"The Almighty has done great things for me . . ." proclaims Mary. Can I list two "great things" God has done for me? How about two more? Make them specific.

It's a happy coincidence when the Solemnity of the Assumption falls on a Sunday. We get to share this delightful hour together in a way that's not possible mid-week, weary after work or on a hurried lunch break. The gospel reading is a rare one: Have you noticed there are no men in it?

Nowadays, she would have taken out her cell phone and called her cousin. "Guess what?" she'd have exclaimed. But as soon as she found out she was expecting, Mary set out and traveled to see her cousin Elizabeth, who was also expecting.

One of the most moving images in literature and film is at the end of the courtroom scene in Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird.

Gathered as the family of God, let us ask for God's mercy and healing.

Today Earth has sent a priceless gift up to heaven, so that by giving and receiving within the blessed bond of friendship, the human is wedded to the divine, earth to heaven, the depths to the heights. . . .