True devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary can be summed up in the phrase: “To Jes…

True devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary can be summed up in the phrase: “To Jesus through Mary.” It is therefore fitting that Marian feasts are celebrated by the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. In this way Marian Devotion leads directly and clearly to Christ, the second person of the Blessed Trinity as should always be the case with true Marian devotion.

Also, several Marian feasts are joint feasts of Mary and her Son, Jesus Christ; for example, the Annunciation. This is so because immediately after Mary consented to become the Mother of God the Incarnation took place, that is, God the Son the second person of the Blessed Trinity became man – a small unborn child in the womb of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Similarly, at Our Lady’s Visitation to her cousin Elizabeth she was greeted as the Mother of God and John the Baptist was sanctified in Elizabeth’s womb by the grace of the Divine Redeemer, Jesus Christ.

According to Pope Paul VI, the 4 most important Marian feasts in the calendar are: Mary’s Divine Motherhood, her Immaculate Conception, her Assumption and the Annunciation of the Lord. Of these four feasts, the feasts of Mary’s Divine Motherhood, her Immaculate Conception and her Assumption are holy days of obligation under The Code of Canon Law: Canon 1246(1). Although the Bishop’s Conference can, with the prior approval of the Apostolic See, suppress certain holy days of obligation or transfer them to a Sunday: Canon 1246(2).

The Marian Calender does not include all celebrations in honour of the Blessed Virgin. It is for individual calender to include Marian Feasts proper to the different local churches. The Marian feasts in the Calendar of the Catholic Church approved for use in Malaysia are described below.