by Theresa CavicchioThe Mysteries of the Rosary close out in a blaze of glory, in keeping with the spiritually powerful events they signify. Elevating our spirits to the interplay between heaven and earth, they lift us outside the realm of strictly human experience. The Glorious Mysteries traditionally are prayed on Sunday and Wednesday.
August 15
Feast of the Assumption
Who is she that ascends so high,
Next the Heavenly King,
Round about whom Angels fly
And her praises sing?
Who is she that, adorned with light,
Makes the sun her robe,
At whose feet the queen of night
Lays her changing globe?
To that crown direct their eyes,
Which her head attires;
There thou mayest her name descry
Writ in starry fires.
This is she in whose pure womb
Heaven’s Prince remained;
Therefore in no earthly tomb
Can she be contained.
Heaven she was, which held that fire,
Whence the world took light,
And to Heaven doth now aspire
Flames with flames t’ unite.
She that did so clearly shine
When our day begun,
See how bright her beams decline
Now she sits with the Sun.
The Catholic News Agency (CNA) is reporting that during his homily on the Feast of the Assumption, Bishop Munilla of San Sebastian, Spain, said the dogma of the Assumption is "an antidote to beliefs in reincarnation" because it reminds us that death produces the separation of body and soul, but at the same time underscores that "faith in our resurrection at the end of time is the greatest characteristic of Christian hope."
