On Thursday, 15 August, we celebrated the Feast of the Assumption of Mary, the mother of Jesus.

• In the Catholic tradition this is a significant event in the Church calendar.  It can be a challenging concept for our children to understand and it would be fair to say that adults would also have questions about this Church tradition.  If your children are asking you more about this celebration the notes below  from https://teachingcatholickids.com may help.  

• Father Seph once explained the Assumption very simply for our children, "God was so grateful to Mary for being such a wonderful mother that, when she died, God came down and said thank you Mary and took her  to be with God forever."

An Explanation for Kids

On the Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary (to use the fancy name for this day), we remember when Mary was taken (“assumed”) into heaven, body and soul, after she died. You will not find this story in the Bible. However, a tradition handed down from the earliest days of the Church says that Mary died in Jerusalem and was buried in a tomb. But when the apostles opened the tomb again, her body was gone. Why would God take Mary’s body and soul into heaven? In part because Mary is special to God: she said “yes” to becoming the mother of Jesus. But God also wanted to show us that one day, all of us will share in the bodily resurrection of Jesus. Mary is the first person in the Church to experience the resurrection in its fullness.