Throughout the liturgical calendar, there are several feast days honoring the life and role of Our Blessed Mother. In the month of August, the Church celebrates several significant Marian feast days.
"Đại Hội Thánh Mẫu", celebrated in the first week of August, is a major religious festival and pilgrimage held annually in Vietnam. It is a celebration of the Marian devotion and the veneration of the Virgin Mary, who is known as the "Mother Goddess" or "Holy Mother" in Vietnamese religious traditions.
The festival takes place at the Marian shrine of Phú Diên, located in the Thanh Hóa province of Vietnam. Believers from all over the country gather at this site to pay their respects, make offerings, and seek blessings from the Virgin Mary.
August 5th is the feast day of Saint Mary Major, also known as Santa Maria Maggiore or Saint Mary of the Snows. This Catholic feast day commemorates the dedication of the Basilica of Saint Mary Major in Rome, one of the four major basilicas in the city.
The legend behindOur Lady of the Snows states that in the 4th century, a wealthy Roman couple childless couple prayed to the Blessed Virgin Mary, asking her to indicate how they should bestow their wealth. On the night of August 5th, the Virgin Mary appeared to them in a dream, requesting that they build a church in her honor on the Esquiline Hill, where they would find snow the following morning. True to the dream, a miraculous snowfall occurred on the hill, and the couple then had the Basilica of Saint Mary Major constructed on the site.
The Basilica of Saint Mary Major is the largest church in the world dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary and is one of the most important Marian shrines. The feast day of August 5th commemorates the church's dedication and the Blessed Mother's miraculous appearance. It is an important celebration in the Catholic liturgical calendar.
August 15, The Solemnity of the Assumption commemorates the Catholic doctrine that at the end of her earthly life, the body of the Virgin Mary was assumed, or taken up, into heaven. This feast day is a Holy Day of Obligation, meaning all Catholics are required to attend Mass on this day. The Catechism of the Catholic Church states, "Finally the Immaculate Virgin, preserved free from all stain of original sin, when the course of her earthly life was finished, was taken up body and soul into heavenly glory, and exalted by the Lord as Queen over all things" (CCC 966). This dogma was officially defined by Pope Pius XII in 1950.
Following the Assumption, the Church honors Mary's Queenship on August 22nd. This memorial celebrates the Blessed Mother's exalted position as the Queen of Heaven and Earth. Pope Pius XII instituted this feast in 1954, declaring, "Because of the mission she received from God, her life is most closely linked with that of her Son, and because of this supreme office and dignity, the Blessed Virgin is exalted as the Queen of the entire universe" (Ad Caeli Reginam, 1).
These Marian solemnities in August are a time for Catholics to reflect on the unique role and blessings of the Mother of God. As the Catechism states, "By pronouncing her 'full of grace', the angel Gabriel's words bestow a title upon the Mother of God" (CCC 722). Through her humility, obedience, and maternal love, Mary serves as a model of faith and virtue for all believers. Let us turn to her with confidence, seeking her powerful intercession.
References
Catechism of the Catholic Church. 2nd ed. Vatican City: Libreria Editrice Vaticana, 2012. Accessed August 6, 2024. https://www.vatican.va/archive/ENG0015/_INDEX.HTM.
Pope Pius XII. "Ad Caeli Reginam: Encyclical of Pope Pius XII on Proclaiming the Queenship of Mary." The Holy See, October 11, 1954. Accessed August 6, 2024. https://www.virgosacrata.com/ad-caeli-reginam.html.
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