This year, the Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary (August 15) falls on a Saturday, which means it's not a holy day of obligation.
I would encourage you to try and make it to Mass anyway.
My family and I will be there - which, honestly, is something my younger Protestant self probably would have had a hard time imagining.
You see, Mary and I have a bit of a history.
And that's one reason I'm excited to share a conversation with my good friend Dr. Brant Pitre with you today - because he does an incredible job of explaining just how crucial Our Lady's role is in God's plan of salvation.
But for me, getting to the point where I could see that wasn't easy.
At speaking engagements, I'm sometimes asked to share the story of how a Protestant pastor's kid became a "head-over-heels-in-love-with-the-Church" Catholic.
And while there are many issues a potential convert has to wrestle with, perhaps the most difficult is the Catholic teaching on Our Lady...at least it was for me.
While I now have deep devotion to Mary, she caused me all kinds of fits even in the last stages of my conversion.
But now I understand just how much we need to throw ourselves into the arms of Mary. She's absolutely pivotal to our salvation and her role cannot be underestimated.
In light of that, I wanted to once again share with you one of the most popular (and most fun) podcast episodes I've ever recorded in the history of the Art of Catholic.
It's gotten almost half a million views on YouTube and features my one-of-a-kind buddy Dr. Brant Pitre.
A few years back, he and I took a deep and beautiful dive into the powerful scriptural foundations of Mary, as well as the incredible role that she plays in our lives.
It's a truly remarkable conversation that covers issues like:
- How Judaism and the Old Testament are key to understanding who Mary is
- Mary as the Ark of the New Covenant in Revelation - and how that provides evidence of her Assumption!
- Why it's ludicrous to say Catholics worship Mary
- Why Scripture does NOT say Mary and Joseph had more children
- Marian devotion in the ancient Church
- and much more!
I'm willing to bet you've never heard (or at least forgotten) some of these powerful insights into Our Blessed Mother's role in salvation history.
So sit back, push play, and be inspired to renew your devotion to her more fervently than ever before.
God bless!
Matthew
P.S. Have you signed up for your free 2-week trial of Introduction to Real Prayer yet? Click here to start watching now!
