Faith and Mission

Feast of the Assumption of Mary

This Sunday 15 August marks a feast day of utmost importance in the Catholic tradition - The Assumption of Mary.  This feast will be acknowledged on Tuesday 17 August remotely in Pastoral Period.

What is it about?  

The word "assumption" comes from the Middle English "assumpcioun" which means "a taking up into heaven" and from the Latin assumptio which means 'a taking'.

In 1950, in the Apostolic Constitution Munificentissimus Deus, Pope Pius XII proclaimed the Assumption of Mary a dogma of the Catholic Church in these words: "The Immaculate Mother of God, the ever-virgin Mary, having completed the course of her earthly life, was assumed body and soul into heaven."  With this proclamation, the Holy Father confirmed the feast that had been declared official in the 8th Century by Pope Leo IV and had already been celebrated by the faithful since very ancient times as a truth revealed by God.

The feast days of the Church are not just the commemoration of historical events; they do not look only to the past. They look to the present and to the future and give us an insight into our own relationship with God. The Assumption looks to eternity and gives us hope that we, too, will follow Our Lady when our life is ended.

Recently Chrishni Fernando in Year 12 performed a very beautiful rendition of the song "Gentle Woman".  You can view it here: