Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary
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Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary of the Liturgical Calendar is August 15th.
What does the Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary celebrate?
On August 15, the Church celebrates the fact that Mary, the Mother of God, was assumed into Heaven at the end of her earthly life.
The Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC 974) teaches, “The Most Blessed Virgin Mary, when the course of her earthly life was completed, was taken up body and soul into the glory of heaven, where she already shares in the glory of her Son's Resurrection, anticipating the resurrection of all members of his Body.”
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What happened in the Assumption of Mary?
CCC 966 “Finally the Immaculate Virgin, preserved free from all stain of original sin, when the course of her earthly life was finished, was taken up body and soul into heavenly glory, and exalted by the Lord as Queen over all things, so that she might be the more fully conformed to her Son, the Lord of lords and conqueror of sin and death” (Pope Pius XII, Munificentissimus Deus). The Assumption of the Blessed Virgin is a singular participation in her Son's Resurrection and an anticipation of the resurrection of other Christians:
In giving birth you kept your virginity; in your Dormition you did not leave the world, O Mother of God, but were joined to the source of Life. You conceived the living God and, by your prayers, will deliver our souls from death (Byzantine Liturgy, Troparion, Feast of the Dormition).
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What does the Assumption of Mary teach us?
In a homily for the Assumption, Pope St. John Paul II said, “Taken up into Heaven, Mary shows us the way to God, the way to Heaven, the way to life. She shows it to her children baptized in Christ and to all people of good will. She opens this way especially to the little ones and to the poor, those who are dear to divine mercy. The Queen of the world reveals to individuals and to nations the power of the love of God….”
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Is the Assumption of Mary in the Bible?
As with the dogma of her Immaculate Conception, the dogma of the Assumption isn’t explicitly stated in Scripture. This was dogmatically defined by Pope Pius XII in 1950 in his encyclical, Munificentissimus Deus, when he referred to many “holy writers who ... employed statements and various images and analogies of Sacred Scripture to illustrate and to confirm the doctrine of the Assumption....” He explained that he wasn’t manifesting a new doctrine but rather fulfilling his divine commission to “faithfully propose the revelation delivered through the Apostles.” The Church teaches that the dogma of the Assumption was at least implicitly present in Scripture and Apostolic Tradition and therefore is a legitimate sign of the “protection of the Spirit of Truth.”
In the encyclical, Pope Pius XII pointed to several Scripture passages that he believed illustrated the doctrine of the Assumption of Mary. Some of them include:
- “Arise, O Lord, and go to thy resting place, thou and the ark of thy might.” Psalm 132 (131):8
- [The Spouse of Canticles] that “coming up from the wilderness, like a column of smoke, perfumed with myrrh and frankincense” (Canticles 3:6)
- The Woman clothed with the Sun (Revelation 12)
- I will make the place of my feet glorious. (Isaiah 60:13)
- Who is that coming up from the wilderness, leaning upon her beloved? (Canticles 8:5)
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What happened to Mary after Jesus ascended to Heaven?
At the Crucifixion, Jesus asked St. John to care for Mary. “When Jesus saw his mother, and the disciple whom he loved standing near, he said to his mother, ‘Woman, behold, your son!’ Then he said to the disciple, ‘Behold, your mother!’ And from that hour the disciple took her to his own home” (John 19:26-27).
She was present with the disciples (Acts 1:14), particularly during the decent of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost (Acts chapter 2). The Catechism of the Catholic Church states, “After her Son's Ascension, Mary ‘aided the beginnings of the Church by her prayers.’ In her association with the apostles and several women, ‘we also see Mary by her prayers imploring the gift of the Spirit, who had already overshadowed her in the Annunciation’” (CCC 965).
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Did the Virgin Mary die?
While the proclamation of the Assumption does not include a dogma on this point, the Pope gives an account of the liturgical and theological tradition which teaches that the Virgin Mary, in keeping with the example of Her Son, died, was preserved incorrupt, and then raised by God from the dead.
Pius XXII, Munificentissimus Deus 20 . . . it follows that the holy Fathers and the great Doctors, in the homilies and sermons they gave the people on this feast day, did not draw their teaching from the feast itself as from a primary source, but rather they spoke of this doctrine as something already known and accepted by Christ's faithful. . . . bringing out into sharper light the fact that this feast shows, not only that the dead body of the Blessed Virgin Mary remained incorrupt, but that she gained a triumph out of death, her heavenly glorification after the example of her only begotten Son, Jesus Christ-truths that the liturgical books had frequently touched upon concisely and briefly.
The Eastern Churches, Catholic and Orthodox, refer to this event as her Dormition or falling asleep in Christ, taking the expression used for death in the New Testament.
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When was the Assumption of Mary declared?
The Assumption of Mary was taught from the early days of the Church and finally defined as a dogma by Pope Pius XII in 1950. In his Apostolic Constitution Munificentissimus Deus, he wrote, “We proclaim and define it to be a dogma revealed by God that the immaculate Mother of God, Mary ever virgin, when the course of her earthly life was finished, was taken up body and soul into the glory of heaven.”
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How is the Feast of Assumption celebrated?
The Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary is one of the Holy Days of Obligation in the liturgical year. In some majority Catholic countries, it is also a public holiday. Some places celebrate with parades and festivals in Mary’s honor.
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SELECT HERE for the Audio recording of the Readings of
August 15th, Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
SELECT HERE for the Readings of August 15th, Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
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