Solemnity of the Assumption of Mary

Tomorrow, August 15, is one of those days (other than every Sunday) when we as Catholics are 'obliged' to gather together to pray, a "Holy Day".  It's a way to jolt us out of our everyday routines and reflect on some mysterious reality - how God is at work in our world and our lives. This feast is about our long-held belief that at the time of her death, Mary's (the mother of Jesus) body was assumed into heaven, rather than being buried and being subject to the normal course of 'ashes to ashes'.  If you would like more background on this feast, please click and read this post from a prior year.

The Mass Schedule at St. Andrew the Apostle for August 15 is: 6:30AM, 9:00 AM and 7:30PM.
Come celebrate the mighty love and works of God!

Immaculate Conception of Mary: December 8

This Thursday is a Holy Day, and masses are celebrated at 

6:30 and 9:30am and 7:30pm.

For some background on the Immaculate Conception of Mary, 

please click here.

 

The readings for the day may be found here.

Feast of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary

Today is the day we celebrate the birthday of Mary, mother of Jesus. (That means that exactly 9 months ago, we celebrated the Feast of the Immaculate Conception of Mary!) Christians have celebrated the life of this important woman since the 6th century, choosing a September date to fit with the beginning of the Eastern Church's new year.

There aren't many historical facts known about Mary's birth and early life, although pious stories abound. Her parents were Joachim and Anna (or Anne), and her conception and birth were nothing out of the ordinary, with one big exception. We believe that at the moment of her conception, God preserved her from original sin.
Please click here for a previous post about the Immaculate Conception of Mary.

So, what do you get the Mother of God for her birthday??! I'm sure she'd be pleased with a prayer of thanks for her courage, strength and love in saying 'yes' to God. And if you're looking for an 'official' one...

Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with you.

Blessed are you among women,
and blest is the fruit of your womb, Jesus.

Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners

now and at the hour of our death. Amen.

Solemnity of the Assumption of Mary

When a Holy Day of Obligation falls on a Sunday, it takes precedence over the 'regularly scheduled' set of readings (in other words, we're skipping the 20th Sunday of Ordinary Time this year!).

The readings for Sunday, August 15, 2010 are:

Revelation 11: 19a, 12:1-62, 10a-b

Psalm 45: 10-12, 16

1 Corinthians 15: 20-27

Luke 1: 39-56

Why, you may ask, do we use the Gospel reading of the Visitation (between Mary and Elizabeth, just after the Annunciation) for this feast, rather than one about Mary's 'dormition' ('falling asleep'- it has not been stated whether Mary experienced physical death before being assumed bodily into heaven). Well, it is not explicitly contained in Scripture, although the dogma was defined (in 1950 by Pope Pius XII) after many centuries of commonly held belief. This belief arose from what we consider a fitting circumstance for the Mother of God, who was free from sin from her own conception. It also speaks to our belief and hope in the resurrection of the body for us all.

But... back to the readings! After the stunning news from the angel that she would give birth to the Messiah, Mary went off to stay with her cousin, who herself was bearing a 'miracle baby'. They gave each other support, and praised God together for the blessings of their lives.

• Who do you turn to for support, and to share good news?
• If you were to write your own "Magnificat" (Mary's 'song') what would your soul proclaim?
• What's comforting about Mary in Catholic teaching for you? What's confusing or challenging?

Bonus Assumption painting, just because:

The Month of May and Mary

May (although originally named for the Roman goddess Maia), is known for us as the month of Mary. Many adult Catholics remember "May Crownings", when entire Catholic schools would process, and a lucky girl would have the honor of placing a crown of flowers on a statue of Mary.  Why May? Well, perhaps to take the attention away from a pagan goddess, but think about the renewal of life, the explosion of flowers and a general sense of beauty that this month represents - as does Mary's role as the mother of the One who would bring us the ultimate renewal of life.

This webpage has links to
lots of articles about Mary, popular devotions, and traditions. Enjoy!

Solemnity of the Annunciation

Today we celebrate the Annunciation by the angel Gabriel to Mary, and her 'yes' to the request to bring Jesus into the world. The Gospel passage telling this story is found in Luke 1: 26-38. Over the centuries many artists have depicted this event in literature, music, sculpture and painting. Let's take a look at some of the styles and the images typically used to convey the story.

This fresco by Fra Angelico has the principle characters (Mary and the Angel), of course, but look in the background on the left: it's Adam and Eve being ejected from the Garden of Eden. This connects Mary as the 'new Eve' - if the first Eve is the conduit through which sin and death entered creation, then Mary becomes the conduit through which Jesus (the new Adam) conquers sin and death.

The Holy Spirit is represented by the dove in the top left, whose power is radiated through the beams of light. And if you look over the middle pillar, you'll see a representation of God the Father, too!

This icon again portrays a beam of light from the heavens, and seems to have Mary seated on a throne, emphasizing her nobility as the Mother of God (Theotokos), the Queen of Heaven.
It is not very clear, but I think the item in her left hand is a lily, a flower which symbolizes purity.

And here are three more 'modern' representations by Waterhouse (1914), Rossetti (1850), and Tanner (1898) show the lily, or celestial light, but emphasize the youth of the virgin, her humble background, and the emotions that might have caused the angel to say, "Do not be afraid."

There is a scroll on a stand in the Waterhouse painting (and a book on Mary's knee in the fresco), which may seem odd if it is likely that Mary could not read. But we speak of Jesus as the Word of God, and the fulfillment of Scripture, so...

If you look closely in Rossetti's painting, you'll see the Holy Spirit in the form of a dove hovering over the angel's left hand.

The simplicity of this piece by Tanner speaks to me of God's invitation to all of us, in our normal lives, to be bearers of Jesus, to give birth to him by continuing his work day by day. Like Mary, we are invited, like Mary, we can choose to say 'yes, your will be done'.

(And by the way... it's just 9 more months until Christmas!)

December 8- Feast of the Immaculate Conception of Mary

December 8 is one of those days we refer to as "Holy Days of Obligations", special observances throughout the year when Roman Catholics have a duty to celebrate mass. This feast, of the "Immaculate Conception", is one of the most misunderstood of our Holy Days - many Catholics think it refers to the conception of Jesus. It does not. (Conveniently, the observance of Jesus' conception is celebrated exactly 9 months before Christmas, on March 25: the "Annunciation")  It does nothing to lessen the confusion that the Gospel read on December 8th is Luke's recounting of the Annunciation of the angel Gabriel to Mary!

I can think of three good reasons to use this Gospel:
1) Mary's role as the mother of Jesus, which she embraced at the Annunciation, was an acceptance that required all the strength and grace a human could muster ... a gift God gave Mary at her own conception to keep her from sin ('full of grace') throughout her life.
2) From the 'it is fitting' school of thought - if God was to become human, God would deserve nothing but the best (e.g., would you really want to drink fine wine from paper cups?!), and to use old terminology, the 'stainless vessel' of Mary, sinless from the first instant of her life, was the most fitting means of the Incarnation.
3) Compare the Gospel with the first reading - a Genesis version of sin entering the world through Eve (AND Adam) succumbing to the temptation of the serpent. Through previously sinless Eve sin entered the world, and through the miraculously sinless Mary, the 'new Eve', the means of salvation from sin was born into our world.
oh, and 4) not so good a reason, but a practical one: there really is no Scriptural evidence for the Dogma of the Immaculate Conception beyond the angel's brief reference to Mary as "full of grace", and her cousin Elizabeth's later greeting her as "blessed among women".

This doctrine emerged gradually over the course of over a dozen centuries, culminating in a definitive declaration in 1854 by Pope Pius IX. Her feast was first celebrated in the late 7th century in the Byzantine (Eastern) church, and spread in popular devotion among the faithful, but it was still a theological difficulty in the Western (Roman) church. "The great scholastics of the thirteenth century were unable to reconcile Mary's Immaculate Conception with the universal need for salvation by Christ. Finally, John Duns Scotus (1266-1308) was chiefly responsible for introducing the notion of 'preservative' redemption into the explicit consciousness of the church..." (The New Dictionary of Theology, The Liturgical Press)

But let's put this a bit more simply: every time we honor Mary, what we say about her is both a reflection of what we believe about Jesus, and what we hope for or anticipate for ourselves. So in this case, we celebrate the redemptive power of God through Jesus Christ to save us from the power of sin, enabling Mary physically and us spiritually to freely say 'yes' to God's invitation to carry Jesus in our lives.

Mary, the Immaculate Conception is the patroness of the United States (and three parishes in the Diocese of Raleigh, in Clinton, Durham and Wilmington). Masses for the Holy Day will be celebrated at St. Andrew on Tuesday Dec 8 at 6:30 and 9:00 AM and 7:30 PM.