Immaculati Cordis Beatæ Mariæ Virginis The Octave Day of the Assumption: Missa “Adeámus“
The devotion to the Immaculate Heart of Mary arises as a natural complement to the devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. If the Sacred Heart is the font of divine love poured out upon mankind, the Immaculate Heart is the most perfect created vessel which received and returned that love without stain. It represents the interior life of Our Lady—her joys, her sorrows, her virtues, her singular purity, and above all her love for God and for souls.
The imagery of Mary’s Heart is found in the Gospel of St Luke: “Mary kept all these words, pondering them in her heart” (Lk. 2:19, 51). Tradition, following Simeon’s prophecy of the sword piercing her soul (Lk. 2:35), sees her Heart as uniquely joined to the redemptive work of Christ, suffering in union with Him and offering Him to the Father.
The roots of the feast in the Latin Church go back to the seventeenth century, especially through the preaching of St. John Eudes (1601–1680), who first promoted a liturgical cult of the Hearts of Jesus and Mary. Over the centuries, this devotion spread more widely, particularly after the apparitions of Our Lady at Fatima in 1917, in which she called for the consecration of Russia to her Immaculate Heart and the practice of reparation to it.
Pope Pius XII, in the dark days of the Second World War, consecrated the world to the Immaculate Heart of Mary (1942). In 1944, he extended the Feast of the Immaculate Heart of Mary to the universal Church, fixing it on August 22, the octave day of the Assumption, to emphasise Our Lady’s heavenly intercession and maternal reign. This arrangement, found in the traditional Roman calendar, beautifully linked her bodily glorification in heaven with the triumph of her Heart. (The postconciliar calendar later shifted the feast to the Saturday following the Solemnity of the Sacred Heart, but in the traditional rite the original August 22 observance remains.)
Theologically, the feast invites the faithful to contemplate the Heart of Mary as both exemplar and refuge: exemplar of the virtues of humility, obedience, purity, and love; refuge in times of trial, for her Heart is a safe dwelling where sinners may find mercy and strength. It also recalls the great eschatological promise spoken at Fatima: “My Immaculate Heart will triumph.”
Thus the Feast of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, bound closely to the Assumption, places before the Church both the glory of Our Lady in heaven and her intimate compassion on earth, reminding us that her Heart, immaculate and aflame with love, is always open to receive the prayers and petitions of her children.
INTROIT Heb 4:16
Let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need. Ps 44:2 My Heart overflows with a goodly theme; as I sing my ode to the King. V. Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost. R. As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen. Let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.
COLLECT
Almighty, everlasting God, Who in the Heart of the Blessed Virgin Mary prepared a dwelling place worthy of the Holy Spirit; graciously grant that we, who are devoutly keeping the feast of her Immaculate Heart, may be able to live according to Your Heart. Through Jesus Christ, thy Son our Lord, Who liveth and reigneth with thee, in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God, world without end. R. Amen.
Let us pray.
Commemoration Sts. Timothy, Hippolytus and Symphorianus, Martyrs
Bestow upon us, we beseech Thee, O Lord, Thy merciful aid: and through the intercession of Thy blessed Martyrs, Timothy Hippolytus and Symphorian, extend to us the right hand of Thy mercy. Through Jesus Christ, thy Son our Lord, Who liveth and reigneth with thee, in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God, world without end. R. Amen.
EPISTLE Sir 24:23-31
Lesson from the book of Ecclesiasticus: I bud forth delights like the vine, my blossoms become fruit fair and rich. I am the mother of fair love, and of fear, and of knowledge, and of holy hope. In me is all grace of the way and of the truth, in me is all hope of life and of virtue. Come to me, all you that yearn for me, and be filled with my fruits; for my spirit is sweeter than honey, and my inheritance better to have than honey and the honeycomb. My memory is to everlasting generations. They who eat of me will hunger still, and they who drink of me will thirst for more. He who obeys me will not be put to shame, they who serve me will never fail. They who explain me shall have life everlasting.
GRADUAL/ALLELUIA Psalm 12:6
Ps 12:6 Let my Heart rejoice in Your salvation; let me sing of the Lord, He has been good to me. Yes, I will sing to the name of the Lord, Most High. Ps 44:18 V. They shall remember Your name throughout all generations; therefore shall nations praise You forever and ever.
Alleluia, alleluia. Luke 1:46-47 V. My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Saviour. Alleluia.
GOSPEL John 19:25-27
At that time, there were standing by the Cross of Jesus, His Mother, and His Mother’s sister, Mary of Cleophas, and Mary Magdalen. When Jesus, therefore, saw His Mother and the disciple standing by, whom He loved, He said to His Mother, Woman, behold your son. Then He said to the disciple, Behold, your mother. And from that hour the disciple took her into his home.
OFFERTORY ANTIPHON Luke 1:47, 49
My spirit rejoices in God my Saviour; because He Who is mighty has done great things for me, and holy is His name.
SECRET
Offering the spotless Lamb to Your Majesty, O Lord, we pray that our hearts may be set aflame by the fire that burned so wondrously in the Heart of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Through the same Jesus Christ, thy Son, Our Lord, Who liveth and reigneth with thee in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God, world without end.
R. Amen.
Commemoration Sts. Timothy, Hippolytus and Symphorianus, Martyrs
May the service of thy holy people be acceptable to Thee, O Lord, and honorable to thy saints, through whose merits we know that we have received help in trouble.
Through Jesus Christ, thy Son our Lord, Who liveth and reigneth with thee, in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God, world without end. R. Amen.
PREFACE of the Blessed Virgin Mary
It is truly meet and just, right and for our salvation, that we should at all times, and in all places, give thanks unto Thee, O holy Lord, Father almighty, everlasting God: and that we should praise and bless, and proclaim Thee, in the Feastday of the Blessed Mary, ever-Virgin: Who also conceived Thine only-begotten Son by the overshadowing of the Holy Ghost, and the glory of her virginity still abiding, gave forth to the world the everlasting Light, Jesus Christ our Lord. Through whom the Angels praise Thy Majesty, the Dominations worship it, and the Powers stand in awe. The Heavens and the heavenly hosts together with the blessed Seraphim in triumphant chorus unite to celebrate it. Together with these we entreat Thee that Thou mayest bid our voices also to be admitted while we say with lowly praise:
COMMUNION ANTIPHON John 19:27
Jesus said to His Mother, Woman, behold your son. Then He said to the disciple, Behold your mother. And from that hour the disciple took her into his home.
POSTCOMMUNION
Refreshed by divine gifts, we humbly beseech You, O Lord, that by the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the solemn feast of whose Immaculate Heart we have celebrated, we may be freed from present dangers and reach the happiness of life eternal. Through Jesus Christ, thy Son our Lord, Who liveth and reigneth with thee, in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God, world without end. R. Amen.
Let us pray.
Commemoration Sts. Timothy, Hippolytus and Symphorianus, Martyrs
Filled with the abundance of the divine sacrament, we beseech You, O Lord our God, that, by the prayers of Your holy Martyrs, Timothy, Hippolytus and Symphorian, we may ever partake of this gift during life. Through Jesus Christ, thy Son our Lord, Who liveth and reigneth with thee, in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God, world without end. R. Amen.
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