The Feast of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary is on Thursday, August 15. This is a Holy Day of Obligation. Mass will be celebrated on Wednesday, August 14, 7:00 p.m. (Vigil) and Thursday, August 15, 12:00 p.m.
THE FEAST OF THE ASSUMPTION OF MARY INTO HEAVEN: This feast day celebrates our belief that Mary, “when the course of her earthly life was finished, was taken up body and soul into heavenly glory.” Catechism of the Catholic Church, #966. This was made an official Catholic doctrine by Pope Pius XII in 1950. On this day, we are invited to ponder that Mary, who was human like us, has entered into eternal life. Likewise, we hope for the resurrection of our own bodies at the end of time. In the words of Pope Francis, “The great things done in (Mary) by the Omnipotent One touch us deeply, they speak to us of our journey in life, they remind us of the end that awaits us: the house of the Father.” And Pope Benedict says: “Heaven is no longer a remote sphere unknown to us. We have a mother in Heaven. Heaven is open. Heaven has a heart.” The Feast of the Assumption is celebrated each year on August 15.