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  Assumption of the Virgin Egid Quirin Asam [ Web Gallery of Art ] This magnificent sculpture is over the High Altar in the Pilgrimage Church, Rohr, Bavaria, Germany. The Solemnity of the Assumption This takes the place of the Mass for the 20 th  Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year B   Vigil Mass This Mass is used on the evening of 14 August, either before or after First Vespers (Evening Prayer) of the Solemnity. It fulfils our Sunday obligation.   Readings   (Jerusalem Bible: Australia, England & Wales, Ireland, New Zealand, Pakistan, Scotland) This page gives the readings for both the Vigil Mass and the Sunday Mass. Readings   (New American Bible: Philippines, USA) Gospel   Luke 11:27-28   (English Standard Version Anglicised: India) As Jesus said these things, a woman in the crowd raised her voice and said to him, “Blessed is the womb that bore you, and the breasts at which you nursed!”   But he said,  “Blessed rather are thos...

I stopped believing in coincidences long ago. Our God is not a god of chaos, but a God of order. My heart and my stomach are hurting from reading excerpts of the grand jury report out of Pennsylvania. Horror and betrayal are probably the words that most accurately describe my emotions. It seems like each time we think, “okay, it can’t get worse”, it does. It gets so much worse. And sad to say, this seems to just be the beginning. While we as a Church have spent the last day in anger and mourning, today we are celebrating the great Solemnity of the Assumption. Today is one of the few remaining Holy Days of Obligation on the Church’s calendar. We the faithful are commanded to attend Mass today to pay homage to Our Lady. This is not a coincidence. Read more at Messy Buns & Latin Chant

  August 15 is the Feast of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary into Heaven, a Holy Day of Obligation. We celebrate the fact that God took Mary bodily into Heaven. But why did the Church make this a feast? Why is it important for your life? Mary shows us our destiny   Unlike Christ, Mary was a mere human to whom God gave special graces. When Jesus took His mother into Heaven, body and soul, He showed us what is in store for those who die in a state of grace.  At the end of time, He will raise us bodily from the dead. The faithful will have glorified bodies in Heaven. We will not be ghosts for all eternity. We will be complete, perfect versions of ourselves. This is one reason prayers like the Salve Regina call Mary our “hope.” Mary shows us our purpose   God made us to be united with Him in love. In her death, bodily resurrection, and Assumption, Mary embraced Christ’s mission. Since she was free from original and actual sin, M...

On August 15, we celebrated  the Feast of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary . It was a day for us Catholics to remember how our dear Mother played a significant role in the life of Jesus, and indirectly, in the lives of each of us today. The Gospel on that day spoke about the Annunciation, and these words really struck me:   “Most blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb.”  Luke 1:42 When Elizabeth, Mary’s cousin, said this to her, she must have felt such joy. She was actually so moved that she broke out into song – what is known today as  the Canticle of Mary . Mama Mary had no idea then just how deeply her heart would be “pierced by a sword.” (Luke 2:35) She probably did not have any inkling as to what that verse meant too, when the prophet Simeon said it during  the Presentation of Jesus  at the temple. Indeed, nothing could probably have prepared her for this: (*the song in the video is a Filipino composition and i...

The Most Blessed Virgin Mary, when the course of her earthly life was completed, was taken up body and soul into the glory of heaven where she already shares in the glory of her Son’s Resurrection, anticipating the resurrection of all members of His Body. CCC 974 For this great Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, I was drawn to reread portions of The Reed of God, by Caryll Houselander. This book has been instrumental in deepening my love for Our Lady. There used to be a stout wall between me and her, constructed of my inability to appreciate her humility and generosity. The Mary I thought I knew was cool and aloof and far too perfect to be appealing. Houselander, with all the gentleness, acceptance, and humility she ascribes to Mary, took me by the hand and ushered me into the Madonna’s presence. She taught me to see the generosity of Mary in action and in spirit, and was able to show me how to imitate it... more importantly, she inspired me to desir...

The Prophet Isaiah , Giovanni Battista Tiepolo, painted 1726-29 (see first reading) Readings   (New American Bible, used in the Philippines and the USA) Gospel Matthew 15:21-28 (Jerusalem Bible, used in Australia, England and Wales, Ireland, Scotland). Jesus left Genenesaret and withdrew to the region of Tyre and Sidon. Then out came a Canaanite woman from that district and started shouting, ‘Sir, Son of David, take pity on me. My daughter is tormented by a devil.’ But he answered her not a word. And his disciples went and pleaded with him. ‘Give her what she wants,’ they said ‘because she is shouting after us.’ He said in reply, ‘I was sent only to the lost sheep of the House of Israel’. But the woman had come up and was kneeling at his feet. ‘Lord,’ she said ‘help me.’ He replied, ‘It is not fair to take the children’s food and throw it to the house-dogs’. She retorted, ‘Ah yes, sir; but even house-dogs can eat the scraps that fall from their master’s table’. Then Jesus answe...