Additional Masses
SOLEMNITY OF THE ASSUMPTION OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY
On Friday, August 15th, the Church celebrates the Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, which is the holy day of obligation. Let us celebrate the Assumption of Mary.
St. Mary's Church in Elizabeth
6:00pm Thursday, August 14th and also 8:30am Friday, August 15th
St. John the Evangelist in Hanover
5:00pm Friday, August 15th
Daily Readings
Weekly reading


Readings for the week of August 10, 2025
- Sunday: Wis 18:6-9 / Ps 33:1, 12, 18-19, 20-22 (12b) / Heb 11:1-2, 8-19 or 11:1-2, 8-12 /
- Lk 12: 32-48 or 12:35-40
- Monday: Dt 10:12-22 / Ps 148:1-2, 11-12, 13, 14 / Mt 17:22-27
- Tuesday: Dt 31:1-8 / Dt 32:3-4ab, 7, 8, 9 and 12 / Mt 18:1-5, 10, 12-14
- Wednesday: Dt 34:1-12 / Ps 66:1-3a, 5 and 8, 16-17 / Mt 18:15-20
- Thursday: Jos 3:7-10a, 11, 13-17 / Ps 114:1-2, 3-4, 5-6 / Mt 18:21—19:1
- Friday: Vigil: 1 Chr 15:3-4, 15-16; 16:1-2 / Ps 132:6-7, 9-10, 13-14 / 1 Cor 15:54b-57 /
- Lk 11: 27-28 Day: Rv 11:19a; 12:1-6a, 10ab / Ps 45:10, 11, 12, 16 / 1 Cor 15:20-27 /
Pastor Message and Prayer
8/10
"When this mortal body puts on immortality, then the saying will be fulfilled:
"Death has been swallowed up in victory.''' 1Cor. 15:54
Read 1 Corinthians, chapter 15, verses 12 to 23, and 50 to 57
The Fourth glorious mystery, the Assumption of Mary, Expresses the Church's ancient believe that the mother of Christ was taken to heaven when her eartly life was finished. Rather than experience bodily corruption and await the ressurection of the body. Mary experienced the glorified life, body and soul, immediately after her death. This mystery represents what awaits all of us who trust in God's power to give a new life to our mortal bodies. As the mother of all Christ's disciples, Mary is the anticipation and supreme realization of our final glory. She is the icon and model of what God will do to those who wait in faith, hope, and love.
In writing about the resurrection, Paul insists that the whole human person, created by God, will be given a new transformed bodily life through the resurrection of the dead. By calling the risen Christ the "First fruit of those who have died," Paul indicates that Christ's resurrection is an anticipatory promise of the general ressurection of all believers (verses 20-23). We live now in the interval between Christ's resurrection and the day of Christ's coming when the dead will be raised to life. But because of Christ's resurrection, the future age has already burst into the present age. The time of the forgiveness and victory over sin and death, foretold by the ancient prophets and sages of Isarael, has already come upon the earth. What happened when Christ rose from the tomb has made the world a different kind of place, and has given us the possibility of becoming a different kind of people.
For Reflection: What does the gloriefied life of Mary in heaven tell me about the dignity of our human nature and the power of God's grace? What offers me the greatest confidence that God will raise me and those I love to eternal life on the last day?
Prayer Starter: Lord Jesus Christ, you have destroyed the powers of death and given me confidence in the future,. Without you, I am trapped in sin and destined for eternal death. Because of you, death's fate is sealed and I can live on joyful hope.
Fr. Joachim
St. Mary Mass Times
Saturday 6:00pm
Sunday 8:30am
Daily Mass Times
Wednesday 8:30am
Wednesday: Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament 9am-9:30am
Friday 8:30am
First Friday 8:30am Healing Mass and Adoration
Confession Times
Saturday from 5:30-5:50 or
by appointment by calling the Rectory at 815-858-3422
St. Mary Office Hours
Wednesday 8:30 am- 3:30 p.m.. by appointment
Thursday 8:30 a.m.-3:30 p.m.