Liturgical Living at Home
August 2026
August is dedicated to the Immaculate Heart of Mary
We dedicate the month of August to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. The physical heart of Mary is venerated (and not adored as the Sacred Heart of Jesus is) because it is united to her person and is the seat of her love.
This devotion has received new emphasis in the last century from the visions given to Lucy Dos Santos, oldest of the visionaries of Fatima, in her convent in Tuy, Spain, in 1925 and 1926. In the visions Our Lady asked for the practice of the Five First Saturdays to help make amends for the offenses committed against her heart by the blasphemies and ingratitude of men. The practice parallels the devotion of the Nine First Fridays in honor of the Sacred Heart.
Consecration to the Immaculate Heart
The most essential thing is not making an act of consecration, with or without some solemnity, though that is important. The essential thing is to live that consecration.
Living a consecration could be described as following three attitudes or spirits:
Union — Imitation of Jesus and Mary, so as to become like them, and trying to develop as constant as possible a realization of His and her presence.
Dependence — Give to Jesus and Mary the right to dispose of everything we have, temporal and spiritual.
Obedience — Jesus and Mary have the right to ask us to do anything at all, even without reward. In consecration, we recognize that right, give it on a basis of love, and plan to carry it out with fullest generosity.
I loved this connection to thinking of the consecration as an extension of our baptismal promises: St. Maximilian Kolbe liked to speak of the relation of consecration to our baptismal promises, in which we promised to renounce satan and all his works, and to follow Jesus, by whom we are "sealed" in baptism as His property. Consecration is the fullest kind of response to and carrying out of these promises. Mary, in view of her Immaculate Conception, was most fitted to respond most fully, and that she did, with a fullness and perfection beyond our ability to visualize!
Prayer
Immaculate Heart of Mary,
refuge of sinners,
I beg of you by the infinite merits of the Sacred Heart of Jesus,
and by the graces God has granted to you since your Immaculate Conception,
the grace of never going astray again.
Mother, keep me, a sinner,
constantly bathed in the light of your Immaculate Heart.
Amen.
Bless your Herbs!
An old tradition says that when the Apostles opened Mary's tomb after her assumption into heaven, they found it filled with sweet-smelling flowers and herbs instead of a body. So, to this day, many will bless their herbs on this feast day!
The following prayer is adapted from the traditional blessing of herbs and fruits from the Roman Ritual for the Feast of the Assumption, arranged for lay use at home:
Leader: Our help is in the name of the Lord.
All: Who made heaven and earth. [1, 2]
"Almighty Lord and God, You commanded the earth to bring forth plants and trees, each bearing fruit according to its kind, for the food and healing of mankind.
We thank You for this bounty from our garden, which we gather on this feast day honoring the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
We ask You to pour out Your blessing upon these herbs and fruits. May they remind us of the beauty of Your creation and your constant care for our needs. Through the intercession of the Blessed Mother, protect our home, grant health to our bodies, and bring our souls safely to Your heavenly kingdom.
Through Christ our Lord. Amen."
(At this time, you may sprinkle the herbs and fruits with holy water.
August Marian Feast Days
We celebrate Mary many times over in the month of August
- August 2: Our Lady Queen of Angels
- August 5: Our Lady of the Snows: The Dedication of the Basilica of St. Mary Major
- August 15: The Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary
- August 17: Our Lady of Knock
- August 22: The Queenship of the Blessed Virgin Mary
Join parish families in celebrating Mary of the second annual Feast of the Assumption picnic, co sponsored by the Knights of Columbus and CYO. Attend the 4:00 Mass and join families for a picnic with lots of fun planned after, at Yahner Field! Register to attend with your family (and get more details if you need them).
August 6: Transfiguration of the Lord
The Transfiguration is recorded in all three synoptic Gospels, so take a minute today to read one of the versions
and try transfiguring some leftovers into something new or, work together as a family to make some whipped cream. It will transfigure from cream and sugar right before your eyes!
Try out this recipe for homemade whipped cream.
August 8: St. Lawrence
Patron saint of librarians, archivists, cooks and comedians. He pulled a fast one on those that were persecuting the Christians by asking for three days to pull together the "treasures of the church" so he could turn them over to the Prefect in Rome. He diligently gave everything of the church to those in need, including important documents and materials (hence his patron status for librarians and archivists), asking in return that the people he entrusted these items to would meet him on that third day at the house of the Prefect. When he turned up on the third day he told the Prefect, "THESE are the true treasures of the church." The prefect decided not to behead him like the other martyrs, but cook him alive (hence his status as patron of cooks). St Lawrence had such a good sense of humor he told him "you better turn me over, I'm done on this side" (and this his last patron status: comedians!).
Some people will have a little comedy show with their kids to celebrate this feast day--everyone bring their favorite joke or two. Others may choose to have a little barbeque. You can decide if that's too morbid!
August 11: St. Clare
Clare is known as a friend of St. Francis of Assisi, the story of her single-handedly scaring away an entire invading army with nothing but herself and a monstrance with the Blessed Sacrament.
A story you may not have heard, she was often unwell and reported that when she was unable to attend Mass due to illness, she could hear and see on the wall of her room a vision of the Mass as it took place. Pope Pius XII must have had a great sense of humor as he made her the patron of television in 1958!
Why not celebrate with watching tv movie as a family?
August 27: St. Monica & August 28: St. Augustine
St. Monica, is famously the mom of St. Augustine. She cried for years as she prayed for St. Augustine to convert to the faith. She is patron of mothers, difficult marriages and disappointing children.
St. Augustine was a challenge in his youth. He wasn't interested in faith and had a child without having been married. Scandalous! He came to the faith and is a well-known friend to our parish patron (St. Hilary). Augustine pondered the mystery of the trinity often. He also wrote his own Holy Spirit prayer:
Breathe in me, O Holy Spirit,
That my thoughts may all be holy.
Act in me, O Holy Spirit,
That my work, too, may be holy.
Draw my heart, O Holy Spirit,
That I love but what is holy.
Strengthen me, O Holy Spirit,
To defend all that is holy.
Guard me, then, O Holy Spirit,
That I always may be holy.