Blogger’s Note: This past Sunday I was blessed to offer a brief morning scripture reflection at Camp Lebanon 2015, the summer outing parish families have undertaken for the past several years. This is a write-up of roughly what I think I said.

Since yesterday was the Solemnity of the Assumption, I want to focus on a small portion of that gospel reading. The passage is called the Canticle of Mary, her song of joy to God. I want to share this because this is something I often struggle with: being a joy-filled Christian. I get caught up in all the problems of this world — the persecution of Christians around the world, the whole abortion scandal in the news right now, the decline of our culture, the upcoming election — and I become a very somber Christian. I get wrapped around the axle about all these things that I can’t do anything about (except pray), and I lose the joy of our Blessed Mother. Continue reading →