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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Dormition Fast for Catholics

Yesterday, the Eastern Rites of the Church began the observance of the Dormition Fast.  What is the Dormition Fast?  What is a Latin Rite Catholic to think of this custom?  

Referred to as either the Dormition Fast – since the Assumption of Our Lady is known as the Dormition by Eastern Catholics – or as the Assumption Fast, this is a two-week-long fasting period lasting from August 1st until Assumption Day. Father R. Janin writes that this fast is “a difficult Lent permitting only olives and vegetables cooked in water; oil is tolerated on Saturdays and Sundays.” Like the Apostles’ Fast, the Assumption Fast stretches back to the time of St. Leo the Great.

While the Assumption Fast would also fade from practice in the West, the Vigil of the Assumption on August 14th would remain a mandatory day of fasting and abstinence until 1957. Its observance as a fast day is ancient as the Catholic Encyclopedia states: "Pope Nicholas I (d. 867), in his answer to the Bulgarians, speaks of the fast on the eves of Christmas and of the Assumption...The Synod of Seligenstadt in 1022 AD mentions vigils on the eves of Christmas, Epiphany, the feast of the Apostles, the Assumption of Mary, St. Laurence, and All Saints, besides the fast of two weeks before the Nativity of St. John." 

One further interesting remnant of the Assumption Fast in the West is found in Sicily where the faithful would abstain from fruit for two weeks prior to the Assumption. Assumption Day is known for its blessing of herbs and fruits so the faithful, after two weeks of such abstinence, would joyfully bring their herbs and fruits to the parish for the blessing on August 15th and then, after the blessing, give each other fruit baskets.

During greater times of Latinization in the Eastern Rites in the past few centuries, the Apostles’ Fast and the Dormition Fast were minimized to such an extent that they were not emphasized and not considered obligatory. About 20 years ago, the Dormition Fast was officially recognized as an important part of the Byzantine Catholic tradition but not as a fast of obligation. It was recommended that Byzantine Catholics voluntarily add Wednesday, and even Monday, as days of abstinence in addition to Friday abstinence during this period.

This is taken from Aquinas and More's website:

The Eastern churches (both Catholic and Orthodox) traditionally observe a period of fasting prior to the Great Feast of the Dormition of the Theotokos - one of the four great fasts that are part of the Church year in the East, the others being the Nativity Fast, the Great Lent Fast and the Apostles Fast. This fast is also called "Our Lady's Fast" or the "Assumption Fast.” For those on the new calendar (Gregorian), this fast begins just before the Vespers of the Feast of the Procession of the Holy Cross (1 August) on 31 July evening. This fast ends just before Vespers for the Great Feast of the Dormition of The Theotokos (15 August) on 14 August evening. For those on the old calendar (Julian) , this fast begins on August 14 and ends on August 28. 

The Dormition Fast is short, but is stricter than all the other fasting periods except Great Lent. One should fast on all days from the usual non-lenten foods, such as all animal products (meat, poultry, milk, cheese, etc.) and olive oil and wine. In addition, one also traditionally abstains from fish on all days of the fast, including weekends, except for the feast of the Holy Transfiguration of Our Lord, when fasting may be eased by having fish, wine and olive oil. On the two weekends which fall during the fast (Saturday and Sunday), the fast is also relaxed a little bit, and one may have wine and olive oil, but no fish. Please check with your priest or with your eparchial (diocesan) offices for specific information, of course. Actually fasting practice can and does vary between the particular Eastern churches. 

The Scriptural foundation for the practice of Fasting is found in the Synoptic Gospels, when the Pharisees criticized the Apostles for not fasting, Jesus said to them, "Can the wedding guests mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them? The days will come, when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast.” Our Lord, in this passage, was referring to his being taken to be crucified; but in the larger sense these words of the Lord are understood in terms of his Ascension into heaven, and his command to preach the Gospel, which can only be accomplished with prayer and fasting. The New Testament mentions the practice of fasting many times. 

According to Eastern Christian teaching, by fasting we observe this time-honored Apostolic practice. We can also unite our lives more closely to the Mother of God through the Dormition Fast. By fasting, we can join in and show our appreciation for the sacrifices of the the Theotokos. The Theotokos sacrificed much to give birth to Holy God the Son within the Holy Trinity - Our Lord, God and Savior, Jesus Christ, to raise Him, and to be with Him during His ministry, His crucifixion, and His resurrection. 

The Dormition of the Theotokos is a Great Feast of the Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox and Eastern Catholic Churches which commemorates the "falling asleep" or death of the Theotokos (Mary, the mother of Jesus; literally translated as God-bearer). It is celebrated on August 15 (August 28 for those following the Julian Calendar) as the Feast of the Dormition of the Mother of God. 

In the Eastern churches, as in the language of Sacred Scripture, death is often called a "sleeping" or "falling asleep.” A prominent example of this is the name of this feast; another is the Dormition of Anna, Mary's mother. According to the ancient tradition of the East, the Orthodox and Eastern Catholics believe that Mary, having spent her life after Pentecost supporting and serving the nascent Church, was living in the house of the Apostle John when the Archangel Gabriel revealed to her that her repose would occur three days later. The Holy Apostles, scattered throughout the world, are said to have been miraculously transported to be at her side when she died. The sole exception was the Apostle Thomas, who was characteristically late. He is said to have arrived three days after her death, grief-striken, and asked to see her grave so that he could bid her goodbye. Mary had already been laid to rest. When they arrived at the grave, her body was gone, leaving a sweet fragrance. An angel is said to have appeared and confirmed to the Apostles that Christ had taken her body to heaven after her soul.

As a result, the Dormition Fast is a period of preparation for the celebration of the Assumption of Our Blessed Lady into Heaven on August 15th.  It is wise for us - even Latin Rite Catholics - to adopt this time as a time of prayer and preparation.  While we are not canonically bound under the pain of sin to observe this period of fasting, it is certainly wise for us to fast willingly at this time in order to prepare for the Assumption better.  And moreover, offering our fasting and added sacrifices for the intentions of our Lady would be a most salutary effort indeed.

Want to learn more about the history of fasting and abstinence? Check out the Definitive Guide to Catholic Fasting and Abstinence.

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Is Friday Abstinence Required When Assumption Day Falls on a Friday?

Assumption by Martin Knoller

Assumption Day As A Holy Day of Obligation

The first catalog of Holy Days comes from the Decree of Gratian in c. 1150 AD, which shortly thereafter gave way to Decretals of Pope Gregory IX in 1234, which listed 45 Holy Days.

In 1642, His Holiness Pope Urban VIII issued the papal bull Universa Per Orbem which mandated the required Holy Days of Obligation for the Universal Church to consist of 34 days as well as the principal patrons of one's one locality (e.g. city and country). Those days were the Nativity of Our Lord, the Circumcision of Our Lord, the Epiphany of Our Lord, Monday within the Octave of the Resurrection, Tuesday within the Octave of the Resurrection, Ascension Thursday, Monday within the Octave of Pentecost, Tuesday within the Octave of Pentecost, Most Holy Trinity, Corpus Christi, the Finding of the Holy Cross, the Purification of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Dedication of St. Michael, the Nativity of St. John the Baptist, SS. Peter and Paul, St. Andrew, St. James, St. John (the December feast day), St. Thomas, SS. Philip and James, St. Bartholomew, St. Matthew, SS. Simon and Jude, St. Matthias, St. Stephen the First Martyr (the December feast day), the Holy Innocents, St. Lawrence, St. Sylvester, St. Joseph, St. Anne, and All Saints.  

Hence, Assumption Day was a Holy Day of Obligation long before the dogma of the Assumption was dogmatically defined.

Is Friday Abstinence Required When Assumption Day (August 15) Falls on a Friday?

Since August 15 this year falls on a Friday and is a Holy Day of Obligation, a question arises on whether abstinence is obligatory this Friday. The answer, as clearly stated in the 1917 Code, is as follows:

"On [Sundays] or feasts of precept, the law of abstinence or of abstinence and fast or of fast only ceases, except during Lent, nor is the vigil anticipated; likewise it ceases on Holy [Saturday] afternoon" (1917 Code, Canon 1252 § 4). [Translation taken from THE 1917 OR PIO-BENEDICTINE CODE OF CANON LAW in English Translation by Dr. Edward Peters]

As Assumption Day falls outside of Lent, this Friday is not a day of mandatory abstinence. However, this was actually a change from the practice observed for well over 1,000 years.

Dispensations From Abstinence Were Previously Required Even for Holy Days of Obligation Outside of Lent

Even Christmas would in and of itself not dispense Friday abstinence in the Medieval Church, as Dom Gueranger writes in the Liturgical Year published in 1886:

"To encourage her children in their Christmas joy, the Church has dispensed with the law of abstinence, if this Feast fall on a Friday. This dispensation was granted by Pope Honorius III, who ascended the Papal Throne in 1216. It is true that we find it mentioned by Pope St Nicholas I, in the ninth century; but the dispensation was not universal; for the Pontiff is replying to the consultations of the Bulgarians, to whom he concedes this indulgence, in order to encourage them to celebrate these Feasts with solemnity and joy: Christmas Day, St Stephen, St John the Evangelist, the Epiphany, the Assumption of our Lady, St John the Baptist, and SS Peter and Paul. When the dispensation for Christmas Day was extended to the whole Church, these other Feasts were not mentioned."

Previously, a dispensation was required by the Holy Father even on Holy Days of Obligation that fell outside of Lent. Two examples indicating this are Pope Leo XIII's 1890 dispensation for Assumption Day and a 1907 dispensation issued for Canada for All Saints Day. All Saints Day was, at that time, a Holy Day of Obligation in Canada.

The Catholic Encyclopedia on St. Pius X's Supremi disciplinæ indicates that fasting was abolished eo ipso only starting in 1911 for all Holy Days of Obligation outside of Lent (which were at the same time reduced to only 8): "The present Motu Proprio institutes another important change in legislation. As feasting and fasting are incompatible, Pius X has abolished the obligation of fasting as well as that of abstinence for the Universal Church, should such obligation coincide with any of the eight feasts, as above." 

Thus, while eating meat this Friday is not a sin, it would be meritorious to continue to observe Friday abstinence in honor of the nearly 1,800 year-old tradition that preceded the 1917 Code. If we choose to do so, let us offer it up through our Lady's intercession for the conversion of sinners who violate the laws of the Church and do not attend Holy Mass on days of precept like Assumption Day.

Want to learn more about the history of fasting and abstinence? Check out the Definitive Guide to Catholic Fasting and Abstinence.

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Sacramentals of the Assumption of our Lady: Herbs, Fruits, and Flowers

Illustrating the great harmony in Catholic life between seasonal customs and the liturgical year, the Church instituted at this time of year the blessing of Herbs in connection with Our Lady’s glorious Assumption into Heaven. This blessing found in the Rituale Romanum was only to be offered on this particular day and was observed for centuries before the dogma of the Assumption was infallibly defined by Pope Pius XII in 1950. Gregory DiPippo in a 2015 article at New Liturgical Movement wrote:

The blessing originated in Germany and is first attested in the 10th century; one version of it or another is found in a great many of the liturgical books which contain blessings of this sort. In the 1614 Roman Ritual of Pope Paul V, it consists of a psalm, a series of versicles and responses, three prayers, and the blessing, after which the flowers are sprinkled with holy water; the blessing is supposed to be done before the principal Mass of the day.

Why the blessing of Herbs? It is connected with an ancient tradition that states that after Our Lady’s Assumption into Heaven, beautiful and sweet-smelling flowers began to grow out of the stone sarcophagus, confirming to the Apostles that she had truly been assumed by her divine son. Regardless of whether this manifestation of flowers actually occurred, our custom for keeping Assumption Day as a day for blessing herbs helps unite us to the Apostles and centuries of Catholics who knew of and believed in her triumph over death. Like Our Lady, we too look forward to our eventual Resurrection, confident in the mercy of God if we preserve in the state of sanctifying grace until death.

Herbs also show a connection with the life of the average agrarian Catholic who would at this time be observing the fall harvest. Father Weiser in his opus magnum Handbook of Christian Feasts and Customs—which all Catholics should read—notes this connection especially led Hungary and Poland to observe Assumption Day as a celebration of God’s blessings upon the harvest:

In the Christian era the custom of celebrating a thanksgiving harvest festival began in the High Middle Ages. For lack of any definite liturgical day or ceremony prescribed by the Church, various practices came to be observed locally. In many places, as in Hungary, the Feast of the Assumption included great thanksgiving solemnities for the grain harvest. Delegates from all parts of the country came for the solemn procession to Budapest, carrying the best samples of their produce. A similar ceremony was observed in Poland, where harvest wreaths brought to Warsaw from all sections were bestowed on the president in a colorful pageant. These wreaths (wieniec), made up of the straw of the last sheaf (broda), were beautifully decorated with flowers, apples, nuts, and ribbons, and blessed in churches by the priests.

The blessing of herbs is preserved in the 1962 and 1964 Rituale Romanum (which are nearly identical aside from some alterations to the Rite of Marriage). A PDF of the 1962 Rituale may be found online and the blessing of herbs may be said by any priest. Ask your priest in advance to publicly bless herbs on Assumption Day and invite the faithful to bring their own herbs from home for this unique tradition.

Read more customs for Assumption Day at One Peter Five.

Taken from the Rituale Romanum:

17. BLESSING OF HERBS  on the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary

{This blessing comes from Germany, and formulas for it are found as early as the tenth century. The blessing of herbs was reserved only to the feast of the Assumption. Herbs had not our restricted English meaning but included all kinds of cultivated and wild flowers, especially those which in some way had a symbolic relation to our Lady. The people brought herbs to church on her feast not only to secure for themselves another blessed object, but also to make of the occasion a harvest festival of thanksgiving to God for His great bounty manifested in the abundant fruits of the earth. The herbs were placed on the altar, and even beneath the altar-cloths, so that from this close contact with the Eucharist they might receive a special consecration, over and above the ordinary sacramental blessing of the Church.}

After the Asperges if it is a Sunday, otherwise immediately before Mass, the priest, standing before the altar and facing the people who hold the herbs and fruits in their hands, says in a clear voice:

P: Our help is in the name of the Lord. 
All: Who made heaven and earth.

Psalm 64


P: To you we owe our hymn of praise, O God, in Sion; to you must vows be fulfilled, you who hear prayers.
All: To you all flesh must come* because of wicked deeds.
P: We are overcome by our sins; * it is you who pardon them.
All: Happy the man you choose, * and bring to dwell in your courts.
P: May we be filled with the good things of your house, * the holy things of your temple.
All: With awe-inspiring deeds of justice you answer us, * O God our Savior,
P: The hope of all the ends of the earth * and of the distant seas.
All: You set the mountains in place by your power, * you who are girt with might;
P: You still the roaring of the seas, * the roaring of their waves and the tumult of the peoples.
All: And the dwellers at the earth's ends are in fear at your marvels; * the farthest east and west you make resound with joy.
P: You have visited the land and watered it; * greatly have you enriched it.
All: God's watercourses are filled; you have prepared the grain. * Thus have you prepared the land:
P: Drenching its furrows, * breaking up its clods,
All: Softening it with showers, * blessing its yield.
P: You have crowned the year with your bounty, * and your paths overflow with a rich harvest;
All: The untilled meadows overflow with it, * and rejoicing clothes the hills.
P: The fields are garmented with flocks and the valleys blanketed with grain. * They shout and sing for joy.
All: Glory be to the Father.
P: As it was in the beginning.
P: The Lord will be gracious.
All: And our land will bring forth its fruit.
P: You water the mountains from the clouds.
All: The earth is replenished from your rains.
P: Giving grass for cattle.
All: And plants for the benefit of man.
P: You bring wheat from the earth.
All: And wine to cheer man's heart.
P: Oil to make his face lustrous.
All: And bread to strengthen his heart.
P: He utters a command and heals their suffering.
All: And snatches them from distressing want.
P: Lord, heed my prayer.
All: And let my cry be heard by you.
P: The Lord be with you.
All: May He also be with you.

Let us pray.


Almighty everlasting God, who by your word alone brought into being the heavens, earth, sea, things seen and things unseen, and garnished the earth with plants and trees for the use of man and beast; who appointed each species to bring forth fruit in its kind, not only for the food of living creatures, but for the healing of sick bodies as well; with mind and word we urgently call on you in your great kindness to bless these various herbs and fruits, thus increasing their natural powers with the newly given grace of your blessing. May they keep away disease and adversity from men and beasts who use them in your name; through Christ our Lord.

All: Amen.

Let us pray.


God, who through Moses, your servant, directed the children of Israel to carry their sheaves of new grain to the priests for a blessing, to pluck the finest fruits of the orchard, and to make merry before you, the Lord their God; hear our supplications, and shower blessings in abundance upon us and upon these bundles of new grain, new herbs, and this assortment of produce which we gratefully present to you on this festival, blessing them in your name. Grant that men, cattle, flocks, and beasts of burden find in them a remedy against sickness, pestilence, sores, injuries, spells, against the fangs of serpents or poisonous creatures. May these blessed objects be a protection against diabolical mockery, cunning, and deception wherever they are kept, carried, or otherwise used. Lastly, through the merits of the blessed Virgin Mary, whose Assumption we are celebrating, may we all, laden with the sheaves of good works, deserve to be taken up to heaven; through Christ our Lord.

All: Amen.

Let us pray.


God, who on this day raised up to highest heaven the rod of Jesse, the Mother of your Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, that by her prayers and patronage you might communicate to our mortal nature the fruit of her womb, your very Son; we humbly implore you to help us use these fruits of the soil for our temporal and everlasting welfare, aided by the power of your Son and the prayers of His glorious Mother; through Christ our Lord.

All: Amen.


And may the blessing of almighty God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, come upon these creatures and remain always.

All: Amen.


They are sprinkled with holy water and incensed.

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Vigil of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary

Vigil (1954 Calendar): August 14th

Fasting and Abstinence:

The Catholic Encyclopedia around the time of St. Pius X in the early 1900s mentions: "In the United States only four of these vigils are fast days: the vigils of Christmas, Pentecost, the Assumption, and All Saints."  On July 25, 1957, Pope Pius XII commuted the fast in the Universal Church from the Vigil of the Assumption to the Vigil of the Immaculate Conception on December 7, even though he had previously abrogated the Mass for the Vigil of the Immaculate Conception. The Vigil of the Assumption can, of course, though still be observed as a fast day by the Faithful.

However, its observance as a fast day is ancient as the Catholic Encyclopedia states: "Pope Nicholas I (d. 867), in his answer to the Bulgarians, speaks of the fast on the eves of Christmas and of the Assumption...The Synod of Seligenstadt in 1022 AD mentions vigils on the eves of Christmas, Epiphany, the feast of the Apostles, the Assumption of Mary, St. Laurence, and All Saints, besides the fast of two weeks before the Nativity of St. John."

As a result, I encourage everyone to keep this traditional day of fasting and abstinence in honor of the Feast of Our Lady's Assumption, which is celebrated tomorrow on August 15th.

MASS PROPERS FOR THE VIGIL OF THE ASSUMPTION:

INTROIT
Ps. 44:13, 15-16

All the rich among the people shall seek your favor. Behind her the virgins shall be led to the king; her friends shall be brought to you with gladness and joy. Ps. 44:2. My heart overflows with good tidings; I sing my song to the king. V. Glory be . . .

COLLECT - O God, You willed to choose the womb of Blessed Mary as Your dwelling place. Grant that we may joyfully celebrate her feast under the shield of her protection; who lives and rules with God the Father . . .

Commemoration of St. Eusebius on August 14th 

(St. Eusebius, a Roman priest, was imprisoned for opposing heretics Emperor Constantius favored. He persisted in his defense of the true Faith until his death in about the middle of the fourth century.)

O God, our hearts are overjoyed at the annual feast of Your blessed confessor Eusebuis. Grant that we who celebrate his birthday may draw near You by following his example. Through our Lord . . .

EPISTLE
Eccli. 24:23-31

As the vine I have brought forth a pleasant odour: and my flowers are the fruit of honour and riches.I am the mother of fair love, and of fear, and of knowledge, and of holy hope. In me is all grace of the way and of the truth, in me is all hope of life and of virtue. Come over to me, all ye that desire me, and be filled with my fruits. For my spirit is sweet above honey, and my inheritance above honey and the honeycomb. My memory is unto everlasting generations. They that eat me, shall yet hunger: and they that drink me, shall yet thirst. He that hearkeneth to me, shall not be confounded: and they that work by me, shall not sin. They that explain me shall have life everlasting.

GRADUAL

You are blessed and venerable, O Virgin Mary, for without the loss of your virginity you became the Mother of our Saviour. V. O Virgin Mother of God, He whom the whole world cannot contain enclosed Himself in your womb and was made man.

GOSPEL
Luke 11:27-28

At that time, as Jesus spoke these things, a certain woman from the crowd, lifting up her voice, said to him: "Blessed is the womb that bore thee and the paps that gave thee suck." But he said: "Yea rather, blessed are they who hear the word of God and keep it. "

OFFERTORY

Blessed are you, O Virgin Mary, who bore the Creator of all things. You brought forth your own Creator, and yet you remain a virgin forever.

SECRET

O Lord, may the intercession of the Mother of God bring our offerings to Your merciful attention, for You took her out of this world that she might plead with confidence before Your throne for the forgiveness of our sins. Through the same Jesus Christ Your Son, our Lord, who lives and rules with You in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God forever and ever.

COMMUNION

Blessed is the womb of the Virgin Mary, which bore the Son of the eternal God

POST COMMUNION

Support us in our weakness, O merciful God. May we rise again from our sins through the intercession of the Holy Mother of God, whose feast we are preparing to celebrate. Through the same Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and rules with You in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God forever and ever.

Sources: Saint Andrew Daily Missal and the Marian Missal, 1945

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Vigil of All Saints

Today is the Eve of All Saints Day (i.e., Halloween), and tomorrow is the Feast of All Saints, a Holy Day of Obligation in many countries. So, please remember to attend Holy Mass tomorrow. Failure to attend Mass without a good reason is a mortal sin. Prepare for Halloween the Catholic Way.

Also, many indulgences are available starting tomorrow, and some apply only to the souls in purgatory. Help the suffering souls! Gain indulgences for them. And learn about today's pre-1955 ways that Traditional Catholics observe to keep this ancient vigil alive.

The History of the Vigil of All Saints as a Day of Fasting and Abstinence

The Catholic Encyclopedia notes that the Vigil of All Saints (Halloween) is an ancient observance almost as old as the Feast of All Saints itself:

Gregory III (731-741) consecrated a chapel in the Basilica of St. Peter to all the saints and fixed the anniversary for 1 November. A basilica of the Apostles already existed in Rome, and its dedication was annually remembered on 1 May. Gregory IV (827-844) extended the celebration on 1 November to the entire Church. The vigil seems to have been held as early as the feast itself. The octave was added by Sixtus IV (1471-84).

Its observance as a fast day is ancient, as the Catholic Encyclopedia states: "Pope Nicholas I (d. 867), in his answer to the Bulgarians, speaks of the fast on the eves of Christmas and of the Assumption...The Synod of Seligenstadt in 1022 AD mentions vigils on the eves of Christmas, Epiphany, the feast of the Apostles, the Assumption of Mary, St. Laurence, and All Saints, besides the fast of two weeks before the Nativity of St. John."

This day of fasting would remain for centuries. Fasting and abstinence, along with Holy Days of Obligation, were, in practice, highly varied depending on each nation and territory. We see this liturgical diversity in the various colonies. For instance, Catholics in the colonies in Florida and Louisiana observed these fasting days:

“The fasting days were all days in Lent; the Ember days; the eves of Christmas, Candlemas, Annunciation, Assumption, All Saints, the feasts of the Apostles except St Philip and St James and St John, and the Nativity of St John the Baptist; all Fridays except within twelve days of Christmas and between Easter and Ascension, and the eve of Ascension.” 

Likewise, the western colonies under Spanish rule in modern-day Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, and California observed as fast days: 

“…all days in Lent except Sunday; eves of Christmas, Whit Sunday, St Mathias, St John the Baptist, St Peter and St Paul, St James, St Lawrence, Assumption, St Bartholomew, St Matthew, St Simon and St Jude, All Saints, St Andrew, and St Thomas.”

At the time of America’s founding, the fast days observed by the new Republic consisted of the Ember Days; the forty days Lent; Wednesdays and Fridays in Advent; and the vigils of Christmas, Whitsun Sunday (i.e., Pentecost), Saints Peter and Paul, and All Saints. Abstinence was practiced on all Fridays and Saturdays of the year unless a Holy Day of Obligation were to occur on them.

The Catholic Encyclopedia from 1909 in describing that fast immediately before the changes to occur under St. Pius X enumerates them as follows: 

“In the United States of America all the days of Lent; the Fridays of Advent (generally); the Ember Days; the vigils of Christmas and Pentecost, as well as those (14 Aug.) of the Assumption; (31 Oct.) of All Saints, are now fasting days. In Great Britain, Ireland, Australia, and Canada, the days just indicated, together with the Wednesdays of Advent and (28 June) the vigil of Saints Peter and Paul, are fasting days.”

The days of obligatory fasting as listed in the 1917 Code of Canon Law were the forty days of Lent (including Ash Wednesday, Good Friday, and Holy Saturday until noon); the Ember Days; and the Vigils of Pentecost, the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, All Saints, and Christmas.

In 1951, the abstinence laws in America were again revised, as Father Ruff summarizes: 

“In 1951 the U.S. bishops standardized regulations calling for complete abstinence from meat on Fridays, Ash Wednesday, the vigils of Assumption and Christmas, and Holy Saturday morning for everyone over age seven. On the vigils of Pentecost and All Saints, meat could be taken at just one meal. Fast days, applying to everyone between 21 and 59, were the weekdays of Lent, Ember days, and the vigils of Pentecost, Assumption, All Saints, and Christmas. On these fast days only one full meal was allowed, with two other meatless meals permitted which together did not make up one full meal. Eating between meals was not permitted, with milk and fruit juice permitted. Health or ability to work exempted one.” 

As a result, the Vigil of All Saints was reduced to partial abstinence for American Catholics only in 1951.

Want to learn more about the history of fasting and abstinence? Check out the Definitive Guide to Catholic Fasting and Abstinence.

The Ancient Vigil of All Saints Fast Is Altered in the 1950s

1955 saw some of the most significant changes to the Church's liturgy since the Council of Trent. Pope Pius XII, in "Cum nostra hac aetate" on March 23, 1955, abolished 15 Octaves in addition to the Octave for the Dedication of a Church and particular octaves for patrons of various religious orders, countries, dioceses, etc. He also abolished roughly half of all vigils, leading to the removal of the liturgical vigils of the Immaculate Conception, Epiphany, All Saints, and All apostles except Ss. Peter and Paul. The total number of liturgical vigils was now reduced to 7.

Uncertainty existed on whether or not fasting was still required on October 31st, the Vigil of All Saints (commonly called Halloween). The US Bishops requested an official determination from Rome on whether the custom of fasting and abstinence on the suspended Vigil of All Saints had also been terminated. They received a pre-printed notice in a response dated March 15, 1957, stating: "The Decree of the Sacred Congregation of Rites...looks simply to the liturgical part of the day and does not touch the obligation of fast and abstinence that are a penitential preparation for the following feast day." The US Bishop thereafter dispensed both the fast and partial abstinence law for the Vigil of All Saints.

However, for those who strive to retain our traditions, the Vigil of All Saints is still a worthwhile day to maintain a fast and keep as a day of abstinence in preparation for tomorrow's great feast.

Feastday of St. Wolfgang of Regensburg

Today is also the Feastday of St. Wolfgang of Regensburg, though it is not celebrated in the Liturgy. The following is taken from Catholic.org:

Wolfgang (d. 994) + Bishop and reformer. Born in Swabia, Germany, he studied at Reichenau under the Benedictines and at Wurzburg before serving as a teacher in the cathedral school of Trier. He soon entered the Benedictines at Einsiedeln (964) and was appointed head of the monastery school, receiving ordination in 971. He then set out with a group of monks to preach among the Magyars of Hungary, but the following year (972) was named bishop of Regensburg by Emperor Otto II (r. 973-983). As bishop, he distinguished himself brilliantly for his reforming zeal and his skills as a statesman. He brought the clergy of the diocese into his reforms, restored monasteries, promoted education, preached enthusiastically, and was renowned for his charity and aid to the poor, receiving the title Eleemosynarius Major (Grand Almoner). He also served as tutor to Emperor Henry II (r. 1014-1024) while he was still king. Wolfgang died at Puppingen near Linz, Austria. He was canonized in 1052 by Pope St. Leo IX (r. 1049-1054). Feast day: October 31.

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Candlemas: A Forgotten Holy Day of Obligation

Dominican Rite Solemn High Mass for Candlemas in 2019

Fasting on the Vigil of Candlemas

While not a liturgical vigil in the Roman Rite, the day before Candlemas historically was observed by some as a day of fasting and abstinence. For instance, our ancestors in the New World in Florida and Louisiana would have known the following days of fast: 

"The fasting days were all days in Lent; the Ember days; the of eves of Christmas, Candlemas, Annunciation, Assumption, All Saints, the feasts of the Apostles except St Philip and St James and St John, nativity of St John the Baptist; all Fridays except within twelve days of Christmas and between Easter and Ascension, and the eve of Ascension" (ACQ). 

Hearing Holy Mass on Candlemas

Candlemas, known formally as the Purification of the Most Blessed Virgin Mary, always falls on February 2nd and it was kept in some places as a Holy Day of Obligation, though that practice has long since ended. For instance, the papal bull Altitudo Divini Concilii of Pope Paul III in 1537 reduced the days of penance and those of hearing Mass for the Indians out of pastoral concern due to the physically demanding lifestyle that they lived and also largely due to the fact that they fasted so much already. The natives were required to only hear Mass on a much smaller number of days: Sundays, Christmas, Circumcision, Epiphany, Candlemas, Annunciation, Sts Peter and Paul, Ascension, Corpus Christi, the Assumption, and the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin.

We see this reflected in Canada as well under the Diocese of Quebec which, at the time, included some of the modern-day states in the Midwest. The American Catholic Quarterly Review lists the Holy Days in place as 1694:

"The holy days of obligation as recognized officially in 1694 were Christmas, St Stephen, St John, the Evangelist, Circumcision, Epiphany, Candlemas, St Matthew, St Joseph 'patron of the country', Annunciation, St Philip and St James, St John the Baptist, St Peter and St Paul, St James, St Anne, St Lawrence, Assumption, St Bartholomew, St Louis 'titular of the Cathedral of Quebec', Nativity of the Blessed Virgin, St Matthew, St Michael, St Simon and St Jude, All Saints, St Andrew, St Francis Xavier, the Conception of the Blessed Virgin 'titular the Cathedral', St Thomas, Easter Monday and Tuesday, Ascension, Whitsun Monday and Tuesday, Corpus Christi, and the patronal feast of each parish."

In 1750, Pope Benedict XIV extended to the Spanish American colonies the indult previously granted to Catholic Spain reducing the days of obligation to all Sundays of the year, Christmas, St. Stephen, the Circumcision, Epiphany, Candlemas, Easter Monday, Annunciation, Monday after Pentecost Sunday, Corpus Christi, Ascension, St. John the Baptist, Sts. Peter and Paul, the Assumption, St. James, the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, All Saints, the Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary, and the patron of each locality. Notice that Candlemas remained.

And the Catholics of the British Isles and colonies would have observed the following days as per The American Catholic Quarterly Review:

"The Catholics of the British Isles, after the reform of Pope Urban VIII kept as obligatory: Christmas, the feasts of St Stephen, St John, Holy Innocents, and St Sylvester, Circumcision, Epiphany, Candlemas, the feasts of St Mathias and St Joseph, Annunciation, Sts Philip and James, Finding of the Holy Cross, St John the Baptist, Sts Peter and Paul, St James, St Anne, St Lawrence, the Assumption, St Bartholomew, the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin, St Matthew, St Michael, Sts Simon and Jude, All Saints, St Andrew and St Thomas, and one of the principal patrons of the city, province, or kingdom. These were the holydays of obligation observed by the Catholics in Maryland, Virginia, and Pennsylvania."

Candlemas remained a Holy Day of Obligation in the British Isles and her colonies until the dispensation issued by Pope Pius VI on March 9, 1777, which eliminated Candlemas and a number of other days.

However, looking at our ancestors in the faith, we see both the importance of preparing for Candlemas and its importance. We may wish to observe February 1st as a day of fasting and abstinence and attend the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass on February 2nd.

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A History of Holy Days of Obligation & Fasting for American Catholics: Part 1

Note: I would like to thank Tyler Gonzalez for helping considerably with the research for this article. This two-part article was rearranged and published in two pieces by Latin Mass Magazine and is also maintained here by their permission. For those pieces in LMM, see "The Forgotten History of Fasting for American Catholics" (Christmas 2020) and "Oases in Modern Life: The History of American Holy Days of Obligation" (Fall 2021).

The American Catholic Quarterly (ACQ) Review, Volume 11 offers an insightful series of reflections on Holy Days with a call for us to observe these as our forefathers in the life gladly did:

"The Church by one of her positive commandments requires the faithful to sanctify certain holydays in the year by taking part in the offering of the great sacrifice of the Mass and by abstaining from servile works. To many, it has doubtless seemed strange that the holydays thus prescribed were not the same throughout the world fixed irrevocably and known by all in every country on the face of the earth. Still more strange has it seemed that in a republic like our own where the Church though the oldest of all the institutions existing can boast of little more than three centuries and a half of history there have been diversities before the recently held Third Plenary Council of Baltimore [in 1884] made a step towards absolute uniformity.

... 

"In the days of faith and fervor not only were the great festivals prescribed by the Church, those associated with the life of our Lord and His Blessed Mother, those intimately connected with the work of redemption, and the feasts of the holy apostles by whose ministry the Church was established and the channels of grace led through the world - not only were these kept reverently but the patronal feast of each country, diocese, and church, the days of the most famous local saints were similarly honored. The devotion was general, and whoso refused to lay aside his implements of trade or traffic on their days was so condemned by public opinion that custom made the law."

Interestingly, because the Church enjoined on the Faithful both the obligation to hear Mass as well as to refrain from servile work, the number of holy days, which included Sundays, was significant. Some people began to revolt against the Church claiming that these practices only increased poverty. But as the Journal notes, an interesting phenomenon occurred:

"Protestantism therefore at once swept away all the holydays and Christmas remained almost alone to represent the Church calendar, and the Puritans even punished those who kept Christmas.With men working all the year round except on Sunday, wealth was to be general, the poor would thrive and prosper and be happy and contented, no longer lured from great and ennobling labor by being called away every week to idle some days in church and prayer. It was again unfortunate that this excellent theory did not work well. The poor seemed to grow actually poorer with all these days of labor than they had been before."

The first catalog of Holy Days comes from the Decretals of Gregory IX in 1234, which listed 45 Holy Days. In 1642, His Holiness Pope Urban VIII issued the papal bull "Universa Per Orbem" which altered the required Holy Days of Obligation for the Universal Church to consist of 35 such days as well as the principal patrons of one's locality.

1. Nativity of Our Lord
2. Circumcision of Our Lord
3. Epiphany of Our Lord
4. Monday within the Octave of the Resurrection
5. Tuesday within the Octave of the Resurrection
6. Ascension
7. Monday within the Octave of Pentecost
8. Tuesday within the Octave of Pentecost
9. Most Holy Trinity
10. Corpus Christi
11. Finding of the Holy Cross (May 3)
12. Purification of the Blessed Virgin Mary
13. Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary
14. Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary
15. Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary
16. Dedication of St. Michael
17. Nativity of St. John the Baptist
18. SS. Peter and Paul
19. St. Andrew
20. St. James
21. St. John (the December feast day)
22. St. Thomas
23. SS. Philip and James
24. St. Bartholomew
25. St. Matthew
26. SS. Simon and Jude
27. St. Matthias
28. St. Stephen the First Martyr (the December feast day)
29. The Holy Innocents
30. St. Lawrence
31. St. Sylvester
32. St. Joseph
33. St. Anne
34. All Saints
35. Principle Patrons of One’s Country, City, etc.

Some of the Holy Days of Obligation removed between 1234 and 1642 included Holy Monday through Holy Saturday in addition to Easter Wednesday through Easter Saturday.

In 1708, Pope Clement XI added the Conception of the Blessed Virgin to the list in his papal bull Commissi Nobis Divinitus. Before the dogmatic definition of the Immaculate Conception in 1854, the feast was often referred to as the Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary without the word "Immaculate."

Holy Days of Obligation in the Colonies:

Not long after the proclamation of this bull do we see changes occurring for those living in the colonies in the New World as American Catholic Review illustrates:

"The Diocesan Synod held in 1688 by Bishop Palacios of Santiago de Cuba fixed as holydays for that diocese in which Florida was then embraced and from 1776 to 1793 Louisiana also the following: All the Sundays of the year, Circumcision, Epiphany, Purification, St Mathias, St Joseph, the Annunciation, Sts Philip and James, the Finding of the Holy Cross, St John Baptist, Sts Peter and Paul, St James, St Anne, St Lawrence, the Assumption, St Bartholomew, the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin, St Matthew, St Michael, St Simon and St Jude, All Saints, St Andrew, the Conception of the Blessed Virgin, St Thomas, Christmas, St Stephen, St John, Holy Innocents, and St Sylvester, Easter Sunday and the two following days, Ascension, Whit Sunday and two following days, Corpus Christi. A bull of Pope Clement X added St Ferdinand, St Rose 'National Patroness of the Indies', and a bull of Innocent XI added St Augustine, August 28th."

Fasting & Abstinence Days in the South East Colonies:

The Church's Liturgical Year is a harmonious interplay of feasts and fasts interwoven in both the temporal and sanctoral cycles that define the rhythm and rhyme of Catholic life. Our ancestors in the New World in Florida and Louisiana would have known the following days of fast:

"The fasting days were all days in Lent; the Ember days; the of eves of Christmas, Candlemas, Annunciation, Assumption, All Saints, the feasts of the Apostles except St Philip and St James and St John, nativity of St John the Baptist; all Fridays except within twelve days of Christmas and between Easter and Ascension, and the eve of Ascension" (ACQ).

For abstinence from meat, they would have observed:

"All Sundays in Lent, all Saturdays throughout the year, Monday and Tuesday before Ascension, and St Mark's day were of abstinence from flesh meat" (ACQ).

It should be noted that in 1089 Pope Urban II granted a dispensation to Spain from abstinence on Fridays, in virtue of the Spanish efforts in the Crusades. After the Battle of Lepanto in 1571, Pope St. Pius V expanded that privilege to all Spanish colonies. That dispensation remained in place in some places as late as 1951 when the Archdiocese of Santa Fe, the last territory to invoke it, rescinded the privilege.

Fasting & Abstinence Days in the Western Colonies:

In Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, and California which were included in the ecclesiastical province of Mexico, the feasts and were regulated by the Third Council of Mexico in 1585, as American Catholic Quarterly Review states:

"In these parts besides those already [mentioned above for Florida], the faithful observed as holy days of obligation St Fabian and St Sebastian (January 20th), St Thomas Aquinas (March 7th), St Mark (April 25th), St Barnabas (June 1), the Visitation of the Blessed Virgin (July 2), St Mary Magdalene (July 22), St Dominic (Aug 4), the Transfiguration (Aug 6), St Francis (Oct 4), St Luke (Oct 18), St Catharine (Nov 25), the Expectation of the Blessed Virgin (Dec 18). 

"The fast days were all days in Lent except Sunday; eves of Christmas, Whit Sunday, St Mathias, St John the Baptist, St Peter and St Paul, St James, St Lawrence, Assumption, St Bartholomew, St Matthew, St Simon and St Jude, All Saints, St Andrew, and St Thomas."

Holy Days & Fasting Days for Native Americans:

The papal bull "Altitudo Divini Concilii" of Pope Paul III in 1537 reduced the days of penance and those of hearing Mass for the Indians out of pastoral concern due to the physically demanding lifestyle that they lived and also largely due to the fact that they fasted so much already. As a result, the natives were required to only hear Mass on a much smaller number of days: Sundays, Christmas, Circumcision, Epiphany, Candlemas, Annunciation, Sts Peter and Paul, Ascension, Corpus Christi, the Assumption, and the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin. And the only fasting days were the Fridays in Lent, Holy Saturday, and Christmas Eve. Pope Paul III also dispensed them from the precept of abstaining from dairy, egg, and flesh meat on certain days as well.

Holy Days in Canada & the Midwest:

Bishop François de Laval, the first Bishop of Quebec, on December 3, 1667, set the required Holy Days for Canada in accord with the bull of Pope Urban VIII. To those he added St. Francis Xavier, and in 1687, he likewise added St. Louis IX. Bishop François de Laval was declared a saint by equipollent canonization in April 2014 and is known to us now as Saint Francis-Xavier de Montmorency-Laval.

Quoting from the archives of Quebec, the American Catholic Quarterly Review lists the Holy Days in place as 1694:

"The holy days of obligation as recognized officially in 1694 were Christmas, St Stephen, St John, the Evangelist, Circumcision, Epiphany, Candlemas, St Matthew, St Joseph "patron of the country," Annunciation, St Philip and St James, St John the Baptist, St Peter and St Paul, St James, St Anne, St Lawrence, Assumption, St Bartholomew, St Louis "titular of the Cathedral of Quebec," Nativity of the Blessed Virgin, St Matthew, St Michael, St Simon and St Jude, All Saints, St Andrew, St Francis Xavier, the Conception of the Blessed Virgin "titular the Cathedral," St Thomas, Easter Monday and Tuesday, Ascension, Whitsun Monday and Tuesday, Corpus Christi, and the patronal feast of each parish."

These holy days were likewise in force in many current American states under Quebec's jurisdiction as the journal elaborates:

"These were the holydays observed in the French settlements in Michigan, Wisconsin, Indiana, and Illinois, as well as in Louisiana, Mobile, and the country west of the Mississippi till that district passing under the Spanish rule was reclaimed about 1776 as part of the diocese of Santiago de Cuba. East of the Mississippi they continued to be in force certainly till the Holy See detached those parts of its territory from the diocese of Quebec and annexed them to the newly erected diocese of Baltimore. 

Thus, we see that little more than 100 years after Universa Per Orbem the observance of various holy days and fast days in the life of Catholics in the New World was already significantly reduced from those observed in Rome.

Significant Changes Occur in the 1700s for the Universal Church:

In 1741, Pope Benedict XIV, who lamented the decline in the Lenten observance, issued Non Ambigimus on May 31, 1741, granting permission to eat meat on fasting days while explicitly forbidden the consumption of both fish and flesh meat at the same meal on all fasting days during the year in addition to the Sundays during Lent. The concept of partial abstinence was born even though the term would not appear until the 1917 Code of Canon Law.

Changes likewise occurred for Holy Days. In 1750, little more than one hundred years after "Universa Per Orbem," Pope Benedict XIV extended to the Spanish American colonies the indult previously granted to Catholic Spain reducing the days of obligation to all Sundays of the year, Christmas, St. Stephen, the Circumcision, Epiphany, Candlemas, Easter Monday, Annunciation, Monday after Pentecost Sunday, Corpus Christi, Ascension, St. John the Baptist, Sts. Peter and Paul, the Assumption, St. James, the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, All Saints, the Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary, and the patron of each locality.

In 1771, Pope Clement XIV abolished both Pentecost Tuesday and Easter Tuesday as days of rest, according to Weiser's Christian Feasts and Customs. In 1778, the obligation to attend Mass on these two days was abrogated by Pope Pius VI, although they were not observed as Holy Days in most places, including in America.

Holy Days in Ireland

Table is taken from the Irish Ecclesiastical Record

It must be stated that the gradual removal of Holy Days was not limited to the New World only. The Irish Ecclesiastical Record from 1882 describes a similar trend in Ireland:

"The full list of holidays of obligation as laid down in the Canon Law. This is the list drawn up by Urban VIII (Universa, September 13, 1642), with the addition of the feast of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin, instituted by Clement XI in 1708. The holidays thus enumerated are 35 in number. I have of course included in the list the feast of St. Patrick, as holding in Ireland the place of the [patron] mentioned by Urban VIII in the constitution of 1642." 

There was a distinction between days of single or double precept. Days of double precept required hearing Mass and restraining from servile works, while days of half precept only required hearing Mass. Pope Benedict XIV in 1755 removed 18 feasts from double precept and reduced them to single precept. Shortly thereafter in 1778, Pope Pius VI reduced the number of holy days to 13. And as the Record states, "On this occasion, the obligation of hearing Mass was removed, as well as the obligation of abstaining from servile works."

Regarding fasting, we likewise see a reduction: "The number of those Vigils to which the obligation of fasting had been attached [as of 1778] was in fact but eight - these being the Vigils of the feast of St. Laurence the Martyr (August 9th), and of seven of the nine suppressed feasts of the Apostles." No fasting was observed beforehand on the Vigil of St. John on December 26 or the Vigil of Ss. Philip and James on account of them always falling in Christmas and Pascaltide respectively.

This reduction was likewise occurring in the British Colonies.

Holy Days & Fasting Days in England and Her Colonies:

"The Catholics of the British Isles, after the reform of Pope Urban VIII kept as obligatory: Christmas, the feasts of St Stephen, St John, Holy Innocents, and St Sylvester, Circumcision, Epiphany, Candlemas, the feasts of St Mathias and St Joseph, Annunciation, Sts Philip and James, Finding of the Holy Cross, St John the Baptist, Sts Peter and Paul, St James, St Anne, St Lawrence, the Assumption, St Bartholomew, the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin, St Matthew, St Michael, Sts Simon and Jude, All Saints, St Andrew and St Thomas, and one of the principal patrons of the city, province, or kingdom. These were the holydays of obligation observed by the Catholics in Maryland, Virginia, and Pennsylvania."

Unfortunately, the practice of the Catholic Religion was illegal in England. Catholicism was made illegal in 1559 under Queen Elizabeth I, and for 232 years, except during the reign of the Catholic James II (1685-1688), the Catholic Mass was illegal until 1791. Yet most Catholics could not hold any public office and had few civil rights even after 1791. It took the Emancipation Act of 1829 to restore most civil rights to Catholics in England. To these souls, most were unable to observe the Holy Days. The penalty of observing the Catholic Faith was death as the English Martyrs bear witness to. Likewise, due to persecution from the protestants, concessions were made for Catholics under the yoke of Protestantism in the British Isles.

On March 9, 1777, Pope Pius VI "dispensed all Catholics in the kingdom of Great Britain from the precept of hearing Mass and abstaining from servile works on all holydays except the Sundays of the year, the feasts of Christmas, Circumcision, Epiphany, Annunciation, Easter Monday, Ascension, Whitsun Monday, Corpus Christi, St Peter and St Paul, Assumption, and All Saints." The feast of the patron was likewise kept. These were the holy days in place at the time of the American Revolution though not all areas observed them, as was seen in the special dispensation for Catholics in Maryland from 1722.

The fasting days were also reduced at the same time to consist of the Ember Days; the forty days Lent; Wednesdays and Fridays in Advent; and the vigils of Christmas, Whitsun Sunday (i.e. Pentecost), Sts Peter and Paul, and All Saints. As the Catholic Dictionary of 1861 states in regards to the changes made in 1777: "The Vigils of the Feasts thus abrogated his Holiness transferred to the Wednesdays and Fridays of Advent, on which he ordered that fast should be kept as in Lent or Embertide, 'although it is an English custom to keep fasts and vigils on Friday.' The pope adds a power to the Vicars Apostolic to dispense from the precept of abstaining from servile works on SS. Peter and Paul falling in the hay-harvest, and the Assumption in the wheat-harvest, provided Mass has been previously heard, if possible."

Part II will cover the history of holy days and fasting from America's foundation to the present. Click here to read Part 2.

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Vigil of the Assumption

On August 14th, the day before the Assumption of Mary, the Church celebrates a penitential, violet Mass on this day of preparation. For Eastern Catholics, the weeks preceding the Assumption are kept in fasting and in penance. For those Catholics in the Latin Rite, the average Roman Catholic does not know of or participate in this period of preparation. However, any Catholic certainly may foster this spirit of penance in preparation for the Assumption.

The Roman Rite of the Church in the 1962 Missal preserves a Vigil for today. It was also previously held as a day of penance. We can observe such penance by fasting and abstaining from meat today. The Vigil of the Assumption on August 14th remained a mandatory day of fasting and abstinence until 1957. Its observance as a fast day is ancient as the Catholic Encyclopedia states: "Pope Nicholas I (d. 867), in his answer to the Bulgarians, speaks of the fast on the eves of Christmas and of the Assumption...The Synod of Seligenstadt in 1022 AD mentions vigils on the eves of Christmas, Epiphany, the feast of the Apostles, the Assumption of Mary, St. Laurence, and All Saints, besides the fast of two weeks before the Nativity of St. John." 

Catholicism is not merely an intellectual activity. While we are correct to study, the Faith requires the consent of our wills. We must conform our lives to Christ’s and His Church. We can do this by actually praying and performing actual penance. As a result, the greatest takeaway today is the need to do preparation in the form of prayer and mortification.

And finally, since tomorrow is a Holy Day of Obligation, we should make every effort to do any errands, cleaning, shopping, or work today. We should refrain from working tomorrow and keep the entire day as a Sunday in rest, prayer, relaxation, and attendance at Holy Mass.

Read today's Mass propers including the commemoration of today's saint, St. Eusebius.

Collect:

O God, You willed to choose the womb of Blessed Mary as Your dwelling place. Grant that we may joyfully celebrate her feast under the shield of her protection; who lives and rules with God the Father . . .

Want to learn more about the history of fasting and abstinence? Check out the Definitive Guide to Catholic Fasting and Abstinence.

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Pope Benedict XVI's Assumption Homily

The following is Pope Benedict XVI's homily for the Solemnity of the Assumption of Mary on August 15, 2006. I found this on the Papa Ratzinger Forum.



Here is a translation of the homily delivered extemporaneously by the Holy Father at the Mass of the Assumption which he celebrated at the St. Thomas of Villanova parish church in Castel Gandolfo yesterday morning.

Venerated brothers in the Episcopate and Priesthood,
Dear brothers and sisters!

In the Magnificat - the great song of the Madonna which we heard in the Gospel today - we find a surprising sentence. Mary says: "From this hour on, all generations will call me blessed."

The Mother of the Lord prophesies the Church's Marian praises for all the future, the Marian devotion of the people of God to the end of times.

In praising Mary, the Church has not invented anything "beside" the Scriptures: it has responded to the prophecy made by Mary herself in that moment of grace.

And these words were not simply Mary's own personal words, nor were they arbitrary. Elizabeth, according to St. Luke, had greeted her, filled with the Holy Spirit, crying out: "Blessed is she who believed." And Mary - she, too, filled with the Spirit, continues and completes what Elizabeth says, in declaring "All generations shall call me blessed."

It is a true prophecy, inspired by the Holy Spirit; and the Church, venerating Mary, has responded to the command of the Holy Spirit, it has done what it should do.

We do not praise God enough if we keep silent about his saints, especially about "the Holy One" who became His dwelling on earth, Mary. The simple but multiform Light of God appears to us in all its variety and richness in the face of the saints, who are the true mirrors of His Light.

And in looking on Mary's face, we can see more than by any other way the beauty of God, His goodness, His mercy. In her face we can really see the Divine Light.

"All generations shall call me blessed." We praise Mary, and venerate her, because she is "blessed," and blessed for always. This is the content of the feast we celebrate today. She is blessed because she is united with God, she lives with God and in God.

Our Lord, on the vigil of His Passion, said in bidding farewell to His disciples: "I am going to prepare a dwelling for you in the house of my Father. And in my Father's house are many dwellings."

Mary, in saying,"I am Your handmaid, Thy will be done" prepared on earth a dwelling for God; with body and soul, she became this dwelling, and in this way, she opened the earth to heaven.

St. Luke, in the Gospel we heard today, using other indications, makes us understand that Mary is the true Ark of the Alliance, that the mystery of the Temple - God's indwelling on earth - is fulfilled in Mary.

In Mary, God truly dwelt and became present here on earth. Mary became His shelter. That which all cultures have desired - that God live among us - was realized through her.

St. Augustine said: "Before she conceived God in her body, she already conceived Him in spirit." She gave to the Lord the space of her soul and thus became the true Temple in which God was incarnated, became present on this earth. Thus, being God's dwelling on earth, her own eternal dwelling was already prepared in her, for always.

This is what is contained in the dogma of the Assumption of Mary in body and soul to the glory of the Heavens. Mary is "blessed" because she had become - totally, in body and soul, and forever - the dwelling of God.

If this is so, Mary not only, not simply, invites our admiration and veneration, but guides us, shows the way of life to us, shows us how to become blessed ourselves and find the way to happiness.

Let us listen once more to the words of Elizabeth that are completed in Mary's Magnificat: "Blessed is she who believed." The first and fundamental act to becoming a dwelling of God, and to find happiness thereby, is to believe. Belief is faith, faith in God, that God who showed Himself to us in Jesus Christ and who makes Himself heard in the divine words of Sacred Scripture.

To believe is not to add another opinion to others. And the conviction, the faith that God exists, is not like any other information. Most information, whether true or false, means nothing to us, does not change our life. But if there is no God, life is empty, the future is empty. If God exists, everything changes - life is light, our future is light, we have an orientation for living.

And so, believing is the fundamental orientation of our life. To believe, to say, "Yes, I believe you are God, I believe that in your incarnated Son, You are present among us" orients my life, inspires me to attach myself to God, to unite myself to God and therefore find the place where I should live, the way that I should live.

Believing is not just a kind of thought, an idea. It is, as I have indicated, a way to behave, a way of life. To believe means to follow the path indicated to us by the Word of God.

Mary, beyond her fundamental act of faith, which is an existential act, a stand one takes for life, also says: "His mercy extends to all who fear Him." She speaks, with all of Scripture, of "fear of God." This perhaps a word which we do not all understand or that we do not welcome.

But "fear of god" is not terror - it's something else. As children, we are not terrified of our father, but this "fear of God" is our concern not to destroy the love on which our life is based. Fear of God is that sense of responsibility that we should have, a responsiblity for that portion of earth which is entrusted to us in life. A responsibility for administering well our share of the world and of its history, and thus contribute to building a just world, towards the triumph of good and of peace.

"All generations shall call you blessed". The future, what is to come, belongs to God, it is in the hands of God. God triumphs, not the dragon referred to in the first Reading today, the dragon which represents all the forces of violence in the world.

These forces may seem invincible, but Mary tells us they are not. The Woman - as the First Reading and the Gospel tell us - is stronger because God is stronger. Certainly, compared to the armed dragon, this Woman who is Mary, who is the Church, appears defenseless, vulnerable. And God, too, is really vulnerable in this world, because he is Love, and love is vulnerable. But the future is in His hands - love wins, not hate, so in the end, peace wins.

This then is the great consolation found in the dogma of the Assumption of Mary in body and soul to the glory of heaven. Let us thank the Lord for this consolation, but let us also look on this consolation as a commitment for us to be on the side of good, on the side of peace. And let us pray to Mary, Queen of Peace, that she may help peace to triumph today.

Queen of Peace, pray for us. Amen.

Photo Source: AP Photo/L'Osservatore Romano

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If you are interested in learning more about the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary please consider purchasing the applicable lesson from CatechismClass.com.

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Updated: Check out Te Deum

This is just one of the amazing photographs that Te Deum has posted on her blog. Check out her blog for photos from the Assumption Grotto in Michigan on the Solemnity of the Assumption of Mary - the photos are awesome! The priest is not celebrating a Tridentine Mass but rather a Latin Novus Ordo Mass celebrated ad orientem (the priest faces East).

Here are some of the posts to check out:

• Assumption 2006: Introductory Photo Post
• Assumption 2006: Photo Post 1
• Assumption 2006: Photo Post 2
• Assumption 2006: Photo Post 3
• Assumption 2006: Photo Post 4
• Assumption 2006: Photo Post 5
• Assumption 2006: Photo Post 6
• Assumption 2006: Photo Post 7
• Assumption 2006: Photo Post 8
• Assumption 2006: Photo Post 9
• Assumption 2006: Photo Post 10
• Assumption 2007: Photo Post 11
• Assumption 2006: Photo Post 12
• Assumption 2006: Photo Post 13
• Assumption 2006: Photo Post 14
• Assumption 2006: Photo Post 15
• Assumption 2006: Photo Post 16 (Elevation)
• Assumption 2006: Photo Post 17
• Assumption 2006: Photo Post 18
• Assumption 2006: Photo Post 19
• Assumption 2006: Photo Post 20
• Assumption 2006: Photo Post 21
• Assumption 2006: Photo Post 22
• Assumption 2006: Photo Post 23 (final post)
• Assumption 2005 Collection

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St. Joachim and St. Anne

Memorial of Sts. Joachim and Anne (1969 Calendar): July 26
St. Anne: Double of the II Class (1955 Calendar): July 26
St. Joachim: Double (1955 Calendar): August 16

Sts. Joachim and Anne are the parents of Mary, the Mother of Our Savior, Jesus Christ. They were privileged to be the grandparents of Jesus Christ.

What we know about the Blessed Virgin Mary's parents, Joachim and Anne, comes from Protoevangelium Jacobi (The Gospel of James). It is not part of the Bible, but the document, which was written c. 170 AD gives insight into the life of Mary and her parents. Joachim was a prominent and respected man, however, he had no children, and he viewed this as a punishment from God. In an answer to his prayers, he and Anne, his wife, were given the daughter Mary, who was conceived without sin. She remained sinless, ever-virgin, and was the Mother of God. Their prayers were answered greater than they could have ever imagined!

There is a great Shrine to St. Anne in Canada - Ste. Anne de Beaupre. It is a site of constant miracles. Cripples have entered the Shrine on crutches and left by walking through the door because they were completely healed. Another Shrine is Ste. Anne d'Auray in Britanny, France. There is also a church of St. Anne in Jerusalem, and the church is believed to have been built on the location where Sts. Joachim and Anne lived.

The feast of St. Anne was made a holy day of obligation under Pope Gregory XV who reigned from 1621 to 1623 as Dom Gueranger relates: "Gregory XV, after having been cured of a serious illness by St. Anne, had ranked her feast among those of precept, with the obligation of resting from servile work." The Feast of St. Anne was listed as a Holy Day in Pope Urban VIII's 1642 Universa Per Orbem, and it remained as such in some places like Quebec for some time.

Dom Gueranger also adds: "It was not until 1584 that Gregory XIII ordered the celebration of this feast of July 26 throughout the whole Church, with the rite of a double. Leo XIII in recent times (1879), raised it, together with that of St. Joachim, to the dignity of a solemnity of the second class. But before that, Gregory XV, after having been cured of a serious illness by St. Anne, had ranked her feast among those of precept, with the obligation of resting from servile work."

While no longer a holy day of obligation, the Feast of St. Anne is a day we should honor by assisting at Holy Mass, if possible, and honoring our grandparents with our visits (if they are alive) or our prayers (whether they have passed on to the next world or not).

Patronage of St. Anne: against poverty; barren; broommakers; cabinetmakers; carpenters; childless couples; equestrians; grandmothers; grandparents; homemakers; housewives; lace makers; lace workers; lost articles; miners; mothers; old-clothes dealers; poverty; pregnancy; pregnant women; horse riders; seamstresses; stablemen; sterility; turners; women in labour; Brittany; Canada; France; Quebec; archdiocese of Detroit, Michigan; diocese of Norwich, Connecticut; Santa Ana Indian Pueblo; Taos, New Mexico.

Collect:

O God, Who didst vouchsafe to bestow upon blessed Anne such grace, that she was found worthy to become the mother of her who brought forth Thine only-begotten Son: mercifully grant that we who celebrate her festival, may be helped by her intercession with Thee. Through our Lord.

Prayer Source: 1962 Roman Catholic Daily Missal

In the Protoevangelium of James, St. Joachim is described as a rich and pious man of the house of David who regularly gave to the poor and to the temple.  However, as his wife was barren, the high priest rejected Joachim and his sacrifice, as his wife's childlessness was interpreted as a sign of divine displeasure. Joachim consequently withdrew to the desert where he fasted and did penance for forty days. Angels then appeared to both Joachim and Anne to promise them a child. Joachim later returned to Jerusalem and embraced Anne at the city gate. The cycle of legends concerning Joachim and Anne were included in the Golden Legend and remained popular in Christian art until the Council of Trent restricted the depiction of apocryphal events.

No liturgical celebration of Saint Joachim was included in the Tridentine Calendar. It was added to the General Roman Calendar in 1584, for celebration on March 20, the day after the feast day of Saint Joseph. In 1738, it was transferred to the Sunday after the Octave of the Assumption of Mary. As part of his effort to allow the liturgy of Sundays to be celebrated, Pope Pius X transferred it to August 16, the day after the Assumption, so that Joachim may be remembered in the celebration of Mary's triumph.  It was then celebrated as a Double of the 2nd Class, a rank that was changed in 1960 to that of 2nd Class Feast.

Dom Guaranger on the Feast of St. Joachim:

From time immemorial the Greeks have celebrated the feast of St. Joachim on the day following our Lady's birthday. The Maronites kept it on the day after the Presentation in November, and the Armenians on the Tuesday after the Octave of the Assumption of the Mother of God. The Latins at first did not keep his feast. Later on it was admitted and celebrated sometimes on the day after the Octave of the Nativity, September 16, sometimes on the day following the Conception of the Blessed Virgin, December 9. Thus both East and West agreed in associating St. Joachim with his illustrious daughter when they wished to do him honour.

About the year 1510, Julius II placed the feast of the grandfather of the Messias upon the Roman Calendar with the rank of double major; and remembering that family, in which the ties of nature and of grace were in such perfect harmony, he fixed the solemnity on March 20, the day after that of his son-in-law, St. Joseph. The life of the glorious patriarch resembled those of the first fathers of the Hebrew people; and it seemed as though he were destined to imitate their wanderings also, by continually changing his place upon the sacred cycle.

Hardly fifty years after the Pontificate of Julius II the critical spirit of the day cast doubts upon the history of St. Joachim, and his name was erased from the Roman breviary. Gregory XV, however, re-established his feast in 1622 as a double, and the Church has since continued to celebrate it. Devotion to our Lady’s father continuing to increase very much, the Holy See was petitioned to make his feast a holiday of obligation, as it had already made that of his spouse, St. Anne. In order to satisfy the devotion of the people without increasing the number of days of obligation, Clement XII in 1738 transferred the feast of St. Joachim to the Sunday after the Assumption of his daughter, the Blessed Virgin, and restored to it the rank of double major.

On August 1, 1879, the Sovereign Pontiff, Leo XIII, who received the name of Joachim in baptism, raised both the feast of his glorious patron and that of St. Anne to the rank of doubles of the second class.

Patronage of St. Joachim: fathers, grandfathers, grandparents

Collect:

O God, Who of all Thy Saints didst choose the blessed Joachim to be father to the Mother of Thy Son: grant, we beseech Thee that we who honor his festival, may evermore experience his patronage. Through the same our Lord.

Prayer Source: 1962 Roman Catholic Daily Missal

Note: No commemoration is made of the octave of the Assumption under the 1954 rubrics (common octaves are not commemorated on doubles of the I or II class).

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