Pope Pius XII established this feast in 1954. But Mary’s queenship has roots in Scripture.  At the Annunciation, Gabriel announced that Mary’s Son would receive the throne of David and rule forever. At the Visitation, Elizabeth calls Mary “mother of my Lord.”  As in all the mysteries of Mary’s life, she is closely associated with Jesus: Her queenship is a share in Jesus’ kingship. We can also recall that in the Old Testament the mother of the king has great influence in court. (Read more…)

On Friday, August 15th, the church has always held to the belief that Mary was assumed, body and soul, into a heavenly state, even though the belief was not declared as dogmatic until 1950.  The early church had a robust tradition of revering relics from the saints of the day, and their complete lack of relics from the Mother of Jesus was seen as evidence of this Marian belief.  The celebration of the event as a feast dates back to the fourth century in the East and the seventh century in the West. (Read more…)

Wednesday, we celebrate the feast of The Transfiguration of the Lord. All three Synoptic Gospels tell the story of the Transfiguration (Matthew 17:1-8; Mark 9:2-9; Luke 9:28-36). With remarkable agreement, all three place the event shortly after Peter’s confession of faith that Jesus is the Messiah and Jesus’ first prediction of his passion and death. Peter’s eagerness to erect tents or booths on the spot suggests it occurred in the fall during the week-long Jewish Feast of Booths. (Read more…)

“Jesus loved Martha and Mary and Lazarus.”  This unique statement in John’s gospel tells us of the special relationship Jesus had with Martha, her sister, and her brother.  Apparently, Jesus was a frequent guest at Martha’s home in Bethany, a small village two miles from Jerusalem.  We read of three visits in Luke 10:38-42, John 11:1-53, and John 12:1-9.

Martha welcomes Jesus and his disciples into her home and immediately goes to work to serve them.  (Read more…)

Next Saturday, we celebrate the Feast of Sts. Joachim and Anne. Joachim and Anne were the parents of Jesus’ mother, Mary. We don’t know many details about their lives because they are never mentioned in the New Testament. Everything we know about them comes down through tradition — the stories people told about them.

We believe that they were respected members of the Jewish community and that they wanted to become parents so much that Joachim went into the desert to fast and pray that God would hear their prayer. (Read more…)

On Wednesday, July 16th, we celebrate the Feast of Our Lady of Mount Carmel. Hermits lived on Mount Carmel near the Fountain of Elijah in northern Israel in the 12th century. They had a chapel dedicated to Our Lady. By the 13th century they became known as “Brothers of Our Lady of Mount Carmel.” They soon celebrated a special Mass and Office in honor of Mary. In 1726, it became a celebration of the universal Church under the title of Our Lady of Mount Carmel. (Read more…)