Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary: “All generations will call me blessed.”
In the month of August, the church celebrates with great joy the solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Allow me to share some meditations on the Blessed Virgin Mary. In the Church’s early beginnings, it was part of the faith of the Church to honor and revere the Blessed Virgin. Mary has been a model for the Church and an intercessor. In Mary, we see the hand of God in action. God’s pure grace overshadows her prior to her conception, and she is honored to be the mother of Jesus Christ, the savior of the world. Mary is pure and perfect, prepared by God in an immaculate way. The divine dignity of Jesus Christ, her son, presupposes and demands such perfection in his Mother. The flesh of Mary was the Flesh of Christ; and Christ owed it to himself to preserve from dissolution the body that had served to form his own Body. Mary's body, like her soul, had to be sinless and undefiled. The humiliation of the Mother would have been the humiliation of the Son. In this sense, the tradition of the Church holds that Mary was taken up to heaven, body and soul. She was granted this as the highly favored one, as the Mother full of grace (Revelation 12). For this reason, we want to thank God for the feast of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary. While on earth, she was available to a few; now in heaven, she is available to all of us. As a mother who constantly intercedes for her Children. Do you have a relationship with your mother in heaven? Have you prayed the Rosary lately? The Blessed Virgin Mary is now in heaven and available to all of us. While she was on earth, she was available only to a few. The Assumption fulfills the prophetic words "All generations will call me blessed".
HOLY DAY OF OBLIGATION - August 15th.
What does it mean to have a Holy Day of Obligation?
According to the Catechism of the Catholic Church, the faithful are instructed to set apart Sundays and designated Holy Days (CCC 2185). They are to refrain from work that will hinder them from worshiping God and experiencing the joy that is due to a day of the Lord. For holy days, we consider them like a Sunday, a day of rest or leisure, worship of God through Holy Mass, and fellowship. I like to encourage having something ‘sweet’ on a holy day to help mark the day. Also, a Holy Day of obligation is our response to God for all the good he has done for us. Enjoy the Holy Day and make every effort to be at Holy Mass.
The charity of truth seeks holy leisure - the necessity of charity accepts just work. St. Augustine
Jesus thy Kingdom Come! In my Heart through Mary! Fr. Gabriel