The splendid mosaics in the apse of St Mary Major’s Basilica in Rome narrate the life story of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Of particular interest is the “Dormitio Mariæ”, the Dormition of Mary, which is found just below the central mosaic. The mosaic depicts the Marian mystery that the Eastern Church refer to as the […]
On the 15th August the Church celebrates the Solemnity of the Assumption. We would like to reflect with you on this beautiful feast using the first reading from the Solemnity which is taken from the 12th chapter of the Book of Apocalypse and also using part of a homily given by the Holy Father Pope […]
Novena for the Feast of the Assumption “Death has been swallowed up in victory. Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?”… (1 Cor 15:54-55) After we have poured forth prayers of supplication again and again to God, and have invoked the light of the Spirit of Truth, for the glory […]
Novena for the Feast of the Assumption “Who is this that comes up from the desert, flowing with delights, leaning upon her beloved?” (Song 8, 5) San Bonaventura was entirely certain that, as God had preserved the most holy Virgin Mary from the violation of her virginal purity and integrity in conceiving and in childbirth, […]
Novena for the Feast of the Assumption “Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, for he has visited and brought redemption to his people.” (Lk 1:68) When, during the Middle Ages, scholastic theology was especially flourishing, St. Albert the Great who, to establish this teaching, had gathered together many proofs from Sacred Scripture, from […]
Novena for the Feast of the Assumption – Day 6 “A great sign appeared in the sky, a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars.” (Rev 12:1) The scholastic Doctors have recognized the Assumption of the Virgin Mother of God as something […]
Novena for the Feast of the Assumption – Day 5 Among the scholastic theologians there have not been lacking those who, wishing to inquire more profoundly into divinely revealed truths and desirous of showing the harmony that exists between what is termed the theological demonstration and the Catholic faith, have always considered it worthy of […]
Novena for the Feast of the Assumption – Day 4 “Shout for joy, O daughter Zion! sing joyfully, O Israel! Be glad and exult with all your heart, O daughter Jerusalem!” (Zep 3:14) St. John Damascene, an outstanding herald of this traditional truth, spoke out with powerful eloquence when he compared the bodily Assumption of […]
“The Mighty One has done great things for me, and holy is his name.” (Lk 1, 49) The fact that the Apostolic See has made the celebration of the feast of the Assumption ever more solemn, has certainly and effectively moved the attentive minds of the faithful to appreciate always more completely the magnitude of […]