August 15 - Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary

  • Thread starter Thread starter Amiciel
  • Start date Start date
Status
Not open for further replies.
A

Amiciel

Guest
August 15 - Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary:

Unlike the Solemnity of the Annunciation and the Feast of the Visitation which have explicit scriptural bases (Lk 1:26ff; 1:39ff), the Solemnity of the Assumption has no explicit scriptural proof-text. It is, however, part of the Deposit of Faith received from the Apostles.

It was defined as a dogma in 1950, by [Venerable] Pope Pius XII, through Munificentissimus Deus. In this Apostolic Constitution, the Pope states that:

“the Immaculate Mother of God, the ever Virgin Mary, having completed the course of her earthly life, was assumed body and soul into heavenly glory.” (n. 44.)

Commenting on the above decree, Karl Keating observes: “Note the silence regarding her death.” Further, he stresses: Mary’s “body wasn’t allowed to corrupt, it was not allowed to remain in a tomb.” (Keating, p. 3.)

The reasons for the dogma are beautifully explained by Karl Keating in his article, Immaculate Conception and Assumption, accessible from www.ewtn.com/library/ANSWERS/CAIMCON.HTM
(Pls read on for continuation of thought.)
 
August 15 - The Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary - continued:

People sometimes ask: Did Mary die?

Keating explains: "… Catholic commentators, not to mention popes, have agreed that Mary died; that belief has long been expressed through the liturgy. (The Church has never formally defined whether she died or not, and the integrity of the doctrine of the Assumption would not be impaired if she did not die, but the almost universal consensus is that she did in fact die.) (Keating, p.3.)

It would be well to take note that different words are used to describe the entrance into heaven by Our Lord Jesus and Our Lady:

We say Our Lord Jesus ascended into heaven, while Our Lady was assumed into heaven. The distinction in words reminds us that Our Lord went up to heaven through His own power, whereas Our Lady was taken up into heaven by God.

For a more comprehensive discussion of the topic, you may want to refer to the article of Karl Keating.
(Pls read on for continuation of thought.)
 
August 15 - The Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary - continued:

Fr. Peter John Cameron, O.P. brings up a point regarding Our Lady of which I became meaningfully aware for the first time, and I suspect, it will likewise be a ‘first time’ for many.

Father Cameron writes: **"Minutes after the Lord’s ascension … Christ’s disciples … began to miss Jesus’ face. In their sorrow they searched each others’ faces until they gazed upon that of the Blessed Virgin Mary. And then their sorrow ceased. For in the face of the Mother of God they recognized, perhaps for the first time, the face of God’s Son.

[Saint] Pope John Paul II, in his beautiful Marian catechesis entitled Theotokos, makes the point that, by Mary’s flesh-and-blood presence among the community of believers, she became a living reminder to the disciples of Jesus’ face. So strong was the physical resemblance between Mother and Son that it served as a source of constant consolation for the post - Ascension Church." ** (Cameron, p. 83.)

Since then, "The Holy Spirit has spurred the Christian faith onward in its discovery of Mary’s face." (Theotokos, p. 36.) This process of discovery is ongoing today, in our time.

"The face of Christ’s Mother," the pope assures us, “will continue to be the sign of God’s mercy and tenderness for humanity." (Theotokos, p.126.) That is one reason why it is so important for Mary’s face to be present in heaven now.” (Cameron, p. 84.)
(Pls read on for continuation of thought.)
 
August 15 - The Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary - continued:

“One remarkable thing about Mary’s last days on earth is how long they were in coming. When Christ from the cross confided his mother to the Beloved Disciple (see John 19:26-27), it suggested they would be together for some time. Ancient sacred authors agree that the Blessed Mother’s ‘falling asleep’ or dormition did not occur immediately after the Ascension. According to the Revelations of St. Bridget of Sweden, Mary lived in the world another fifteen years.” (Cameron, p. 84.)

Why this delay? St. Amadeus of Lausanne gives two reasons:

1st - “Why did Mary suffer separation from her Son? … Because that delay was no small comfort for Christ’s disciples. That delay … brought to the world the medicines of salvation … provision was made for the primitve Church which no longer saw God present in the flesh, that it might see his mother and be refreshed by the lovely sight.”

2nd - “Mary suffers delay that she may advance, she advances through her perseverance. Perseverance, joined to love and work, creates fullness, brings forth perfection.” (Cameron, pp. 84-85.)
(Pls read on for continuation of thought.)
 
August 15 - The Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary - continued:

Speaking in Our Lady’s voice, St. Bridget recounts: “And when one day my mind was absorbed in admiring contemplation of divine charity, my soul was filled therein with such exultation that it could not contain itself, and my soul was loosed from the body.” (Cameron, p. 86.)

“Bossuet says that Mary’s dormition ‘was wrought simply by the gradual perfecting of her love, which … at last reached such perfection that an earthly body could no longer contain it … Even as the lightest touch will make a ripe fruit drop from its stem, so was this perfect spirit gathered in one moment to its heavenly home, without effort or shock.’ In this Bossuet follows St. Francis de Sales, who speaks of Mary’s dying ‘in love for her Son Jesus’.” (Cameron, p. 86.)

Father Cameron further writes:

“St. Gregory of Tours (+594) tells us that, after Jesus withdrew to heaven with the soul of his mother, the apostles proceeded to lay Mary’s body in a tomb, where they kept watch, awaiting the coming of the Lord. For they anticipated the miracle of Mary’s bodily ‘translation’ to heaven.” (Cameron, p. 87.)

"What reasons could they have had for expecting such a supernatural move?

Before all else is Our Lady’s immaculate dignity. St. Thomas Aquinas tells us that the last curse common to man and woman is that they must return to dust, yet Mary was free from this curse. Since Mary’s virginal body is the all-holy dwelling place of God, says St. Germanus of Constantinople, the possibility of that body’s dissolving into dust is foreign to it. It is not possible that the vessel that contained God himself should be held by a tomb made for the dead. Rather, he insists, it is altogether fitting that God should make Mary a sharer in his community of life." (Cameron, p. 87.)

"Bishop Bossuet says that one reason the angels rejoiced at the Assumption was that they were ‘delighted to behold’ the beautiful ‘completion of the Mystery whose beginnings they first announced.’ Through Mary’s obedience at the Annunciation, the Blessed Virgin clothed the Eternal Word with human flesh. But in the mystery of the Assumption, St. Bernard remarks, the Eternal Word clothes Our Lady with his own power and mercy." (Cameron, p. 88.)
(Pls read on for continuation of thought.)
 
August 15 - The Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary - continued:

In Munificentissimus Deus, [Venerable] Pope Pius XII gives us yet another reason for the Assumption: "… Consequently, just as the glorious Resurrection of Christ was an essential part and the final sign of this victory, so that struggle which was common to the Blessed Virgin and her divine Son should be brought to a close by the glorification of her virginal body." (n. 39.)

“The Assumption is therefore the culmination of the struggle which involved Mary’s generous love in the redemption of humanity and is the fruit of her unique sharing in the victory of the Cross.” (St. John Paul II, Church Believes in Mary’s Assumption.)

Thus, we see that an authentic devotion to Mary is always Christ-centered; for, Mary derives her greatness from being singularly and perfectly associated with the mission of Christ.
(Pls read on for continuation of thought.)
 
August 15 - The Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary - continued:

“Mary Assumed into Heaven: Our Intercessor, Our Hope”

Father Cameron reminds us that “…the treasure Mary finds is not meant for her alone; it is intended for us through Mary’s maternal intercession. Her words to Jesus at the wedding feast of Cana reveal that the Blessed Mother exists to be an intercessor for us before her Son … In fact, the reason for our devotion to Mary, says Bishop Bossuet, is rooted in one all-important fact: Mary’s ‘power’ with our Lord remains the same as it ever was during his life on earth … For, Bossuet observes, natural human feelings are raised and perfected in glory; they are not extinguished …” (Cameron, p. 89.)

Thus, “Mary’s maternal intercession takes the form of mediation. [Saint] Pope John Paul II tells us that, as a Mother, Mary ‘wishes the messianic power of her Son to be manifested, that salvific power … which is meant to help man in his misfortunes, to free him from the evil which in various forms and degrees weighs upon his life.’ For ‘The Church’s mystery … consists in generating people to a new and immortal life: This is her motherhood in the Holy Spirit …’” (Theotokos, p. 62; Cameron, pp. 89-90.)

“Thus we live the mystery of the Assumption by venerating this dimension of Mary’s motherhood, 'which becomes man’s inheritance; it is a gift: a gift which Christ himself makes personally to every individual.’” (Theotokos, p. 64; Cameron, p. 90.)
(Pls read on for continuation of thought.)
 
August 15 - The Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary - continued:

“The mystery of the Assumption imbues us with a special confidence in the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary precisely because of Mary’s closeness with God. Thanks to the miracle of the Assumption, we have been given a new, unlimited way to experience the Blessed Mother’s love! Pope [Emeritus] Benedict XVI explains that, while Mary lived on this earth, the physical constraints of the world made it possible for her to be close to only a few people. But now, precisely because Mary is with God and in God, she is immensely close to each one of us. By the grace of the Assumption, Mary shares in the very closeness of God who is within us all.” (Cameron, p. 90.)

St. Germanus of Constantinople writes: "Even though you departed, Mary, you did not separate yourself from the Christian people. You … did not distance yourself from this corruptible world; on the contrary, you remain close to those who call upon you. They who seek you faithfully do not fail to find you." (Cameron, pp. 90-91.)

“How we crave this closeness! … Monsignor Ronald A. Knox captures our longing in a striking image. He notes that the transformation of our material bodies - a transformation that we all look forward to one day - has been accomplished in the Blessed Virgin Mary. The coming of Christ has turned our hearts heavenward.” (Cameron, p. 91.)
(Pls read on for continuation of thought.)
 
August 15 - The Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary - continued:

“Mary’s bodily presence in heaven, then, changes the way we face reality, with all its hurts and trials and sorrows. It is a change called hope …” (Cameron, p. 91.)

"Mary teaches Christian believers to look to the future with total abandonment to God because, assumed into heaven, she 'communicates to them an ever new capacity to await God’s future and to abandon themselves to the Lord’s promises.’ Filled with that holy abandonment, St. Hildebrand of Fontenelle (+1133) exclaims, "You, O Lady, teach us to hope for far greater graces than we deserve, since you never cease to dispense graces far beyond our merits.

Indeed, the face that gave so much comfort to the disciples after the Ascension continues to gaze upon the Church with love today. By that face that forever dwells with God, we see God more clearly. We trustingly await God’s future with the new, blessed capacity given to us in the Assumption. After all, the mother’s arms that once held the infant Jesus are now in heaven, opened wide, waiting to embrace us." (Cameron, p. 92.)​

O most loving Jesus,
I am all Thine and all I have are Thine,
through Mary, Thy most holy Mother! Amen!
(Short form of Montfort Consecration.)

Happy Assumption Day to all! May we all have a very meaningful and fruitful celebration of Our Blessed Mother’s Assumption into heaven; and may Our Lord’s gracious blessings fall abundantly today on all of us and on our families!
 
Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

The above thoughts are taken mainly from the following sources:
  1. Saint John Paul II, Church Believes in Mary’s Assumption, available from www.ewtn.com/library/PAPALDOC/JP2BVM54.HTM
  2. Saint John Paul II, Theotokos
  3. Fr. Peter John Cameron, O.P., Mysteries of the Virgin Mary
  4. Karl Keating, Immaculate Conception and Assumption, available from www.ewtn.com/library/ANSWERS/CAIMCON.HTM
  5. Pope Pius XII, Munificentissimus Deus, available from www.ewtn.com/library/PAPALDOC/P12MUNIF.HTM
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top