Most important Marian feast?

[Bran_Stark]

I don’t know if there is really a “right” answer to this question, but I am curious to see what thoughts people might have.

I get the impression that in the Mediæval Church, the Big Two in the devotional life of the people were the feasts that related to both Jesus and Mary: the Purification and the Annunciation. (These two feasts are, probably for this connection to the life of Christ, the only Marian feasts to be celebrated in the traditional Book of Common Prayer.) Below them would be the “second tier,” the feasts relating to the life-cycle of the Virgin apart from her Son. Here we have the Conception (wasn’t called “Immaculate” back then) on December 8, the Nativity on September 8, the Presentation in November 21, and the Assumption on August 15. Also in this tier would be the Visitation on July 2, which does relate to the life of Christ but doesn’t seem to have been as popular as the Big Two.

But more recently, the Assumption and the Immaculate Conception seem to receive the most emphasis. Largely, I imagine, because of the official Papal definitions of the dogmas about those two feasts in 1854 and 1950. The Purification and the Annunciation are pushed to the second tier. The third tier consists of a whole slew of “new” feasts, like Our Lady of Guadalupe, Our Lady of the Rosary, Our Lady of Sorrows, Our Lady of Lourdes, and so forth. And the Nativity and Presentation are relegated to a most distant fourth tier.

But keep in mind, I’m saying all this just based off how important they “seem” to be. If we go by the official ranking of the liturgical days in the modern Roman Kalendar, then as far as I can tell we have

**Solemnities:
**
Mary, Mother of God (1 January, formerly the Feast of the Circumcision of Christ)
Annunciation (25 March)
Assumption (15 August)
Immaculate Conception (8 December)
**
Feasts: **
Our Lady of Guadeloupe (12 December)
Purification (February 2)
Visitation (31 May, instead of the traditional date of 2 July)
Nativity (8 September)
Presentation (21 November)

Memorials:

Everything else.

 

[Confiteor_Deo]

I’d say that the Annunciation would be the most important feast of the Blessed Virgin because it relates directly to her role in the salvation of man. My personal favorites, though, are the Assumption, the Immaculate Conception, and the Circumcision.

 

[tawny]

I’d say that the Annunciation would be the most important feast of the Blessed Virgin because it relates directly to her role in the salvation of man. My personal favorites, though, are the Assumption, the Immaculate Conception, and the Circumcision.

Agree, without Mary’s Fiat there would be no Nativity, Institution of the Eucharist/Priesthood, Crucifixtion, Death or Resurrection.

 

[littlestsouls2]

I’m not saying that it is necessarily the most important Feast Day, but one could make a good argument in favour of the Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God. To paraphrase Rev. Garrigou-Lagrange: Jesus was the first of the predestined; the divine maternity was an essential part of this; therefore the graces that Mary received were given in accordance with her dignity as Mother of God.

"The divine maternity is therefore, as is commonly taught, the foundation, source, and root of all Mary’s graces and privileges, both those that preceded it as preparation, and those that accompanied it or followed from it as its consequence. It was by way of preparation for the divine maternity that Mary was the Immaculate Conception, preserved from the stain of original sin by the future merits of her Son."

 

[twf]

I disagree that the Annunciation is downplayed in the contemporary Church. It is still a very important feast and any serious Catholic celebrates it with great devotion. The feasts of the Immaculate Conception and the Assumption may seem more important in terms of Marian devotion because they are very focused on Our Lady - while the feast of the Annunciation is also very connected to Our Lord (it celebrates His Incarnation within her womb).
I think it also varies greatly from region to region and nation to nation. In Canada, January 1 - Mary, Mother of God - probably gets the most attention just because it is the only Marian feast that is a holy day of obligation here. In the US the Immaculate Conception may get the most attention because it is both a holy day of obligation and that nation’s patronal feast (St. Mary under the title of her Immaculate Conception is patroness of the USA). In Mexico, Guadalupe is celebrated as a solemnity with great devotion as Our Lady is Mexico’s patroness under that title. In the Dominican Republic, my wife’s homeland, the popular celebration of the feast of Our Lady of Altagracia on January 24, which isn’t even celebrated elsewhere as far as I know (but is a solemnity on the local calendar and a secular civil holiday) overshadows the Immaculate Conception and Assumption by far.
Etc.