by Faith Central & Steve Welsh
“In this Sunday’s Gospel passage of the wedding feast at Cana, there is a theological portrait of both Mother Mary and prayer. …”
On Wednesday, Aug. 15, 2017, the Catholic Church celebrates the Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, a Holy Day of Obligation. Catholics are required to participate in Mass (or Eastern Rite Catholic Divine Liturgy) on Wednesday, or on Tuesday evening at a Vigil Mass (absent a valid excuse, such as illness or the need to care for an ill family member).
The Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary honors the Blessed Mother, with a special focus on the dogma that, with her entry into Eternal Life, she was Assumed Body and Soul into Heaven.
To miss Mass on Sunday or a Holy Day of Obligation is a grave sin, absent a sufficient, valid excuse. In addition to the threat of eternal damnation, a grave sin bars a Catholic from receiving Holy Communion unless and until going to Confession to receive the Sacrament of Reconciliation.
In the United States there has been a slight modification of the guidelines for Holy Days, by which U.S. Catholic Bishops have indicated that the Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary is not, currently, a Holy Day of Obligation if it falls on a Saturday or Monday.
With regard to the Dogma of the Assumption, Venerable Pope Pius XII held, in his Apostolic Constitution Munificentissimus Deus Defining The Dogma Of The Assumption that:
“… 44. For which reason, after we have poured forth prayers of supplication again and again to God, and have invoked the light of the Spirit of Truth, for the glory of Almighty God who has lavished his special affection upon the Virgin Mary, for the honor of her Son, the immortal King of the Ages and the Victor over sin and death, for the increase of the glory of that same august Mother, and for the joy and exultation of the entire Church; by the authority of our Lord Jesus Christ, of the Blessed Apostles Peter and Paul, and by our own authority, we pronounce, declare, and define it to be a divinely revealed dogma: that the Immaculate Mother of God, the ever Virgin Mary, having completed the course of her earthly life, was assumed body and soul into heavenly glory. …”
“… The Octave of Christmas ends on the first day of the new year, which is dedicated to the Blessed Virgin, venerated as the Mother of God. The Gospel reminds us that she ‘kept all these things, pondering them in her heart’ (Lk 2:19). So she did in Bethlehem, on Golgotha at the foot of the cross, and on the day of Pentecost, when the Holy Spirit descended in the Upper Room. And so she does today too. The Mother of God and of human beings keeps in her heart all of humanity’s problems, great and difficult, and meditates upon them. The Alma Redemptoris Mater walks with us and guides us with motherly tenderness towards the future. Thus she helps humanity cross all the ‘thresholds’ of the years, the centuries, the millenniums, by sustaining their hope in the One who is the Lord of history. …”
“… Monday, January 1, 2018 is the eighth day of Christmas. In the Christian tradition, the octave is considered as one long ‘day’ that lasts for eight days. Therefore, Monday, January 1, 2018 completes Christmas day; it is fulfilled. …”
“… She sees that the Son of God is given to her; she is thrilled to see the salvation of the world is entrusted to her. She hears the Lord tell her deep down in her heart: ‘I have chosen you amongst everything I have created; I blessed you among all women’ (Lk 1:42); I gave my Son into your hands; I entrusted to you my Only Son. Do not be afraid of nursing the one to whom you gave birth, nor of raising the one to whom you gave light . He is not only your God but also your son. He is my Son and he is your son: my Son because of his divinity and your son because of the humanity he assumed in you”. With what affection and what zeal, with what humility and what respect, with what love and what dedication did Mary answer this call. We cannot know but God knows, he “who tries hearts and minds” (Ps 7:10). Blessed is she who was chosen to raise the one who protects and provides for all things and to carry the one who upholds the universe.”
“On the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe, it is a chance for us to rejoice in the great mercy of our divine Lord and our blessed Lady. …”
“In spite of the real organic oneness of head and body, the Church stands by the side of Christ like an independent person. Christ lived prior to all time and all humanity as Son of the eternal Father. Humankind came into being by the act of creation before Christ assumed its nature and entered into it. By entering into creation, he brought his divine life into it. From himself, he generated human nature anew, in that, through his redemption, he made humanity receptive to His grace and fulfilled it by grace. The Church is that humanity newly created and redeemed through Christ.
The original cell of all redeemed humanity is Mary, in whom purification and sanctification through Christ, and impregnation by the Holy Spirit, first took place. Before the Son of Man was born of the Virgin, the Son of God conceived of this very virgin as one full of grace, and He created the Church in and with her. …”
On Tuesday, Aug. 15, 2017, the Catholic Church marks the Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, a Holy Day of Obligation. Catholics are required to participate in Mass (or Eastern Rite Catholic Divine Liturgy) on Tuesday, or on Monday evening at a Vigil Mass.
The Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary honors the Blessed Mother, with a special focus on the dogma that, with her entry into Eternal Life, she was Assumed Body and Soul into Heaven.
To miss Mass on Sunday or a Holy Day of Obligation is a grave sin, absent a sufficient, valid excuse. In addition to the threat of eternal damnation, a grave sin bars a Catholic from receiving Holy Communion unless and until going to Confession to receive the Sacrament of Reconciliation.
In the United States there has been a slight modification of the guidelines for Holy Days, by which U.S. Catholic Bishops have indicated that the Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary is not, currently, a Holy Day of Obligation if it falls on a Saturday or Monday. This year, of course, it falls on a Tuesday, and it is the Vigil Mass for Tuesday that takes place on Monday evening, so the Obligation is in force.
With regard to the Dogma of the Assumption, Venerable Pope Pius XII held, in his Apostolic Constitution Munificentissimus Deus Defining The Dogma Of The Assumption:
“… 44. For which reason, after we have poured forth prayers of supplication again and again to God, and have invoked the light of the Spirit of Truth, for the glory of Almighty God who has lavished his special affection upon the Virgin Mary, for the honor of her Son, the immortal King of the Ages and the Victor over sin and death, for the increase of the glory of that same august Mother, and for the joy and exultation of the entire Church; by the authority of our Lord Jesus Christ, of the Blessed Apostles Peter and Paul, and by our own authority, we pronounce, declare, and define it to be a divinely revealed dogma: that the Immaculate Mother of God, the ever Virgin Mary, having completed the course of her earthly life, was assumed body and soul into heavenly glory. …”