On this feast of the Assumption of Our Lady we are reminded above all that God so loved the world that he found a way to become man so he could unite us to himself. He allowed Mary to be created in such as way that this could happen and her Assumption heralds the path now open to us all. The sign of her Assumption, the Assumption of the first fruit of God's harvest, indicates to us our own 'chosenness' and gives us therefore a reason to rejoice. Here is a rather lovely hymn for the Assumption for you to meditate on.
1. Sing, sing, ye angel bands,
all beautiful
and bright;for higher still and higher,
through fields of starry light,
Mary, our Queen, ascends,
like the sweet moon at night.
2. Oh, happy angels! Look,
how beautiful
she is!See! Jesus bears her up,
her hand is locked in His;
Oh, who can tell the height,
of that fair Mother’s bliss?
3. And shall I lose thee then,
Lose my sweet right
to thee?Ah! no-the angels’ Queen
man’s Mother still will be,
And thou, upon thy throne,
wilt keep thy love for me.
4. Hark! Hark! through highest heaven
what sounds of mystic mirth!Mary by God proclaimed
Queen of Immaculate Birth,
and diademed with stars,
the lowliest of the earth.
5. See! see! the Eternal Hands
put on her radiant crown,and the sweet Majesty
of mercy sitteth down,
for ever and for ever,
on her predestined throne.
6. On, then, dear Pageant, on!
Sweet music breathes around;And love, like dew, distils
on hearts in rapture bound;
The Queen of heaven goes up,
to be proclaimed and crowned.
So that you can hear it in action here is a rendition performed by the group 'Seraphim'.
