Holy Days of Obligation
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This feast, closely connected to the feast of Christmas, is the most important and
oldest of the major feasts of Mary. Mary's Divine Maternity became a universal
feast day in 1931. Liturgical reform initiated by Vatican II placed it on January 1
in 1969.
"May Mary help us discover the face of Jesus, Prince of Peace. May she support
and accompany us in this new year; may she obtain for us and for the whole
world the desired gift of peace! So be it! " Pope John Paul II 01/01/2003
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The feast is celebrated on the 40th day after Easter Sunday and commemorates
the elevation of Jesus into heaven by his own power in the presence of his
disciples. It is narrated in Mark 16:19, Luke 24:51, and in the 1st Chapter of the
Acts of the Apostles.
"On the fortieth day after the resurrection, He ascended into heaven with His
body, in which He had risen, and His soul, and took His seat at the right hand of
the Father, then on the tenth day He sent the Holy Spirit." Profession of Faith by
Pope St. Leo IX, 1053
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On November 1, 1950, Pius XII defined the Assumption of Mary to be a dogma of
faith: “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, proclaimed this dogma only after a broad consultation of
bishops, theologians and laity. There were few dissenting voices. What the pope
solemnly declared was already a common belief in the Catholic Church.. In this
pronouncement, Pope Pius was simply stating dogmatically what the Church,
East and West, had believed devotionally for many years in the principal feast of
Mary. In an age of sensuality and materialism the Assumption points out the
dignity and destiny of our human body, extols the dignity of womanhood, and
turns our eyes to the true life beyond the grave. On this day ask Mary for the grace
to keep your mind fixed on things above and to aspire continually to be united
with her and to be brought to the glory of the Resurrection.
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All Saints' Day was originally a commemoration of the martyrs of the ancient
church, the men, women, and children who were persecuted and killed for their
faith in Christ. It has since become a festival on which the church remembers all
who have died in the faith, both those of the distant past and those of more
recent times. While we have knowledge of many saints and we honor them on
specific days, there are many unknown or unsung saints of the Lord. On All
Saints Day, we The Feast of All Saints is a holy day of the Church honoring all
celebrate all the saints of the Lord and ask for their prayers and intercessions.
The whole concept of All Saints Day is tied in with the concept of the Communion
of Saints. This is the belief that all of God's people are connected in a
communion.
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The Immaculate Conception of Mary, the Mother of Jesus, is the belief that God
preserved Mary from the moment of her birth from any inclination to sin, the
inheritance of original sin passed on to all mankind from Adam and Eve.
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The feast celebrates Jesus' Birth and the incarnation of the Son of known as the
Feast of the Nativity, literally means, 'Christ the Christmas season and currently
extends from the first Vespers of Christmas Eve until the Feast of the Baptism of
Our Lord.Christmas Eve until the Feast of the Baptism of Our Lord.
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