In 1950, Pope Pius XII declared what Catholics had long believed: after Mary's death, God raised her body. She lives with God forever. On Assumption Day we rejoice that this broken world will be made new again. The barren, the poor, the unloved and even the dead will be raised into glory.

This is a day to thank God for the bounty of growing things. Many churches gather baskets of garden vegetables, herbs, and flowers around a statue of Mary. We remember Mary's song of praise from the Gospel of Luke, "The Lord has lifted up the lowly. The Lord has filled the hungry with good things."

May this feast day remind us not only of Mary's Assumption into Heaven, but also of her blessed obedience and willingness to serve right where she was. May her example light our road as we travel toward the day we rejoin her in heaven.