Feast of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary

Today is the Feast of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary.  It is a day that brings back so many childhood memories for me.  I remember as a young child the procession we would have with her statue where all the young girls put on their best white dress and wore a light blue cape over it, it was an honor to be chosen to be in the procession and everyone was present at it.  It was truly a neighborhood event.  Another tradition I remember was putting your feet in the ocean on this day.  As a child my family vacationed at the Jersey Shore and my grandmother always had us go into the water together on this day.  She even had us bring home ocean water a few times as we wouldn't be at the beach and she wanted to keep the tradition alive.  But what does this day really mean...

On August 15th each year, the Catholic Church remembers the Assumption of Our Lady into Heaven.  Different traditions hold that the Virgin Mary left this earthly life between three and fifteen years after Christ’s death and Resurrection.  She was assumed into heaven, accounts say, as she reposed in eternal sleep – either in Jerusalem or in Ephesus, in modern day Turkey. (Vatican Radio, 2016)  As we honor Mary this day let us take time to live by her example and pray to her for our needs and the needs of our world.

Pat Schifini, OSU