Our Lady fell asleep at last after the yeas of living with St. John and waiting for Heaven, and all the Apostles were gathered about her bed.  Except St. Thomas.  He was off in India preaching the Gospel and couldn’t get back in time although an angel is supposed to have told him to hurry.  The Apostles carried her body to the tomb and laid it there and some time afterward they discovered that it was gone.  They naturally concluded that it had been taken to Heaven (as indeed it had).  Then St. Thomas came home, and when they went out to meet him and to explain, he would not believe.  He would not believe, the legend says, until he had seen for himself.  So they took him to see where they had laid Our Lady’s body and in its place were flowers.  Looking up, St. Thomas saw her going up to Heaven; and to convince him at least, an angel brought the girdle she had fastened about her rob, and dropped it to Thomas. 

From The Year and Our Children

Mary Reed Newland.

While this is not a Holy Day of Obligation in my diocese this year, we are going to attend 6:00 mass as a family and then come home to eat dinner, including a white cake in honor of Mary!  I also have a nice statue of Mary out on the table surrounded by silk flowers.  This evening I would like to at least do one decade of the rosary with the children in remembrance of this beautiful day.   Mrs. Newland, in her book, gives a blessing for the vegetable gardens on the feast of the assumption.  We didn’t grow a garden this year (had  a baby instead!) but we have done that in the past and it makes a lovely memory of things to do with your family.