While Assumption Day may not be a Holy Day of Obligation this year because it falls on a Saturday, Assumption Grotto will likely be packed to capacity with faithful Catholics who don't need a holy day of obligation to honor the Blessed Virgin Mary. In fact, I believe there will be more people there by virtue of the fact that it falls on a Saturday. There will be no 4:00pm Saturday vigil. And, all Masses will be for the Assumption, including the 7:00pm Mass, which will be celebrated by Archbishop Allen H. Vigneron.
The 7:00pm Mass and post-Mass candlelight procession is the highlight of the day. It is when most people come. We have provisions for people to park at nearby St. Veronica where they can pick up a shuttle for the roughly 1.5 mile trip into Grotto. Therefore, parking is not an issue.
I know many will ask whether this will be in the extraordinary form (aka, "Tridentine"), or ordinary form. Now that I have answer, I can tell you without a doubt that this will be a Novus Ordo. In fact, I believe it will be a Latin Novus Ordo. Many of us had hoped for a pontifical, but there were a number of reasons why this was not practical this year. Archbishop Vigneron will celebrate the Mass with concelebrants.
Unlike previous years, the 7:00pm Mass will be celebrated indoors, and an outdoor candelight procession will follow. We will sing many Marin hymns out at the Grotto after the Mass, as we have in prior years. All of the photos shown in this post are from prior years during those memorable procession. One of the reasons it is being celebrated indoors is because there will be much more than a 4-piece brass quartet as we have had in prior years. The Assumption Grotto Choir and Orchestra have been preparing to do the Mozart Coronation Mass. I can tell you from all that I have heard at practices, that it is very majestic and fitting for the day.
While it is projected to be warm that day, we are not suppose to have the high humidity that makes it unbearable.
See the full schedule for the day this page at the Assumption Grotto website. The day is filled with devotions, Masses, confession, exposition of the Blessed Sacrament and shopping for Catholic items. There will also be a spaghetti dinner.
Come and honor Our Lady on the Feast of the Assumption at Assumption Grotto.
The picture below was taken during the afternoon "living Rosary".
Photos of past years
- Assumption 2006 (23 photo posts)
- Assumption 2007 (watch photo slideshow; video is not available at this time)
- Assumption Grotto 2008 (two galleries at my Smugmug site)
The obedient are not held captive by Holy Mother Church; it is the disobedient who are held captive by the world!