Rejoice always, pray without ceasing.
1 Thessalonians 5:16–17
As we celebrate Cross Catholic Outreach’s 25th Anniversary, we are grateful for another year to come together in prayer for each other and for our ministry partners. I can hardly wait for our 2026 Day of Prayer to begin on Friday, Aug. 14, and the Mass of the Assumption that follows on Saturday, Aug. 15.
On this special day, we bring our petitions to the Lord as we join the universal Church in preparing our hearts to honor the Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Let’s look at the solemnity’s Gospel reading to reflect on why Day of Prayer is so important.
The Gospel reading for the Mass of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary does not portray Mary being in heaven or even rising to heaven. Instead, it provides us with a wonderful lesson about service and how holy friendships can nurture and support us on our journeys.
The account from Saint Luke describes how a pregnant Mary, in a time of great awe and uncertainty, seeks out her older cousin Elizabeth, someone she can trust and depend on. Mary goes to assist her. Like Mary, Elizabeth is experiencing a joyful but unexpected pregnancy. While Mary is an unmarried teenager blessed by the Holy Spirit, Elizabeth is about to give birth despite her old age and years of infertility.
Mary endured a long and arduous journey to see Elizabeth because the two were more than relatives — they shared a holy friendship. This is the journey of two people in uncertain situations coming alongside one another in a posture of hope.
Despite their concerns for the future, their meeting was joyous and Mary erupted in praise for the Lord. Their meeting illustrates the need for holy friendships during the journeys in our lives. In describing our need to surround ourselves with hope and support, Saint Francis de Sales once wrote: “Love everyone with a deep love based on charity … but form friendships only with those who can share virtuous things with you. The higher the virtues you share and exchange with others, the more perfect your friendship will be.”
Each day at Cross Catholic Outreach, we are inspired by Mary and seek to form holy friendships, based in service, with our ministry partners and program beneficiaries so we can bring joy and hope to the poorest of the poor. We are greatly comforted by all the U.S. Catholics who join us in our service and holy friendship on this journey.
In those days Mary set out and went with haste to a Judean town in the hill country, where she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the child leaped in her womb. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit and exclaimed with a loud cry, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb. And why has this happened to me, that the mother of my Lord comes to me? For as soon as I heard the sound of your greeting, the child in my womb leaped for joy. And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her by the Lord.
And Mary said,
“My soul magnifies the Lord,
and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,
for he has looked with favor on the lowliness of his servant.
Surely, from now on all generations will call me blessed;
for the Mighty One has done great things for me,
and holy is his name.
His mercy is for those who fear him
from generation to generation.
He has shown strength with his arm;
he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts.
He has brought down the powerful from their thrones,
and lifted up the lowly;
he has filled the hungry with good things,
and sent the rich away empty.
He has helped his servant Israel,
in remembrance of his mercy,
according to the promise he made to our ancestors,
to Abraham and to his descendants forever.”
And Mary remained with her about three months and then returned to her home.
There’s one ultimate holy friendship all of us share — our relationship with the Lord. As you journey with him, we want to pray for you on our Day of Prayer. Please join us for this year’s special event by submitting a prayer request so we can bring your specific intentions before the Lord.
On the Marian feast of the Assumption, place your desires, your joys, your fears, your hopes and your life’s trials in the hands of Our Mother. The Church teaches that Mary is our great intercessor, who never leaves us unaided.
As Pope Benedict XVI said of Mary, “Let us entrust to her intercession the daily prayer for peace, especially in places where the senseless logic of violence is most ferocious; so that all people may be convinced that in this world we must help each other, as brothers and sisters, to build the civilization of love.”
When our earthly pilgrimage has ended, we hope to go where Mary has gone. Mary’s Assumption into heaven carries with it all our hopes for our own everlasting life. Until that day, we bring our cares and concerns to God for all humanity. May you be blessed with all the grace and love the Father offers!
Originally published May 2024. Last updated April 2026.
Donations from this campaign will be used to cover any expenditures for this project incurred through June 30, 2027, the close of our ministry’s fiscal year. In the event that more funds are raised than needed to fully fund the project, the excess funds, if any, will be used to meet the most urgent needs of the ministry.
