Calendar

Fr Mead wrote (in one of his many sermons on the Blessed Virgin) the following explanation regarding this particular feast day:

"August 15 is the great feast of Mary which Roman Catholics call the Assumption and Eastern Orthodox call the Dormition (or Falling Asleep) of Mary at the end of her earthly life. The Episcopal Church, together with much of the Anglican Communion, simply calls this the Feast of Saint Mary the Virgin, Mother of our Lord Jesus Christ, and we use the same lessons and prayers as Rome and Orthodoxy to celebrate the fact that from the beginning to the end of her extraordinary life as the mother of Jesus, God has “taken her to himself.” She is, as Scripture attests, the highly favored one, full of grace, for the Lord is with her."

In addition to this feast, we also celebrate at Saint Thomas:
►The Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary on December 8
►The Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary on September 8
►The Feast of the Annunciation on March 25 (though in 2012, it falls on a Sunday and so therefore the Fifth Sunday in Lent takes precedence)
►The Visitation on May 31

A 12:10 Mass in honor of Mary is offered once a month in the Chantry Chapel (Lady Chapel), usually but not always on the first Saturday.

Collect:

O God, who hast taken to thyself the blessed Virgin Mary, mother of thy incarnate Son: Grant that we, who have been redeemed by his blood, may share with her the glory of thine eternal kingdom; through the same thy Son Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.