Liturgical Calendar

In August, we celebrate three great Marian feasts:

• August 5^th, we commemorate the dedication of the Papal Basilica of Saint Mary Major in Rome,
• August 15^th, we remember the day Our Lady was assumed body and soul into Heaven, and
• August 22^nd, we honor the Queenship of Mary.

These feasts remind us of Our Lady's significant role in salvation history. The Virgin Mary yielded herself for God's purposes and our salvation. Because of this, we turn to our Mother Mary, seeking her intercession for our loved ones and all our needs.

The Feast of the Transfiguration of the Lord Jesus Christ: The Transfiguration of Jesus is an event recorded in the Gospels of Matthew (17:1-8), Mark (9:2-8), and Luke (9:28-36). St. Peter recorded what he witnessed during Christ's Transfiguration in his letter to the Church (2 Pt 1:16-18). In the Transfiguration, Jesus revealed Himself in His divine glory to the Apostles, Saints Peter, James, and John, in the presence of the Old Testament Saints Moses and Elijah. Moses and Elijah conversed with Jesus about His "departure" (exodus) from Jerusalem, an allusion to His crucifixion, death, Resurrection, and Ascension. Jesus's glorious manifestation witnessed by these saints received confirmation in the words of God the Father from Heaven: "This is my beloved Son; listen to Him." The Feast of the Transfiguration originated in the Eastern Rites and entered the universal calendar of the Church by Pope Calixtus III in 1457 (see CCC 545-56, 568).

The Feast of St. Lawrence, Deacon and Martyr: According to Church history, Lawrence (Laurence) was born in Spain and was nominated by Pope Sixtus II to become a deacon of Rome. During the persecution of Emperor Valerian in AD 258, the Roman prefect ordered him to hand over the Church's valuables. Lawrence then gathered the poor and sick and presented them, saying, "Here is the Church's treasure." The Roman official then arrested him and ordered Lawrence to be put to death by being roasted on a gridiron in the presence of Emperor Valerian. According to tradition, when he was at the point of death, he said to the emperor, "Let my body be turned; one side is broiled enough." And when the Roman executioner complied, Lawrence said, "It is cooked enough. You may eat." St. Lawrence is the patron saint of rotisserie operators, restaurant owners, cooks, librarians, booksellers, pastry chefs, firefighters, and glaziers.

The Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary: The Assumption into Heaven of the Blessed Virgin Mary is a Holy
Day of Obligation, celebrating the Blessed Virgin Mary's mortal body being taken directly into Heaven. This Solemnity marks the conclusion of the earthly events of her life. Her humble participation in the Incarnation of Christ and her submission to the will of God in her life place her in a unique position of honor as a member of God the Son's Church. Just as Solomon brought the Ark of the Covenant to the Jerusalem Temple (1 Kings 8:17-21), Mary, as the Ark of the New Covenant, was brought to Heaven to dwell (see the chart, Mary, the Ark of the New Covenant at Advent Part III Handouts). The Assumption of the Virgin Mary anticipates the resurrection of all Christians and presents her involvement in the miracle of the Resurrection of her son. That the Virgin Mary was assumed bodily into Heaven before or when she was near death has been taught since the Church's earliest years. When the validity of this event came under attack in the twentieth century, Pope Pius XII declared the bodily Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary into Heaven as a dogma (truth) of the Church in 1950 (see Catechism of the Catholic Church # 966). When this Solemnity, customarily celebrated on August 15^th, falls on a day next to a Sunday, the Church celebrates the feast during the Sunday liturgy.

Novena Prayer in Honor of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary: Mary, full of grace, all generations rejoice to call you blessed and to acknowledge the great things that God your Savior has done for you. In preserving you from the stain of sin, God already prepared you to be taken to the place readied for you in Heaven. As we commemorate this Assumption of your body and soul into Heaven, we recall that you intercede for us powerfully in your reign as Queen of the Universe and that you remember us tenderly as Mother of the Church. Seeking the help of your power and the consolation of your gentle compassion, we ask that you join us in praying for the intentions that we now entrust to your loving attention: (mention prayer requests).
As you present these petitions to our Father in Heaven, pray too that we may accept God's response to our petitions with the spirit of joy that marked your life on earth and now fills your soul in Heaven. Help us long for our heavenly inheritance, so we might join saints and angels in praising God's goodness forever. Amen.

Queenship of the Blessed Virgin Mary: Pope Pius XII instituted the memorial feast of the Queenship of the Virgin Mary on May 31^st, 1955, as the conclusion to the Marian month of May. With the reform of the liturgical calendar, the feast was moved to a week after the Feast of the Assumption to conclude the remembrance of the events in the Virgin Mary's earthly life. Her life climaxed in her Assumption into Heaven, taking her rightful place as the Gebirah (Hebrew for "Queen mother") of her son's heavenly Kingdom. See the document "The Blessed Virgin Mary: Queen Mother of the New Davidic Kingdom."

St. Bartholomew, Apostle: This feast celebrates the life and martyrdom of Jesus's Apostle, Saint Bartholomew. From the Aramaic, meaning "son of Tolmai," his name is a patronymic (a component of a personal name/surname based on the given name of one's father, grandfather, or even a male ancestor). His given name was probably "Nathanael," the disciple mentioned in John 1:45-51. According to The Roman Martyrology, he preached the Gospel of Jesus Christ in India and Armenia, where he suffered martyrdom. "The Golden Legend" relates that he was flayed alive before being crucified. Bartholomew is the patron saint of Armenia and the protector of plasterers, tailors, furriers, binders, butchers, glove-makers, stewards, house painters, and tanners. His name appears in the New Testament lists of the Apostles (Mt 10:3, Mk 3:18, Lk 6:14, and Acts 1:13).

The Passion of St John the Baptist: August 29^th is the memorial feast of the Passion of St. John the Baptist, commemorating his martyrdom. He is the last Old Testament saint and the herald of the Messiah. The Angel Gabriel prophesied John's birth to his father, the chief priest Zechariah (Lk 1:13-17), and from his mother's womb, John was filled with the Holy Spirit and the spiritual power of the Old Testament prophet Elijah. God chose him before he was born to serve as the forerunner of the Messiah promised by the prophets. His mission was to call the covenant people to repentance, demonstrated in a ritual baptism of purification in preparation for the coming Kingdom of Christ, Jesus of Nazareth (Mt 3:1-2). He ended his life in martyrdom when he rebuked the moral conduct of King Herod Antipas and his wife Herodias, the divorced wife of Herod's brother. At Herod Antipas's birthday celebration, his stepdaughter, Salome, danced for her stepfather and the assembled guests. Herod Antipas was so pleased with her performance that he promised to fulfill any request she made. Her mother convinced her to ask for the head of John the Baptist. Herod Antipas fulfilled her request, and a servant brought his head to the girl on a platter (see Mt 14:3-11). The 1^st-century Jewish historian Flavius Josephus (Antiquities of the Jews, 18.5.2) also recorded the martyrdom of St. John. Jesus announced that St. John the Baptist was the greatest of the Old Testament prophets. The Church celebrates St. John's other feast day, the Solemnity of the Nativity of St. John the Baptist, on June 24^th (see CCC 523, 720; also see the document "The Feast of the Nativity of Saint John the Baptist."

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