Word to the Wise
Friday, August 15, 2025 - Aug. 15: The Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary: Day
[Rev 11:19a; 12:1-6a; 10ab; 1 Cor 15:20-27; Luke 1:39-56]"My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord; my spirit rejoices in God my Savior for he has looked with favor on his lowly servant. From this day all generations will call me blessed: the Almighty has done great things for me, and holy is his name...." [Luke]
The gospel scripture for the feast of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary is taken from the account in the Gospel According to Luke about Mary's visit to her cousin Elizabeth. Their exchange of greetings includes what Catholic tradition calls "the Magnificat" or "the Canticle of Mary." Mary's proclamation of faith is at the root of her special status in Catholic tradition. That status includes a divine dispensation from the immediate physical and spiritual effects of human death so that she could immediately join her Son in the beatific vision. In this she became the first in the Communion of Saints. As she proclaimed in the Magnificat: "The Almighty has done great things for me.."
This feast is observed as a "holy day of obligation" in the U.S.A.. The observance is one of eternal life that is promised to us by Christ and immediately enjoyed by Mary at her death. She has gone before us. It is her solidarity with us that can inspire us to celebrate this feast day with greater solemnity. Her intercession, celebrated daily in the rosary, is a powerful reminder of God's all-embracing providence. AMEN