the day the Lord has made! Let us rejoice and be glad in it!

Hymn of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary

Maronite Catholic Hymn for the Feast of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary taken from the Book of Offering, Maronite Catholic Church.

Alleluia! O Mother who gave Life to us, petition on our behalf the Son who appeared from you: may he remove from us the blows of punishment, and keep away divisions and disputes. May he lead us in the path of life in which we journey at all times. On your memorial day, we sing praise to your only Son.

Alleluia! Blessed are you, O Mary, for God, who feeds all creatures, was nourished by you and rested on your breast. O Wonder! The Son of God was nourished by a human creature! He assumed what is ours and gave us what is his. On his mother's memorial let us proclaim: Glory to you, O Lord.

Alleluia! As dew was falling gently over the city of Ephesus Saint John wrote to its people. He instructed them to celebrate the memory of the Blessed Mary, three times each year: In January, during the time of planting of the seeds; in May, during the time of harvest; and in August, during the time of the grapes. For the mysteries of life are prefigured in these months.

Alleluia! On your memorial day, O Blessed Mary, angels and mortals are overwhelmed with joy. The dead rejoice in their tombs because of the glory in creation. God will bless those who celebrate your memory with faith and pour his mercy upon them.

Alleluia! Who is to see a new ship sustaining the One who is mighty; the One who sustains and rules all creation. Mary bore him, yet he bears all creation. He nourishes all living creatures, yet she nourished him with her milk. He is the Maker of all infants, yet he dwelt, as an infant, in her womb. The fiery beings in the heights sing hymns of praise to him! Alleluia!