The Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary (Solemnity)

"My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has regarded the low estate of his handmaiden. For behold, henceforth all generations will call me blessed; for he who is mighty has done great things for me, and holy is his name". -- Luke 1:46-49

The Assumption of Mary was the bodily taking up of the Virgin Mary into Heaven at the end of her life. The Virgin Mary "having completed the course of her earthly life, was assumed body and soul into heavenly glory." Mary's assumption is a divine gift to her as the 'Mother of God'. Mary completed her life as a shining example to the human race, the perspective of the gift of assumption is offered to the whole human race.

The Assumption is a major feast day, commonly celebrated on August 15. In many countries it is a Catholic Holy Day of Obligation.

In  John 14:3, Jesus tells his disciples at the Last Supper, "If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and will receive you to myself; that where I am, you may be there also."

Mary is the pledge of the fulfillment of Christ's promise. The Assumption and her acceptance into the glory of Heaven is seen as the symbol of the promise made by Jesus to all enduring Christians that they too will be received into paradise.

The prophet's words: "I will glorify the place of my feet," [Isaiah 60:13] is certain that the divine Redeemer had bedecked with supreme glory his most beloved Mother from whom he had received human flesh. A clear statement that the Blessed Virgin has been assumed in her body, where was the place of the Lord's feet..."

In Luke 1:28, words used by the angel who addressed her "Hail, full of grace" stated clearly and incisively that she was exempted from the fourfold curse that had been laid upon Eve [cf. Genesis 3:16]. It is entirely certain that God would never have permitted her body to have been resolved into dust and ashes.

In Song of Songs 8:5, "Who is this that comes up from the desert, flowing with delights, leaning upon her beloved?" From this we can see that she is there bodily...her blessedness would not have been complete unless she were there as a person. The soul is not a person, but the soul, joined to the body, is a person. It is manifest that she is there in soul and in body. Otherwise she would not possess her complete beatitude.

1 Corinthians 15 reads, "For by a man came death, and by a man the resurrection of the dead. And as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all shall be made alive. But every one in his own order: the firstfruits Christ, then they that are of Christ, who have believed in his coming. Afterwards the end, when he shall have delivered up the kingdom to God and the Father, when he shall have brought to nought all principality, and power, and virtue. For he must reign, until he hath put all his enemies under his feet. And the enemy death shall be destroyed last: For he hath put all things under his feet."

In this passage Paul alludes to Genesis 3:15 (in addition to the primary reference of Psalms 8:6), where it is prophesied that the seed of the woman will crush Satan with his feet. Since, then, Jesus arose to Heaven to fulfill this prophecy, it follows that the woman would have a similar end, since she shared this enmity with Satan.  The struggle against the infernal foe which, as foretold in the protoevangelium [i.e. Genesis 3:15], would finally result in that most complete victory over the sin and death which are always mentioned together in the writings of the Apostle of the Gentiles. Consequently, just as the glorious resurrection of Jesus was an essential part and the final sign of this victory, so that struggle which was common to the Blessed Virgin and her divine Son should be brought to a close by the glorification of her virginal body, for the same Apostle says: "When this mortal thing hath put on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written: Death is swallowed up in victory."

Psalms 132, a liturgical psalm commemorating the return of the Ark of God to Jerusalem[30] and lamenting its subsequent loss. The second half of the psalm says that the loss will be recompensed in the New Covenant, and so it is hopefully prayed, "Arise, O Lord, into thy resting place: thou and the ark, which thou hast sanctified". Since the Church sees this New Covenant ark in Mary, it understands that she was taken into Heaven in the same manner as the Lord – that is, body and soul.

Psalms 45:9–17 for support of a heavenly Queen present bodily with the heavenly King Jesus, and Song of Songs 3:6, 4:8, and 6:9, which speaks of David's lover "that goeth up by the desert, as a pillar of smoke of aromatical spices, of myrrh, and frankincense, and of all the powders of the perfumer".

In Revelation 12:1-2, "that woman clothed with the sun" whom John the Apostle contemplated on the Island of Patmos" as support for the doctrine. The text seems to parallel this woman with the woman of the Genesis 3 prophecy (and hence Mary): for in verse 9 the passage recalls "that old serpent" of Genesis 3, and reflects the prophecy that God would place "enmities between thee [i.e. Satan] and the woman, and thy seed and her seed" when it says that Satan "was angry against the woman: and went to make war with the rest of her seed" (Rev. 12:17).

All these passages – viz., John 14:3, Isaiah 60:13, Luke 1:28, Song of Songs 8:5, 1st Corinthians 15:21–26, Psalms 132:8, Psalms 45:9–17, Song of Songs 3:6, 4:8, 6:9, Genesis 3:15, and Revelation 12:1–2 – are drawn upon as Scriptural support of the Assumption both in that original document, and today by Catholic apologists.

Published:

August 15, 2017, 5:19 AM
August 15, 2015, 5:45 AM
August 15, 2011, 8:05AM

IMMACULATE HEART OF MARY

The Immaculate Heart of Mary is a devotional name used to refer to the interior life of the Blessed Virgin Mary, her joys and sorrows, her virtues and hidden perfections, and, above all, her virginal love for God the Father, her maternal love for her son Jesus, and her compassionate love for all people.

Traditionally, the heart is depicted pierced with seven wounds or swords, in homage to the seven dolors of Mary. Also, roses or another type of flower may be wrapped around the heart.

St. Luke's gospel, the evangelist twice reports that Mary kept all things in her heart, that there she might ponder over them. It recounts the prophecy of Simeon that her heart would be pierced with a sword. This image (the pierced heart) is the most popular representation of the Immaculate Heart. (Luke 2)

St. John's Gospel further invited attention to Mary's heart with its depiction of Mary at the foot of the cross at Jesus' crucifixion. St. Augustine said of this that Mary was not merely passive at the foot of the cross; "she cooperated through charity in the work of our redemption".

St. Leo said that through faith and love she conceived her son spiritually, even before receiving him into her womb, and St. Augustine tells us that she was more blessed in having borne Christ in her heart than in having conceived him in the flesh. -- Wikipedia

Published:

June 14, 2025, 7:52 AM

June 08, 2024, 4:50 AM

June 13, 2015, 5:49 AM

Memorial of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of the Church

Mother of the Church (Latin: Mater Ecclesiae) is a title given to Mary in the Catholic Church, as officially declared by Pope Paul VI in 1964. The title first appeared in the 4th century writings of Saint Ambrose of Milan, as rediscovered by Hugo Rahner. It was also used by Pope Benedict XIV in 1748 and then by Pope Leo XIII in 1885. Pope John Paul II placed it in the Catechism of the Catholic Church and Pope Francis inserted a memorial by this title into the Roman Calendar, celebrated annually on Whit Monday, the day after Pentecost.

The Church has traditionally portrayed the Blessed Virgin Mary together with the apostles and disciples gathered at that first Pentecost, joined in prayer with the first members of the Church. The title Mater Ecclesiae is found in the writings of Berengaud, bishop of Treves (d. 1125). In the 1895 encyclical Adjutricem populi (Helper of the People) Pope Leo XIII wrote, "She is invoked as Mother of the Church and the teacher and Queen of the Apostles". Following the title's usage by Leo XIII, it was later used many times in the teachings of John XXIII and Paul VI, John Paul II and Benedict XVI.

The use of the Mater Ecclesiae title to the Virgin Mary goes back to Ambrose of Milan in the 4th century, but this was not known until its 1944 rediscovery by Hugo Rahner. Rahner's Mariology, following Ambrose, sees Mary in her role within the Church. His interpretation, based solely on Ambrose and the early Fathers, greatly influenced Vatican II and Pope Paul VI, who, quoting Ambrose, declared Mary the "Mother of the Church".

The Blessed Mother of God, the New Eve, Mother of the Church, continues in heaven her maternal role with regard to Christ's members, cooperating with the birth and growth of divine life in the souls of the redeemed. – Pope Paul VI's "Credo of the People of God".

A former archbishop of Milan, Paul VI used similar language to that of Saint Ambrose of Milan, calling Mary Model of the Church in light of her faith, love and complete unity with Christ and Mother of the Church because she gave birth to Christ. During his speech upon the closing of the third session of the Second Vatican Council on November 21, 1964, Paul VI said: "We declare Mary Most Holy Mother of the Church, that is, of all the Christian people"

In Redemptoris Mater Pope John Paul II referred to Paul VI's "Credo of the People of God" as a reaffirmation of the statement that Mary is the "mother of the entire Christian people, both faithful and pastors" and wrote that the Credo "restated this truth in an even more forceful way"

With regard to the title "Mother of the Church", John Paul used Redemptoris Mater as an opportunity to explain how the Blessed Virgin Mary's maternity of Christ's faithful derives from her maternity of Christ, as well as how Mary serves as a "type", or model, of the Church as a whole.

Mary is present in the Church as the Mother of Christ, and at the same time as that Mother whom Christ, in the mystery of the Redemption, gave to humanity in the person of the Apostle John. Thus, in her new motherhood in the Spirit, Mary embraces each and every one in the Church, and embraces each and every one through the Church. In this sense Mary, Mother of the Church, is also the Church's model. Indeed, as Paul VI hopes and asks, the Church must draw "from the Virgin Mother of God the most authentic form of perfect imitation of Christ."

The faithful first called upon Mary with the title "Mother of God", "Mother of the faithful" or "our Mother" to emphasize her personal relationship with each of her children. Later, because of the greater attention paid to the mystery of the Church and to Mary’s relationship to her, the Blessed Virgin began more frequently to be invoked as "Mother of the Church"."

The title "Mother of the Church" thus reflects the deep conviction of the Christian faithful, who see in Mary not only the mother of the person of Christ, but also of the faithful.

In 2018, Pope Francis decreed that the Memorial of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of the Church be inserted into the Roman Calendar on the Monday after Pentecost (also known as Whit Monday) and to be celebrated every year, outranking even obligatory memorials. The decree was signed on February 11, 2018, the memorial of Our Lady of Lourdes, on the 160th anniversary of the Lourdes apparitions. It was issued on March 3, 2018.

Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mother_of_the_Church

Our Lady of Good Tidings

The statue honored at Lempdes, France, is one of those, known as the black virgin.  It is a very ancient piece and was formerly honored by numerous pilgrimages.  The chapel containing the image was sacked in 1793 and demolished in 1830.  A cross marks the place where it once stood.  The statue was then carried to the church at Lempdes.

At Nancy there is another shrine to Our Lady of Good Tidings.  In 1525 when Anthony, Duke of Lorraine, was defending his territory against the invasion of the Protestants, a little child was praying before the statue of Our Lady in the church of St. George.  The child, a deaf mute, suddenly heard a voice telling her to go and tell the duchess that her spouse would return victorious.  The child fulfilled the order.  “Ah, that is good news,” said the duchess, when she received the message.  The duke was victorious, and from that time on the statue was known as Our Lady of Good News.

Pilgrimages began to flourish and many miracles occurred.  A commission was named to verify the latter.  In 1742, the Church of St. George was torn down and the statue carried to the cathedral.  It is still venerated there, for it was rescued during the time of The Terror.

Our Lady of Lourdes

Our Lady of Lourdes is a title of the Virgin Mary. She is venerated under this title by the Roman Catholic Church due to her apparitions that occurred in Lourdes, France. 

The first apparition of 11 February 1858, of which Bernadette Soubirous (age 14) told her mother that a "Lady" spoke to her in the cave of Massabielle while she was gathering firewood with her sister and a friend. Similar apparitions of the "Lady" were reported on 18 occasions that year, until the climax revelation in which she introduced herself as: "the Immaculate Conception". 

On 18 January 1862, the local Bishop of Tarbes Bertrand-Sévère Laurence endorsed the veneration of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Lourdes.

On 1 February 1876, Pope Pius IX officially granted a decree of canonical coronation to the image as Notre-Dame du Saint Rosaire. The coronation was performed by Cardinal Pier Francesco Meglia at the courtyard of what is now part of the Rosary Basilica on 3 July 1876.

The image of Our Lady of Lourdes has been widely copied and reproduced in shrines and homes, often in garden landscapes. Bernadette Soubirous was canonized by Pope Pius XI in 1933.

Marian devotion has since steadily increased as ecclesiastical investigations sanctioned her visions. In later years, a large church was built at the site that has since become a major site of religious pilgrimage.

Apparitions

On 11 February 1858, Soubirous went with her sister Toinette and neighbor Jeanne Abadie to collect some firewood. While taking off her shoes and stockings to wade through the water near the Grotto of Massabielle, she said she heard the sound of two gusts of wind (coups de vent) but the trees and bushes nearby did not move. A wild rose in a natural niche in the grotto, however, did move.

I came back towards the grotto and started taking off my stockings. I had hardly taken off the first stocking when I heard a sound like a gust of wind. Then I turned my head towards the meadow. I saw the trees quite still: I went on taking off my stockings. I heard the same sound again. As I raised my head to look at the grotto, I saw a lady dressed in white, wearing a white dress, a blue girdle and a yellow rose on each foot, the same color as the chain of her rosary; the beads of the rosary were white … From the niche, or rather the dark alcove behind it, came a dazzling light.

Soubirous tried to make the sign of the cross but could not, as her hands were trembling. The lady smiled, and invited Soubirous to pray the rosary with her. Soubirous tried to keep this a secret, but Toinette told her mother. After parental cross-examination, she and her sister received corporal punishment for their story.

Three days later, 14 February, Soubirous returned to the grotto. She had brought holy water as a test that the apparition was not of evil origin/provenance: "The second time was the following Sunday … Then I started to throw holy water in her direction, and at the same time I said that if she came from God she was to stay, but if not, she must go. She started to smile, and bowed ... This was the second time."

Soubirous' companions are said to have become afraid when they saw her in ecstasy. She remained ecstatic even as they returned to the village. On 18 February, she spoke of being told by the Lady to return to the Grotto over a period of two weeks. She quoted the apparition: "The Lady only spoke to me the third time … She told me also that she did not promise to make me happy in this world, but in the next."

Soubirous was ordered by her parents to never go there again. She went anyway, and on 24 February, Soubirous related that the apparition asked for prayer and penitence for the conversion of sinners.

The next day, she said the apparition asked her to dig in the ground and drink from the spring she found there. This made her dishevelled and some of her supporters were dismayed, but this act revealed the stream that soon became a focal point for pilgrimages. Although it was muddy at first, the stream became increasingly clean. As word spread, this water was given to medical patients of all kinds, and many reports of miraculous cures followed. Seven of these cures were confirmed as lacking any medical explanations by Professor Verges in 1860. The first person with a "certified miracle" was a woman whose right hand had been deformed as a consequence of an accident. Several miracles turned out to be short-term improvement or even hoaxes, and Catholic Church and government officials became increasingly concerned. The government fenced off the grotto and issued stiff penalties for anybody trying to get near the off-limits area. In the process, Lourdes became a national issue in France, resulting in the intervention of Emperor Napoleon III with an order to reopen the grotto on 4 October 1858. The Church had decided to stay away from the controversy altogether.

Soubirous, knowing the local area well, managed to visit the barricaded grotto under cover of darkness. There, on 25 March, she said she was told: "I am the Immaculate Conception" ("que soy era immaculada concepciou"). On Easter Sunday, 7 April, her examining doctor stated that Soubirous, in ecstasy, was observed to have held her hands over a lit candle without sustaining harm. On 16 July, Soubirous went for the last time to the grotto. "I have never seen her so beautiful before," she reported.

The Catholic Church, faced with nationwide questions, decided to institute an investigative commission on 17 November 1858. On 18 January 1860, the local bishop finally declared that: "The Virgin Mary did appear indeed to Bernadette Soubirous." These events established the Marian veneration in Lourdes, which together with Fátima and the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe is one of the most frequented Marian shrines in the world, and to which between 4 and 6 million pilgrims travel annually.

In 1863, Joseph-Hugues Fabisch was charged to create a statue of the Virgin according to Soubirous's description. The work was placed in the grotto and solemnly dedicated on 4 April 1864 in presence of 20,000 pilgrims.

The veracity of the apparitions of Lourdes is not an article of faith for Catholics. Nevertheless, all recent popes have visited the Marian shrine at some time. Benedict XV, Pius XI, and John XXIII went there as bishops, Pius XII as papal delegate. He also issued an encyclical, Le pèlerinage de Lourdes, on the one-hundredth anniversary of the apparitions in 1958. John Paul II visited Lourdes three times during his pontificate, and twice before as a bishop.

Bernadette's description of Mary

Soubirous described the apparition as a jeune fille ("young girl") of about 14-15 years old; Soubirous insisted that the apparition was no taller than herself. At 1.40 metres (4 ft 7 in) tall, Soubirous was diminutive even by the standards of other poorly-nourished children.

Soubirous described the apparition as dressed in a flowing white robe, with a blue sash around her waist. This was the uniform of a religious group called the Children of Mary, which, on account of her poverty, Soubirous was not permitted to join (although she was admitted after the apparitions). Her aunt Bernarde was a long-time member.

Our Lady of Consolation

Comforter of the Afflicted

Our Lady of Consolation or Mary, Consoler of the Afflicted is a Roman Catholic title of the Blessed Virgin Mary venerated in the Catholic Church.

The origin of this invocation is derived from the Augustinian friars who propagated this particular devotion. Along with Saints Augustine, and Monica, Our Lady of Consolation is one of the three patrons of the Augustinian orders. The title Consolatrix Afflictorum is part of the Litany of Loreto, and is Augustinian in origin. This devotion was propagated by the Augustinian monks. By the early 18th century the custom of asking for the final blessing before death in the name of Our Lady of Consolation was very popular.

In congregations of the Augustinian Order, the "Augustinian Rosary" is sometimes called the "Crown of Our Mother of Consolation". The traditional depiction in Augustinian houses show Mary holding the Child Jesus on her lap. They both hold the Augustinian cincture in their hands.

The confraternity of Our Lady of Consolation was founded in 1495 in Bologna, Italy. In 1575 both confraternities merged in a single Archconfraternity of Our Lady of Consolation and Cincture. Other similar confraternities were aggregated to the Archconfraternity in Bologna.

The annual feast of the Archconfraternity is 4 September. Members are obliged to wear a black leather belt, to fast on the vigil of the feast of Saint Augustine and to recite daily the "Little Rosary of Our Lady of Consolation" which is composed of thirteen couplets of beads. The essential prayers to be said are Our Father and Hail Mary repeated thirteen times after which is recited the Hail Holy Queen.

In Manila, the image of Our Lady of Consolation and Cincture in the San Agustin Church, Intramuros. Pious accounts claim that the image arrived sometime in the 17th century. Accordingly in 1607, the Confraternity of the Cofradia de la Nuestra Señora de la Consolacion y Correa was founded in Intramuros, Manila being one of the oldest Marian confraternities in the country. The image survived the Second World War being hidden for safekeeping.

Pope John Paul II issued a pontifical decree of canonical coronation towards the image on 12 June 1999. The rite of coronation was executed by the former Archbishop of Manila, Cardinal Jaime Lachica Sin on 4 September 2000. The San Agustin Church was also designated as the Archdiocesan Shrine of Our Lady of Consolation and Cincture.

On 13 February 2004, the original image of the Child Jesus attached to the Madonna was stolen, but was later replaced with a replica. On 15 August 2024, the Manila City Council passed an ordinance formally declaring the image as the patroness of Intramuros, Manila, bestowing her the title "Queen and Protectress of the Distinguished and Ever Loyal City." The proclamation rites took place on 8 September of the same year, the feast of Our Lady of Consolation.

Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Our_Lady_of_Consolation

Our Lady of Dijon

Our Lady of Good Hope

In the fifth century the Abbey of St Etienne of Dijon had a regular chapter which observed the Rule of St Augustine; it was given over to the secular canons, and later Clement XI made the church the cathedral of Dijon.

The image of Our Lady of Dijon in Burgundy was formerly named the “Black Virgin,” and “Our Lady of Good Hope.” In the year 1513, Mary miraculously delivered the city of Dijon, the ancient city of the Dukes of Burgundy, from the hands of the Swiss. The German and Swiss forces coming against them totaled 45,000 men, and although Dijon was well stocked for a siege, they only had perhaps 6,000 defenders. There were plenty of arrows, but little gunpowder, and most of the French cannon needed repairs.

The invading force was so sure of success that they there were columns of empty wagons pulled behind the army to bring back the loot they expected to take from the French towns and monasteries. The Monastery at Beze was not spared, as even dead monks were dug up in search of treasure.

The army arrived on September 8, the solemnity of Our Lady’s Nativity. There were so many men that the defenders saw nothing but a vast sea of shining armor wherever they gazed. The Swiss opened up with heavy cannon fire the next day, yet there were surprisingly few fatalities. When breaches were made in the walls and the enemy attacked, they were repulsed with heavy loss of life.

On Sunday, September 11, a procession was organized after Mass. The “Black Virgin” was carried through the streets as the French prayed to the Mother of God to spare them from their deadly enemies. The following day a treaty was signed, and the conflict ended unexpectedly. In thanksgiving for this favor, she was titled Our Lady of Dijon, and general procession to her shrine is made every year.

During the French Revolution the church suffered the outrage of being transformed into a forage storage house. Afterward, in atonement to Our Lady for this insult, the faithful of France rebuilt the shrine, and pleaded that the Holy See grant numerous relics and valuable keepsakes to be placed there. Our Blessed Mother responded to the generosity and love of the people by granting favors and cures and extending her God-given miraculous power over the people.

In 1944 the German army occupied the city of Dijon. The people turned to Mary, praying: “Holy Virgin, Compassionate Mother, you who protected our knights of old and who delivered our city from enemy attack, you maintained our ancestors in their times of trouble…Our Lady of Good Hope, pray for us.” On September 11, the Nazi army unexpectedly left Dijon.

Source: https://www.roman-catholic-saints.com/our-lady-of-dijon.html