Our Lady Of Apostles' Catholic Church

Nativity of the Lord
2025-12-25
From the very beginning, Christians celebrated what the Lord Jesus accomplished for the salvation of humanity. They did this every Sunday, the day of the Lord’s resurrection, and as an annual feast on the Sunday after the first full moon of the spring equinox, Easter Sunday.
At the beginning of the 4th century, the liturgical calendar began to evolve, giving value to the “historical” Jesus as well. Good Friday was added to recall Jesus’ death, and the Last Supper…. In that trajectory, the Nativity, the Birth of Jesus, was added. The first evidence of the celebration of the Nativity of Our Lord dates back to the year 336. Soon after, in the Eastern Church, the Christmas feast of the Epiphany began to be celebrated on the 6th of January. The date was connected to the civil pagan festival of the birth of the invincible sun (Natale Solis Invicti), introduced by the Emperor Aurelian in 274 in honor of the Syrian Sun god of Emesa, celebrated on 25 December.
Christmas is the only liturgical celebration with four Masses, the Vigil Mass, the Mass during the Night, the Mass at Dawn and the Mass during the Day. The readings are the same for each of these Masses for all three liturgical years. This choice seeks to demonstrate and enhance, almost in slow motion, that Event that changed the course of human history: God became man.

Solemnity of All Saints
2025-11-01
The earliest certain observance of a feast in honor of all the saints is an early fourth-century commemoration of “all the martyrs.” In the early seventh century, after successive waves of invaders plundered the catacombs, Pope Boniface IV gathered up some 28 wagon-loads of bones and reinterred them beneath the Pantheon, a Roman temple dedicated to all the gods. The pope rededicated the shrine as a Christian church. According to Venerable Bede, the pope intended “that the memory of all the saints might in the future be honored in the place which had formerly been dedicated to the worship not of gods but of demons” (On the Calculation of Time).
But the rededication of the Pantheon, like the earlier commemoration of all the martyrs, occurred in May. Many Eastern Churches still honor all the saints in the spring, either during the Easter season or immediately after Pentecost.
How the Western Church came to celebrate this feast, now recognized as a solemnity, in November is a puzzle to historians. The Anglo-Saxon theologian Alcuin observed the feast on November 1 in 800, as did his friend Arno, Bishop of Salzburg. Rome finally adopted that date in the ninth century.

Assumption of Mary
2025-08-15
Today, Catholics and many other Christians celebrate the feast of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary. This significant feast day recalls the spiritual and physical departure of the mother of Jesus Christ from the earth, when both her soul and her body were taken into the presence of God.
Venerable Pope Pius XII confirmed this belief about the Virgin Mary as the perennial teaching of the Church when he defined it formally as a dogma of Catholic faith in 1950, invoking papal infallibility to proclaim, “that the Immaculate Mother of God, the ever-Virgin Mary, having completed the course of her earthly life, was assumed body and soul into heavenly glory.”
His Apostolic Constitution “Munificentissimus Deus” (Most Bountiful God), which defined the dogma,
contained the Pontiff’s accounts of many longstanding traditions by which the Church has celebrated the Assumption throughout its history.
The constitution also cited testimonies from the early Church fathers on the subject, and described the history of theological reflection on many Biblical passages which are seen as indicating that Mary was assumed into heaven following her death.
Although the bodily assumption of Mary is not explicitly recorded in Scripture, Catholic tradition identifies her with the “woman clothed with the sun” who is described in the 12th chapter of the Book of Revelation.
The passage calls that woman’s appearance “a great sign” which “appeared in heaven,” indicating that she is the mother of the Jewish Messiah and has “the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars.” Accordingly, Catholic iconography of the Western tradition often depicts the Virgin Mary’s assumption into heaven in this manner.
Eastern Christians have also traditionally held Mary’s assumption into heaven as an essential component of their faith. Pius XII cited several early Byzantine liturgical texts, as well as the eighth-century Arab Christian theologian St. John of Damascus, in his own authoritative definition of her assumption.
“It was fitting,” St. John of Damascus wrote in a sermon on the assumption, “that she, who had kept her virginity intact in childbirth, should keep her own body free from all corruption even after death,” and “that she, who had carried the creator as a child at her breast, should dwell in the divine tabernacles.”
In Eastern Christian tradition, the same feast is celebrated on the same calendar date, although typically known as the Dormition (falling asleep) of Mary. Eastern Catholic celebration of the Dormition is preceded by a two-week period of fasting which is similar to Lent. Pius XII, in “Munificentissimus Deus,” mentioned this same fasting period as belonging to the traditional patrimony of Western Christians as well.
The feast of the Assumption is always a Holy Day of Obligation for both Roman and Eastern-rite Catholics, on which they are obliged to attend Mass or Divine Liturgy.

Pentecost Sunday
2025-06-08
Pentecost Sunday is a significant day in the Christian calendar, celebrated on the seventh Sunday after Easter (50 days after Easter Sunday). It marks the coming of the Holy Spirit upon the apostles and other followers of Jesus Christ, as described in Acts 2:1–4 in the Bible.
✝️ What Happened on Pentecost?
After Jesus’ resurrection and ascension into heaven, His disciples were gathered in Jerusalem during the Jewish festival of Shavuot (Feast of Weeks). On that day:
– A sound like a rushing wind filled the house.
– Tongues of fire appeared and rested on each of them.
– They were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages.
– This miraculous event enabled them to preach the Gospel to people from many nations, each hearing in their own language.
🙏 Why Do Christians Celebrate Pentecost?
Birth of the Church:
Pentecost is often called the “birthday of the Christian Church” because it marks the beginning of the apostles’ public ministry and the spread of the Christian message.
Fulfillment of Jesus’ Promise
Jesus promised His followers that He would send the Holy Spirit (John 14:26). Pentecost is the fulfillment of that promise.
Empowerment of Believers
The Holy Spirit empowered the apostles with courage, wisdom, and spiritual gifts to preach the Gospel and carry out God’s mission.
Unity and Mission
The event symbolizes unity in diversity, as people of different languages and cultures heard the same message. It also highlights the Church’s mission to share the Gospel with the world.
🔥 Symbols of Pentecost
Red: The liturgical color for Pentecost, representing the fire of the Holy Spirit.
Wind and Fire: Represent the power and presence of the Holy Spirit.
Dove: Sometimes used to symbolize the Holy Spirit.

Ascension of the Lord
2025-05-29
Gospel: Luke 24:46-53
Jesus said to his disciples: “Thus it is written that the Christ would suffer and rise from the dead on the third day and that repentance, for the forgiveness of sins, would be preached in his name to all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things. And behold I am sending the promise of my Father upon you; but stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high.”
Then he led them out as far as Bethany, raised his hands, and blessed them. As he blessed them he parted from them and was taken up to heaven. They did him homage and then returned to Jerusalem with great joy, and they were continually in the temple praising God.
Reflection
Two truths are striking as we celebrate the Ascension. Notice how the disciples are charged to carry on Jesus’ message. Essential to their mission is that they must wait for the outpouring of the Holy Spirit before they begin. What is also remarkable is their joy as they wait because after Jesus’ crucifixion they kept the doors locked “for fear of the Jews” (Jewish leaders).
Jesus reminds us of how necessary it is for us to pray before we begin any kind of good work. Our prayer can be full of confidence and joy because we have the gift of Jesus’ Holy Spirit as our source of energy.

Resurrection of Jesus Christ
2025-04-20
The Resurrection of Jesus Christ is the foundation of the Christian faith. Without the resurrection, the belief in God’s saving grace through Jesus is destroyed. When Jesus rose from the dead, he confirmed his identity as the Son of God and his work of atonement, redemption, reconciliation, and salvation. The Resurrection was a literal, physical raising of Jesus’ body from the dead.
Jesus was arrested, tried, and found guilty of claiming to be a king. His body was hung on a cross between two thieves. After his death, Jesus’ body was wrapped in linen cloth and placed in a tomb with a large stone rolled across the opening. On the third day, an early Sunday morning, Mary Magdalene and another Mary came to the tomb and found it empty. Sitting on the rolled-away stone was an angel of the Lord who told them not to be afraid because Jesus had risen. As the women left to tell the disciples, Jesus Christ met them and showed them his nail-pierced hands.
The Old and the New Testaments speak of the truth of Jesus being raised from death – Jesus testified of his resurrection before He died on the cross, and his disciples witnessed his body after the resurrection. Below are the Bible verses and Scriptures that both prophesize the resurrection of Jesus and testify of the reality of the resurrected body of Christ.

Ash Wednesday – The First Day of Lent
2025-03-05
What is Ash Wednesday?
Ash Wednesday marks the first day of Lent.In the Catholic observation of Ash Wednesday, a priest applies a smudge of ash on people’s foreheads in the shape of a cross. As it is applied, the phrase “remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return” is often spoken. The ash is meant to communicate grief and sorrow over sins and repentance through the death of Jesus Christ on the cross. While the observation of Ash Wednesday has historically been within the Catholic Church, several protestant denominations have begun to commemorate the day with similar services.
Ash Wednesday initiates the 40-day period of Lent, during which we reflect on Jesus’ 40-day fast and temptation in the desert. Preceding Ash Wednesday, “Shrove Tuesday” or “Fat Tuesday” serves as an occasion for indulgence and feasting, often marked by enjoying foods like pancakes. This celebration precedes our observance of fasting on Ash Wednesday and throughout the Lenten season.
What is the meaning of wearing ashes and where do they come from?
The ashes used on Ash Wednesday typically come from the burning of palm branches from the previous year’s Palm Sunday celebrations. After Palm Sunday, the palm branches are collected, dried, and burned to create the ashes used in the Ash Wednesday service. These ashes are then mixed with a small amount of water or oil to create a paste, which is applied to the foreheads of worshippers in the shape of a cross as a symbol of repentance and mortality.
The ashes are used to keep us in mind of our humble origin and of how the body of Adam, our forefather, was formed out of the dust of the earth; also to remind us of death, when our bodies will return to dust, and of the necessity of doing penance for our sins.
While the ashes remind us that we will die and return to the ground, if we believe in Jesus, we will be raised with Him in glorious new bodies.

Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God
2025-01-01
The Solemnity of Mary, Holy Mother of God is a liturgical celebration observed on January 1st which falls exactly one week after Christmas, the end of the octave of Christmas.
The Blessed Virgin Mary is honored as the Mother of God because she conceived and gave birth to Christ, who is the incarnation of God the Son, the Second Person of the Blessed Trinity. It is fitting to honor Mary as Mother of Jesus, following the birth of Christ. When Catholics celebrate the Solemnity of Mary Mother of God, we are not only honoring Mary, who was chosen among all women throughout history to bear God incarnate, but we are also honoring our Lord, who is fully God and fully human.
Since the first centuries of Christianity, the Church customarily has regarded the Blessed Virgin Mary to be the Mother of God for a simple, logical reason;
By the power of the Holy Spirit, she conceived Jesus Christ, the Son of God.
Since the divine Person, God the Son, assumed, or took on, human nature, she is the Mother of God in the fullest since: “What the Catholic faith believes about Mary is based on what it believes about Christ, and what it teaches about Mary illumines in turn its faith in Christ” (CCC 487). The Church solemnly defined this belief at the Ecumenical Council of Ephesus AD 431.
