Assumption of Mary

Double of the I Class with a Common Octave (1954 Calendar): August 15

First Class (1962 Calendar): August 15

Solemnity (1969 Calendar): August 15 

Today on August 15th we celebrate the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, where we profess our belief in the Dogma that Mary was assumed into Heaven body and soul by the power of God. This is a Dogma of the faith and must be believed to be Catholic; it has been taught since the early Church to the present day with allusions in the Sacred Scriptures.

The Assumption has been believed and celebrated since the earliest times of Christianity. Today's feast was celebrated under various names (Commemoration, Dormition, Passing, Assumption) from at least the fifth or sixth century. Homilies concerning the Assumption go back to at least the Sixth Century. However, in order to make it a dogma of the faith meaning all Catholics must believe it, Pope Pius XII dogmatically declared Mary's Assumption into Heaven in 1950:

"... 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" (Munificentissimus Deus)

The Eastern Churches (which are still in union with Rome) refer to today as the Dormition as opposed to the Assumption because they believe that Mary died and was then assumed into Heaven. As Roman Catholics in the Latin Rite, we are free to believe that Mary died and then was assumed into Heaven or that she didn't die but right before her death she was assumed into Heaven.

Some claim that the Assumption never happened because it is not in the Scriptures, but remember that the Bible deals with God, not Mary. The Bible does not deal with the earthy end of any of the original disciples after the Gospel ends.

Remember, today is a Holy Day of Obligation, meaning all Catholics must attend Mass.

The Early Church Believed in the Assumption

Pope Pius XII in his dogmatic proclamation mentioned or quoted St. Anthony of Padua, St. Damascene, St. Albert the Great, St. Thomas Aquinas, St. Bonaventure, St. Robert Bellarmine, St. Alphonsus Liguori, St. Peter Canisius, and Suarez, all of whom either outright supported the Assumption or at least did not deny it. For instance, St. John Damascene (675-749) states:

“It was fitting that she, who had kept her virginity intact in childbirth, should keep her own body free from all corruption even after death. It was fitting that she, who had carried the Creator as a child at her breast, should dwell in the divine tabernacles. It was fitting that the spouse, whom the Father had taken to himself, should live in the divine mansions. It was fitting that she, who had seen her Son upon the cross and who had thereby received into her heart the sword of sorrow which she had escaped in the act of giving birth to him, should look upon him as he sits with the Father. It was fitting that God’s Mother should possess what belongs to her Son, and that she should be honored by every creature as the Mother and as the handmaid of God” (Encomium in Dormitionem Dei Genetricis Semperque Virginis Mariae, Hom. II, n. 14; cf. also ibid, n. 3.).

Shockingly to Protestants, even Martin Butzer, a contemporary of Martin Luther, wrote, “Indeed, no Christian doubts that the most worthy Mother of the Lord lives with her beloved Son in heavenly joy” (Marienlexikon, vol. 3, 200)!

To deny the Assumption of Our Lady is to deny an unquestionable historical fact affirmed by centuries of Christians. Those who deny the Assumption fall prey to the errors which St. Paul warned of when he wrote, “For there shall be a time, when they will not endure sound doctrine; but, according to their own desires, they will heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears” (2 Timothy 4:3).

Purgatory:

Please pray for the Souls in Purgatory today. It is written that at the time of Mary’s Assumption, all of purgatory was emptied, and the souls detained there accompanied her in her triumphant entry into Heaven. St. Bernardine of Siena also states that through her prayers and the application of her own merits, the Virgin has the power of freeing souls, especially her devotees, from purgatory. St. Peter Damian attests that every year on the Feast of the Assumption (August 15), the Virgin liberates thousands of souls.

Scripture:

"God’s temple in heaven was opened, and the ark of his covenant could be seen in the temple. A great sign appeared in the sky, a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars. She was with child and wailed aloud in pain as she labored to give birth.

"Then another sign appeared in the sky; it was a huge red dragon, with seven heads and ten horns, and on its heads were seven diadems. Its tail swept away a third of the stars in the sky and hurled them down to the earth. Then the dragon stood before the woman about to give birth, to devour her child when she gave birth. She gave birth to a son, a male child, destined to rule all the nations with an iron rod. Her child was caught up to God and his throne. The woman herself fled into the desert where she had a place prepared by God."

Revelations 11:19 and Revelations 12:1-6

The Assumption of Mary by Francesco Botticini (1446 - 1498)

Deiparae Virginis Mariae:

The Christian people have never ceased to invoke and experience the Blessed Virgin Mary's assistance, and therefore they have, at all times, venerated her with ever-growing devotion. And so, because love when it is true and deeply felt tends of its own nature to manifest itself through ever renewed demonstrations, the faithful have vied with one another all through the centuries in expressing at all times their ardent piety toward the Queen of Heaven. In our opinion, this is the reason why, for a long time past, numerous petitions (those received from 1849 to 1940 have been gathered in two volumes which, accompanied with suitable comments, have been recently printed), from cardinals, patriarchs, archbishops, bishops, priests, religious of both sexes, associations, universities, and innumerable private persons have reached the Holy See, all begging that the bodily Assumption into heaven of the Blessed Virgin should be defined and proclaimed as a dogma of faith. And certainly, no one is unaware of the fact that this was fervently requested by almost two hundred fathers in the Vatican Council.

Encyclical of Pope Pius XII Promulgated on May 1, 1946

Novena:

Novena for the Assumption of Mary (August 7 - 15)

Collect:

Almighty and everlasting God, Who hast taken body and soul into heaven the Immaculate Virgin Mary, Mother of Thy Son: grant, we beseech Thee, that by steadfastly keeping heaven as our goal we may be counted worthy to join her in glory. Through the same our Lord.

Prayer Source: 1962 Roman Catholic Daily Missal

Learn More:

If you are interested in learning more about the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary please consider purchasing the applicable lesson from CatechismClass.com, which is available for only a few dollars.  

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St. Maximilian Kolbe

Today is the feast day (August 14th) of St. Maximilian Kolbe, who died in a concentration camp because He willing took the place of a condemned man that was a father of children so that the man could be released. This heroic action of love is an example for us to imitate. "There is no greater love than to lay down one's life for one's friends" (John 15:33)

See my post on St. Maximilian Kolbe for more information.

Image Source: Believed to be in the Public Domain

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On Temptation

This is concluding a series of thoughts today on prayer, temptation, and doubt, which many people can easy find themselves in. Even Our Lord was tempted in the desert for 40 days with the devil even quoting Scripture (Matthew 4:1-11), but only Our Lord knew the true meaning of each line in Scripture. It is through the Church that we find a home, the dwelling place of the Holy Spirit and home of the sacraments. You can try to find a religious denomination or pray on your own but you will never know God completely without 1) prayer and 2) the Sacraments of the Catholic Church.

The bottom line is that in our own hearts we already know God. Our souls know God and never let satan come into your hearts and steal your joy from you. Keep watch with Christ and study the Word of God and soon all of our sunsets will turn into sunrises. Prayer, the Holy Mass, devotion to Mary, the reading of the Bible, etc. all prepare our souls to know God.

* I was inspired to write this after reading an article on Christ-Haunted about the top 100 Catholic Quotes of all time.

Image Source: Image of Palm Sunday Tridentine Mass, believed to be in the Public Domain

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Some Random Catholic Information

I came across some interesting Catholic demographics towards the bottom of the page. Here's some of what it said:

1. More science fiction writers belong to the Catholic Church than any other religious group
2. Catholic countries consume more alcohol than protestant ones
3. In the US Catholics and Lutherans had the lowest divorce rates

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Conditions for Prayer

While reading This is the Faith by Canon Francis Ripley I came across a list of conditions for prayer. If you are having trouble with prayer and want to be able to pray honestly please see my comments as those from the book on page 39.

I believe before anything else when we pray we must admit our sinfulness and helplessness. Prayer is an absolute vital necessity (CCC 2744) because it is communication with God; it is a dialogue. Before we pray the Rosary or any prayer we should briefly examine ourselves and see how we can improve our lives and avoid sin. If we do not acknowledge our helplessness to God then our prayers are useless. Humility must reign in our heart.

These are from the book on page 39, with the detail coming from my opinion:

1. Sincerity: Whether we are praying an Our Father or Hail Mary or just a prayer from our heart we must actually mean it. We should actually believe everything we are saying.
2. Attention: We need to find a good place to pray and actually know the words we are saying. We shouldn't go about praying for others to see us as that is a horrible sin of pride, but we should pray silently to God with focusing exactly on our words and its meaning. During this time I have heard many times that people can receive temptation and "bad" thoughts in this time, but you just need to resisit them and continue to go on. We can not commit a sin if we are not willfully doing it. Temptation and sin are seperate.
3. Humility: Again, examine how small we are before God. Try to kneel or at least lean forward. Never just lie back and pray in bed because it is too easy to fall asleep.
4. Confidence: Trust Our Lord and know that He hears all of our prayer even if He doesn't answer them. His will and ways are far above ours, but know that in the end the outcome will all be for God's glory.
5. Perserverance: Never give up on prayer - never. God hears you and will answer when the time is right if it is in accordance with His Holy Will. When you pray say, "Please, Lord grant me these requests if they are in your accordance with your will..."
6. Resignation: Remember that God is Our Lord and maker is much higher than us. Let us humble ourselves and remember that He is always right so let us leave our prayers to Him.

Above all, never doubt that God loves you. Keep praying and offer God praise and thanks before anything else. And, remember, no matter how much doubt or temptation came come to you, that the Lord is Our God, the same person who freed us from sin as recorded in scripture and passed down through the Tradition of the Church. Never let doubt win and break us from prayer or faith - never.

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Prayer & reflection on it

I am currently reading "Crossing: Reclaiming the Landscape of Our Lives" by Mark Barrett, OSB, which is centered on his struggle with prayer and the praying of the Liturgy of the Hours in his monastery. The Liturgy of the Hours is the prayer of the Church at different points in the day, and the author states that he does actually get bored with prayer.

Sometimes even we think "Are my prayers heard?" or "Why do I pray?" but let these thoughts go in one ear and out of the other. We believe in God and should not let doubt try to question our belief in God and the Tradition of the Church passed down through the Holy Church since the time of Christ. Prayer is not just talking with God but a dialogue between our soul and Him. Through prayer we give Our Lord thanks and praise and can ask petitions, but don't just let Mass and prayer become a habit and not an experience. Actually pray the words at Mass instead of just repeating them.

In the book the author describes our days as full of crossroads through a garden (the garden being a metaphor of our life), and only if we rely on God and think clearly about how to improve our lives through prayer can we hope to travel through life without going in circles. Make sure you see prayer as a personal dialogue with God and an opportunity to reflect on our day so far. If you, however, do not rely on God then we are nothing and surely can not find our way through a garden because it would undoubtedly seem a wilderness.

One day St. Franics saw his students reading about God and the saints in classes and was furious because it took away their prayer time and prayer time is the most important part of living with God. Prayer is the water of our soul for the seed of God's word and without water we can not hope to survive in the desert of the world around us.

I'll post a summary of the book when I complete it. I do however greatly recommend purchasing Christian Prayer, which I use to pray the Liturgy of the Hours. I love to use it.

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Prayer to Saints

Why Pray to Saints?

A saint is a person who the Church declares possesses the beatific vision (i.e. a saint is someone who is in Heaven) and whose life is worthy of imitation on account of the virtues they possessed.

Catholics are frequently criticized for “praying to the dead” by some non-Catholics who seem to believe that by praying to the Saints we are taking something away from God. We as Catholics know that the relationship we have with the saints is entirely different than the relationship we have with God. Protestants often accuse Catholics of necromancy and idolatry because of our devotion to the saints. These claims are false.

"Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The fervent prayer of a righteous person is very powerful." -- James 5:16.

We never pray to a saint as the end but rather ask them to pray along with us. They are intercessors for us as they are in the presence of God Himself in Heaven. These men and women in Heaven are very close to God and it makes sense that asking them to pray for us can only cause good. It is common practice to ask fellow human beings on earth to pray to God for us and our intentions. No one rightfully faults this practice. And if death is not the end of life and those who are now in Heaven see God, why should we not ask them for their intercession? 

A basic study of Church history reveals that the honoring of the saints and praying to them is of apostolic origin. The term "saint" is from the Latin word sanctus meaning "hallowed or “consecrated." The first person honored individually as a saint was Stephen, the first martyr, whose death is recorded in The Book of the Acts of the Apostles Chapters 6 and 7. For nearly four centuries, praying to St. Stephen was incredibly popular. Beginning at the end of the second century, there were special celebrations on anniversaries of the martyrs' deaths. These martyrs were witnesses of Christ. By the fourth century, sainthood was not just considered for martyrs. It was also for confessors and virgins. 

How Can the Saints Hear Our Prayers?

“And when he had opened the book, the four living creatures, and the four and twenty ancients fell down before the Lamb, having every one of them harps, and golden vials full of odours, which are the prayers of saints” (Revelations 5:8)

The Book of Revelations written by St. John the Apostle specifically mentions how the prayers of the saints are presented before God in Heaven. The saints in Heaven are very much aware of what is happening on earth because God has in His order of the world permitted them to know of prayers addressed to them. In Matthew 17:3-5, the Prophets Moses and Elijah were very much aware of what was taking place on the earth. The saints themselves are witnesses of what occurs on earth as the Book of Hebrews specifically states: ““Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us rid ourselves of every burden and sin that clings to us and persevere in running the race that lies before us” (Hebrews 12:1). And our Lord Himself in Luke 15:7-10 describes those in Heaven rejoicing over repentance on earth. How could they do so unless in the mystical order of the universe God has somehow permitted them to know and see what was happening on the earth?

Does Praying to the Saints Violate Christ’s Role as Mediator?

“For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus” (1 Tim. 2:5).

Through the hypostatic union, the fact that Jesus Christ, the Second Person of the Blessed Trinity, took on human nature, He alone can truly offer Sacrifice for mankind and stand as the sole mediator between human beings and God the Father. 

However, this does not prevent other mediators between mankind and our Lord. In the four verses immediately preceding 1 Timothy 2:5, Paul says that the Faithful should intercede for each other: “First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all men, for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life, godly and respectful in every way. This is good, and pleasing to God our Savior, who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth” (1 Tim. 2:1–4). St. Paul himself asks for intercession to be made for one another. If we can ask fellow Catholics on earth to pray for us to God, what would prevent us from asking fellow Catholics in Heaven to do so? The saints in Heaven are after all truly alive.

Elsewhere in Scripture St. Paul directly asks others to pray for him (Rom. 15:30–32, Eph. 6:18–20, Col. 4:3, 1 Thess. 5:25, 2 Thess. 3:1), and he assured them that he was praying for them as well (2 Thess. 1:11). If Scripture supported the notion that we should only pray to Jesus and not ask others to pray for us to God, then the Scripture would say it with such clarity. But on the contrary, the Scriptures emphasis praying for others.

Why Do Catholics Have Images or Statues of the Saints?

Catholic images include such things as statues, artistic renderings, and other works of art. Some may be concerned that this is a violation of the first commandment, but we know as Catholics that when we see a beautiful statue of the Blessed Mother or one of the saints we don’t actually worship the plaster, but we use it as a way to remind us of that individual. Just as we all display photos in our home to remind us of our loved ones, both living and dead, nobody would accuse us of worshipping or loving the photo rather than the person. Images are a way to draw us closer to God and holiness. We should take advantage of the vast array of Catholic images at our disposal and do our best to incorporate them into our homes as a vehicle for bringing ourselves and our families to the love of God.

In the Old Testament in the Book of Numbers 21:8 God commanded Moses to make the bronze serpent which we learn is a symbol of Jesus Christ (cf. John 3:14). It is only destroyed after it is worshiped (cf. 2 Kings 18:4), the making of it was not a sin. And there were images of the cherubim angels in the temple (cf. 1 Kings 6:23-31) and God blessed the temple (cf. 1 Kings 9:3). Not one line of Scripture ever condemned the creation of images or art of those in Heaven.

Imitating the Saints

The best way to learn to imitate the saints is to immerse oneself in their stories and see the courageous example of their lives. Two great examples are The Passion of the Holy Martyrs Felicity and Perpetus and Sulpitius Severus  On the Life of St. Martin.

Conclusion

Besides considering the Scriptural basis for praying to the saints, we can also look at the manifestation of miracles which attest to the truths of Catholic doctrine. Obviously, God would not bless a false doctrine with an abundance of miracles, and if there were no God, miracles could not be. So, the miracles performed by Catholics saints, and attested to by numerous witnesses of exemplary character, furnish powerful proofs of the divinity of the Catholic religion. And there are so many, we hardly know where to begin. Various authors, such as Joan Carroll Cruz have written extensively about this. Consider reading anything about St. Pio, St. Bernard of Clairvaux, St. Joseph of Cupertino, St. John Bosco, or St. Francis of Assisi. Also try to read anything about the miracles at Fatima, especially John Haffert’s Meet the Witnesses.

There are no reported miracles ever worked by Martin Luther or any protestant “reformer” or clergyman. There are no reported miracles performed and beyond the explanation of science by any religion (e.g. Protestants, Muslims, Jews, Hindus, Buddhists, et cetera) except for Catholic saints. Only the miracles alleged even to modern times by Catholic saints are without scientific proof.

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Priests for Life Announces Lay Movement

It appears that Priests for Life has just announced a lay movement. Read about it here on the National Catholic Register.

Image Source: Photograph believed to be in the Public Domain, Title Unknown

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Pro-life Statistics

I just came across new poll results from CBS, which show a majority do not support abortion.

"When asked about their "personal feeling about abortion," 53 percent of respondents said all or most abortions should not be permitted and only 43 percent said all or most abortions should be permitted." (Read the article)

Any comments? What do you think this shows for America? Is it going more pro-life than before?

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Daily Lives for Christ

I recently took several suggestions on how to live our daily lives for God and created a top ten list. They are in no particular order, but here are ten ways to live our lives with God as the center. How many do you do?

1. Pray a morning offering and offer all of your prayers, joys, works, and sufferings of the day to Christ for His glory
2. Pray at least the morning and evening parts of the Divine Office (Breviary)
3. Pray the Rosary daily
4. Forgive those that trespass against us
   
5. Celebrate the seasons of the Church by doing something special for each season (Advent, Lent, Septuagesima, Chrsitmastide, Eastertide, etc)
6. Celebrate your patron saint's feastday as well as for those in your family
7. Read at least one chapter from Sacred Scripture daily
   
8. Pray the Divine Mercy Chaplet once a day (best at 3 PM to remember Our Lord's death) as well as the Angelus at 6 AM, Noon, and 6 PM
9. If possible visit the Blessed Sacrament in adoration or Mass
10. At dinner light a candle and say grace before and after meals making sure to give thanks to the Lord for His goodness

Image Source: Believed to be in the Public Domain, Title Unknown

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