August 15th - The Solemnity of the Assumption Mary
Every time we celebrate August 15th—the Solemnity of the Assumption of the
Blessed Virgin Mary, I always encounter people asking whether it is a holy day of obligation or not. Well, the answer is simple. The Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary is a holy day of obligation. However, if it falls on Saturday or Monday, the observance to attend the mass is abrogated, meaning you are not obliged, as per dispensation of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops.
Therefore, since this feast falls on Tuesday this year, it is a holy day of obligation where we are asked to observe it by attending mass.
Understanding it from the doctrinal point of view, we come to know it as dogma of faith when Pope Pius XII defined it on November 1st, 1950, in his apostolic constitution
Munificentissimus Deus. Thus, he declared that the Immaculate Mother of God, the ever
Virgin Mary, after having completed the course of earthly life, was assumed body and soul
to heavenly glory.
Though there is no direct reference to the Scriptures about this, but as early as the 6th century to the 13th century, there were already talks, homilies and writings about the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, and it was celebrated under various names such as dormition, passing until it becomes Assumption defined and pronounced by the pope in 1950.
Anyways, what is important is that we come to understand the dogma of the Assumption and why it is being observed as solemnity that needs to be celebrated with such high importance. It is through this understanding that we come to appreciate our celebration with meaning and not just by mere obligation.
We have two masses scheduled for this coming
Tuesday, August 15th, for the Solemnity of the Assumption -
8:00 A.M. and 7:00 P.M. This will allow everyone the opportunity to attend mass, especially the working people.