MARYThe Blessed Mother

• Dogmas are beliefs that are unchangeable and are not questioned, as they are matters of deep faith

• There are four dogmas regarding the Blessed Mother:

- Immaculate Conception- Divine Motherhood

(Mother of God)- Virgin Birth- Assumption

• Special days to honor saints or Mary in the Liturgical Year are celebrated in different degrees: solemnities, feasts and memorials

• A solemnity celebrates an event or a person of principal importance and universal significance in salvation history

• A feast celebrates events or people of lesser importance

• A memorial celebrates a minor event in the life of Mary or a saint important to a local community

• The Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God

• Celebrated on January 1; holy day of obligation

• One of the oldest and most important feasts of Our Lady

• Mother of God was a title first given to Mary in AD 431 at the Council of Ephesus

• Memorial of Our Lady of Lourdes

•February 11

•Mary appeared to Bernadette Soubirous in 1858 in Lourdes, France

•When Bernadette asked the Lady her name, she said “I am the Immaculate Conception”

• Solemnity of the Annunciation

•March 25

•This feast commemorates the appearance of the Angel Gabriel to Mary

•He told her that she would be the Mother of Jesus, the Savior

• Our Lady of Good Counsel

• April 26

• This feast began with an image of Mary found in a church in Italy in 1467

• The faithful were devoted to the Blessed Mother through this icon,and miracles were reported

Feast of the Visitation

• May 31

• Recorded in the Gospel of Luke

• After the Annunciation, Mary visited her relative Elizabeth, mother of John the Baptist

Immaculate Heart of Mary• Saturday following the second

Sunday after Pentecost (May or June)

• A devotional name for Mary

• This name reminds us of her joys and sorrows, her virtues and perfections, and her love for God the Father, for her son Jesus, and her compassionate love for all people

Memorial of Our Lady of Mount Carmel

• July 16

• In 1251, Mary appeared to St. Simon Stock

• She gave him the brown scapular, a sign of her love and protection

• People today wear a small scapular to honor Mary

Solemnity of the Assumption

• August 15; holy day of obligation

• Catholics have always believed that Mary was assumed, body and soul, into heaven at the end of her earthly life

• This doctrine was defined by Pope Pius XII in 1950

Feast of the Birth of Mary

• September 8

• Mary was born to her parents, Ann and Joachim

• She was born full of God’s grace

• Only 3 birthdays are celebrated in the Liturgical calendar

BIRTHDAYS IN THE LITURGICAL CALENDAR:

Mary:September 8

John the Baptist:June 24

Jesus:December 25

Memorial of Our Lady of Sorrows

• September 15

• When Jesus was presented in the Temple after his birth, a prophet named Simeon told Mary that she would suffer great sorrows as the Mother of the Messiah

• These events are called the Seven Sorrows of Mary

Memorial of Our Lady of the Rosary

• October 7

• This feast invites us to meditate upon the mysteries of the Rosary and to follow the example of Mary

Our Lady of Divine Providence

• November 19

• This title for Mary originated in Italy in the 12th Century, and devotion to her spread

• In 1969, Pope Paul VI declared Our Lady of Divine Providence to be patroness of Puerto Rico

Memorial of the Presentation of Mary

• November 21

• Commemorates the belief that Mary was presented and dedicated to God in the Temple by her parents Ann and Joachim

• Mary’s holiness was nurtured from the beginning of her life

Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception

• December 8; holy day of obligation

• Under this title, Mary is the patroness of the United States and the Archdiocese of Philadelphia

• This title reminds us that from the moment of her conception, she was preserved free from all sin

Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe

• December 12

• Mary appeared to Juan Diego in 1531.

• When the local bishop did not believe Juan Diego, he revealed his cloak, which miraculously bore an image of Our Lady

• Patroness of the Americas