The Grotto of Mary at St. Alphonsus Church in Millwood, Missouri
The Catholic Church celebrates the Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary today. The role of Mary in salvation history is vital, and yet, there is much misunderstanding in contemporary society about the Catholic teaching on Mary. Today's solemnity is a perfect example of one of those issues that is not widely understood and/or accepted outside of Catholic circles.
It is not my purpose here to go into the apologetics of various doctrines and dogmas. That is a worthy and noble endeavor, but it is not the reason I began this blog. My purpose is to encourage you in your faith journey. Hopefully, I guide you from time to time to consider things that may not have been on your radar screen. I hope there are frequent occasions when I bring you the gift of hope. That is what this feast day does for us. Mary gives us hope. I hope you will take the time to learn more about this teaching of the Church if you are lacking a comprehensive understanding of it.
There are plenty of things in the world to bring us down. Even within the structures of the Church there are issues and difficulties that generate division rather than promote unity and peace. These problems are nothing new. The Church has struggled with these types of things from the beginning. I was reading through some history today and it is plain to see that some battles seem to stick with us through the centuries.
Pope gregory XVI issued his encyclical Mirari Vos (On Liberalism and Religious Indifferentism) on August 15, 1832. That is just 18 years short of being 200 years old. You can read it here: http://www.papalencyclicals.net/Greg16/g16mirar.htm
If you don't want to read the whole document, I would at least invite you to read paragraphs five and six. The pope explains that it is not enough for us to simply deplore the innumerable evils present in our midst. We must strive to uproot them. Many of the evils disturbing the pope in 1832 are still disturbing us today. Are we doing our part to uproot the evils of the present age?
"God chose in Christ before the world began to be holy and blameless in His sight." (Ephesians 1:4)
The Catholic Church celebrates the Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary today. The role of Mary in salvation history is vital, and yet, there is much misunderstanding in contemporary society about the Catholic teaching on Mary. Today's solemnity is a perfect example of one of those issues that is not widely understood and/or accepted outside of Catholic circles.
It is not my purpose here to go into the apologetics of various doctrines and dogmas. That is a worthy and noble endeavor, but it is not the reason I began this blog. My purpose is to encourage you in your faith journey. Hopefully, I guide you from time to time to consider things that may not have been on your radar screen. I hope there are frequent occasions when I bring you the gift of hope. That is what this feast day does for us. Mary gives us hope. I hope you will take the time to learn more about this teaching of the Church if you are lacking a comprehensive understanding of it.
There are plenty of things in the world to bring us down. Even within the structures of the Church there are issues and difficulties that generate division rather than promote unity and peace. These problems are nothing new. The Church has struggled with these types of things from the beginning. I was reading through some history today and it is plain to see that some battles seem to stick with us through the centuries.
Pope gregory XVI issued his encyclical Mirari Vos (On Liberalism and Religious Indifferentism) on August 15, 1832. That is just 18 years short of being 200 years old. You can read it here: http://www.papalencyclicals.net/Greg16/g16mirar.htm
If you don't want to read the whole document, I would at least invite you to read paragraphs five and six. The pope explains that it is not enough for us to simply deplore the innumerable evils present in our midst. We must strive to uproot them. Many of the evils disturbing the pope in 1832 are still disturbing us today. Are we doing our part to uproot the evils of the present age?
"God chose in Christ before the world began to be holy and blameless in His sight." (Ephesians 1:4)
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