15/08/2025
๐๐๐๐ฏ๐๐ง ๐๐จ๐ฅ๐๐ฌ ๐๐๐ซ ๐๐ก๐จ๐ฅ๐
Blue sky above, flowers below, and hearts somewhere in betweenโreaching for heaven. Thatโs how the Ignacian Marians spent their August 14 afternoon, honoring Our Blessed Mother who didnโt just leave earthโฆ she took all of herself with her.
On the eve of the Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, celebrated every August 15, the Holy Cross Academy Inc. community gathered for an anticipated Mass, a Marian prayer, and a floral offering, as the feast celebrates the dogma that Mary, at the end of her earthly life, was taken up body and soul into heavenly gloryโa truth that blends both history and hope.
This yearโs Mass was presided by Rev. Fr. Ferdinand Lariosa, DCD, who reflected on Maryโs unique place in salvation history.
โThe blood of Jesus is the blood of Mary,โ Fr. Lariosa reminded the faithful, affirming that her motherhood is not symbolic but real.
From her โyesโ at the Annunciation to her presence at the foot of the Cross, Maryโs life was perfectly united to her Sonโs mission. What happened to JesusโHis resurrection and glorificationโalso happened to her. The Assumption, he explained, is the fitting completion of her earthly journeyโtaken up body and soul into the presence of God, crowned as Queen of Heaven and Earth.
Fr. Lariosa also walked the faithful through the four Marian dogmas: Mary as Mother of God, her Perpetual Virginity, her Immaculate Conception, and her Assumption. Declared a dogma by Pope Pius XII on November 1, 1950, the Assumption was not a new invention but the formal sealing of a belief held since the earliest centuries of Christianity.
โIn heaven,โ he reminded everyone, โthere are two bodies, fully, body and soul: Jesus and Mary.โ
Early Christians already celebrated this mystery, calling it the Dormition in the East and the Assumption in the West. By the 13th century, the celebration was widespread, long before Pope Pius XII defined it as dogma. Today, it remains one of the most joy-filled Marian feasts in the liturgical calendarโone that speaks not only of Maryโs glory but also of our destiny.
Fr. Lariosa invited the faithful to see the Assumption not just as an honor given to Mary, but as a promise for each believer:
โWhere she has gone, we too are called to follow.โ
After the Eucharistic celebration, the Marian devotion flowed outdoors. The Ignacian Marians walked toward the statue of Our Lady of the Assumption within the school grounds, led by Sir John Carlo G. Mibulos, who opened the prayer, and S. Ma. Yosefina Baru, RVM, who guided the offering.
Petals rested gently at Maryโs feetโeach bloom a quiet prayer, each fragrance a whisper of love and gratitude. It was more than a school tradition; it was the communityโs way of saying, โWe remember, we honor, we hope.โ
Fr. Lariosaโs message made it clear: the Assumption is not just about Maryโs crownโitโs about our calling. โObedience is loving,โ he said, urging everyone to live as Mary did: saying โyesโ to God in the ordinary and trusting Him in the extraordinary.
Heaven holds her wholeโand the Assumption tells us that heaven is our home, and Maryโs journey is proof of that promise. As gray clouds hung low and a light drizzle kissed the campus grounds, the flowers at her feet seemed to glistenโa reminder that for the Ignacian Marians, it was more than an event; it was a living act of faith, because of our Mother Mary is assumed into heaven and taken up to the clouds, toward the place where she now dwells, then maybe one dayโby graceโ we will be too.
HAPPY FEAST OF OUR LADY OF THE ASSUMPTION! ๐ค๐ธ
Pubmat | Hether Cubelo
Article | Darlene Lomongo