The Liberal Catholic Apostolic Church

A living tradition of Christian liberalism and ecumenism

The Order of Ave Maria

The Calendar of Feasts 

Each week, on Saturday, all members are expected to set aside time to the contemplation of, devotion to and to the meditation upon the Blessed Virgin Mary. Additionally, members are expected to give special attention to their devotion to our Blessed Mother during the months of May and October. Members of the order are expected with all due diligence, in addition to the inclusion of the Litany of the Blessed Virgin, to be in attendance at or to celebrate the Mass on the following

Marian feast days:
 

Mary, Mother of God (1 January)

Our Lady of Prompt Succor (8 January)

Purification of the Virgin (2 February)

Our Lady of Lourdes (11 February)

Annunciation of the Theotokos (25 March)*

Our Lady of Good Counsel (26 April)

Queen of Heaven (1 May)

Our Lady of Fatima (13 May)

The Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary (31 May)

 The Immaculate Heart of Mary (12th June)

Our Lady of Perpetual Help (27 June)

Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary (2 July)

Dormition or Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary (15 August)

The Queenship of Mary (22 August)

Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary (8 September)

Our Lady of Sorrows (15 September)

Feast of the Most Holy Rosary (7 October)

Presentation of Mary or Entry of the Theotokos into the Temple (21 November)

Feast of the Conception of Mary (8 December)

Our Lady of Guadalupe (12 December)

*Should this date be on Holy Week, it may be either moved to the day before Palm Sunday; or, if the date falls on either Friday or Saturday of Holy Week, it may be moved to the Monday after the Second Sunday of Easter. Members of the order who belong to traditions other than the Liberal Catholic or Roman traditions (e.g. Anglican, Gnostic, or Orthodox) are welcomed and encouraged to include in the calendar given above any additional days of special devotion in accordance with those traditions. Further, members should feel free to use their own or their traditions understanding of a particular feast in the celebration of it Members who are celebrating the Mass upon these feast days, should with all care and attention, be careful to ensure that the proper Collects, readings, and prayers (according to the Missal of their tradition) are included within the Liturgy.

HOLY DAYS OF OUR BLESSED MOTHER

1st January. MARY MOTHER OF GOD

This is the oldest doctrine concerning the Blessed Virgin Mary, upheld by the Ecumenical Council of Ephesus. The cornerstone which, all honour and affection is due our Blessed Mother. The council conferred the Holy Virgin to be the Mother of God because God the Word took flesh and became man, and from His very conception united Himself with the temple he took from her.

8th January. OUR LADY OF PROMPT SUCCOR (USA ONLY)

11th February. OUR LADY OF LOURDES

The apparitions of Our Lady of Lourdes, began on the 11th February 1858, when Bernadette Soubirous had seen a Lady in the grotto at Massabielle near Lourdes in France. Through the poor child, Mary called sinners to penance, and thereby there arose in the Church a spirit of prayer and charity helping the poor and the sick.

25th March. THE ANNUNCIATION

Luke 1: 26-28

13th May. OUR LADY OF FATIMA

An optional feast

31st May. THE VISITATION OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY

Luke 1: 39-56

Saturday following the Feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus

12th June. FEAST OF THE IMMACULATE HEART OF MARY

See separate novena

16th July. OUR LADY OF MOUNT CARMEL

An optional feast, originally celebrated by the Carmelite Order in Europe during the Middle Ages.

15th August. THE ASSUMPTION OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY

According to the Gospel of James, Jesus appeared to Mary in the house on Mount Sion in Jerusalem where she lived after Pentecost. Her Son tells her she is soon to die. From all parts of the world the apostles gather to bid her farewell....

Stretching out His hands, the Lord received her holy soul. And when her soul departed, the place was filled with a sweet smell and bright light....

And a voice from Heaven proclaimed "blessed are you among women".........

Instructed by Jesus, Peter and the other apostles took her body to be buried in a new tomb near Gethsemane in the Kidron Valley, where miracles of healing accompanied her burial....

Three days later, angels took her body to Heaven....

22nd August. THE QUEENSHIP OF MARY

This feast follows the Feast of the Assumption, as it points to Marys' privileged place in Heaven. Mary was taken up body and soul into heavenly glory when her earthly life was over, and exalted by the Lord as Queen over all things.

8th September. BIRTH OF MARY OR NATIVITY OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY

Marys ' birth has been celebrated from ancient times. The family record of Jesus Christ from the Gospel of Matthew is the principle reading for this feast. (Matthew 1: 1-23) The list of generations finds its completion in Mary. „It was of her that Jesus who is called the Messiah was born'. Like a shining star, her birth prepares for the dawn of the Saviour. She is the culmination of a long line of people who prepared the Word to become flesh.

15th September. OUR LADY OF SORROWS

Mary is a model for Christians who wish to follow the words of Jesus, "take up your cross and follow me". We seek her faith support for our own.

Seven sorrows ascribed to her;

1 Mary hears the prophecy from Simeon

2 Mary flees with the child into Egypt

3 Mary experiences the loss of the child Jesus in Jerusalem

4 Mary meets her Son on the road to Calvary

5 Mary stands beneath the Cross of Jesus

6 Mary receives the body of Jesus taken down from the Cross

7 Mary sees her Sons' body placed in the tomb

7th October. FEAST OF THE MOST HOLY ROSARY

Liberal Catholic tradition dictates that we recite OUR LADYS ROSARY OF THE SEVEN RAYS. This is based on the Franciscan Crown Rosary see separate prayer sheet for guidance on meditating the mysteries and praying the Most Holy Rosary.

21 November. PRESENTATION OF MARY TO THE TEMPLE

Celebrating Marys' dedication to God, this feast became popular in Church religious communities, where members renewed their vows on this day, remembering the one who called herself "the maidservant of the Lord".

8th December. FEAST OF THE IMMACULATE CONCEPTION

This Feast originally celebrated universally since 1476, and suggests that Mary was from her first moment of existence preserved by God and filled with divine grace and lived a life completely free from sin.

12th December. OUR LADY OF GUADALUPE

The feast originated in the apparition of the Blessed Virgin Mary to St Juan Diego in 1521.