BISHOP DAVID M. O’CONNELL, C.M., HAS SHARED THIS MESSAGE for the Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary into Heaven.
Yes, Tuesday, August 15, the Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary into Heaven and the Patronal Feast of the Diocese of Trenton, IS a holy day of obligation. In other words, Catholics are obliged to attend Mass either on the vigil (the evening before) or on the day itself. Rather than focus on the “obligation,” which is described in the provisions of canon law (cc. 1246 and 1247) and supported by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) for our country, perhaps we should consider the reasons of faith behind the obligation.
The Blessed Virgin Mary is the Mother of the Lord Jesus Christ and, as such, possesses the title and identity of “Mother of God.” Throughout the history of the Church, Mary has enjoyed a singular place of honor and pre-eminence among the communion of saints. Chosen by God to be the mother of his only begotten Son, Mary was “immaculately conceived,” that is, conceived in the womb of her own mother without the stain of original sin and “full of grace” as the Angel Gabriel announced when Mary, in turn, conceived the Lord Jesus (Luke 1:28).
Similarly, because of her unique and privileged relationship to the Lord Jesus Christ, she was assumed body and soul into heaven when her life on earth was ended. These two intimately related convictions of faith definitively proclaimed and held by the Church — the Immaculate Conception and the Assumption — understandably merit special recognition and observance by the Church, hence they are both holy days of obligation, Dec. 8 and Aug. 15 respectively.
The doctrine of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary into Heaven was defined and declared “divinely revealed dogma” (that is, infallible and beyond doubt) by Pope Pius XII in his 1950 apostolic constitution “Munificentissimus Deus” (Nov. 1, 1950).
Read the full message HERETHE CHANCERY IN LAWRENCEVILLE will be closed Tuesday, August 15, for the Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary into Heaven. Regular business hours will resume Wednesday, August 16.