Text from The Saint Andrew Daily Missal.
Feast Day 22 August.
Double of the Second-Class.
White Vestments.
The Blessed Virgin Mary.
According to a tradition, sanctioned by authority, it was at Jerusalem, near the room of the Last Supper, at the spot where now stands a Church committed to the care of the Benedictines, that Mary breathed her last (Secret).
And it is at the foot of the Mount of Olives, in a place where, about 1130, a Monastery of the Benedictine Monks of Cluny was built, that her mortal remains were laid and "she was carried up to Heaven" (Alleluia).
The pilgrimages made to this tomb originated the Feast of the Assumption, which was already solemnised in the East at the end of the 6th-Century. At the beginning of the 7th-Century, the Feast was also solemnised at Rome, and it spread with the Roman Liturgy over the whole West.
Pope Leo IV instituted the Octave in 847 A.D.
"We have accompanied thee with all our Prayers, when thou didst ascend towards thy Son," says Saint Bernard of Clairvaux, "and we have at least followed thee at a distance, O Blessed Virgin ! May thy goodness make known to the world the Grace bestowed on thee by God: Obtain by thy Holy Prayers, the forgiveness of the guilty, health for the sick, strength for weak Souls, consolation for the afflicted, help and deliverance for those in peril.
O Mary, Queen of Clemency, on this joyful Solemnity, may thy humble servants, who praise and invoke thy sweet name, be overwhelmed with Graces by Jesus Christ thy Son, Our Lord, who is the Sovereign God, Blessed throughout the ages. Amen." [Fifth and Sixth Lessons at Matins.]
Let us honour Mary with special confidence during these Feasts which celebrate her triumph.
Mass: Adeamus. With a Commemoration.
