The Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary
Saturday, August 15th Readings Reflection: Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary
Today is the Feast of Our Lady’s Assumption into Heaven. While today is typically a holy day of obligation, it is not one this year in the Latin Rite dioceses of the United States, as it falls on a Saturday. However, the Church encourages us to celebrate the day in a manner fitting of the feast and to attend Mass if possible.
Today’s Gospel recounts Our Lady’s Visitation, in which she traveled to see her cousin Elizabeth after the Annunciation. In this reading, we hear St. Elizabeth’s beautiful greeting and acknowledgment of Our Lady’s great holiness: “Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the [F]ruit of thy womb” (Lk 1:42, DRB). As Catholics, we believe that Our Lady was assumed body and soul into Heaven, a unique grace bestowed upon her by virtue of her Immaculate Conception and her role as the Mother of God.
Our Lady is truly blessed among all women, having been cleansed from Original Sin at the moment of her conception. Because of her Immaculate Conception, it would follow that she would likewise be preserved from the effects of Original Sin, including death and the decomposition of her body. Furthermore, since she is the living Ark of the Covenant and the vessel in which God brought about the Incarnation, it would not be fitting for her body to experience corruption.
The truth of Our Lady’s Assumption is a dogma that all Catholics are bound to believe. However, other details pertaining to Our Lady’s last days are not included in this dogma and are therefore subject to theological opinions. One such point is whether Our Lady died before being assumed into Heaven.
In the Eastern Catholic tradition, today’s feast is called the Dormition of Our Lady, pointing to their belief that she first died before her body was assumed into Heaven. Numerous ancient and Patristic accounts of Our Lady’s final days mention her death. Many saints, such as St. Francis de Sales, have also written about Our Lady’s death; he in particular wrote that Our Lady died “in love, from love and through love” for her divine Son (Treatise on the Love of God).
While the dogma of Our Lady’s Assumption was formally defined by Pope Pius XII in 1950, the Church has nonetheless believed it since the time of the Apostles. For example, at the Council of Chalcedon in 451 AD, the Bishop of Jerusalem declared that when Our Lady’s tomb was opened at the request of St. Thomas the Apostle, it was found empty, and the Apostles “concluded that the body was taken up to heaven” (Catholic Encyclopedia).
Our Lady’s Assumption shows us the reality and the power of Christ’s Resurrection, without which she would never have been assumed into Heaven. Her Assumption is different from Our Lord’s Ascension into Heaven in that Christ ascended by His own power into Heaven, whereas Our Lady was assumed by God without any power of her own. Our Lady was lifted up to Heaven, while Christ ascended Himself by His own power.
The Assumption gives us hope for our own resurrection at the end of time, when our bodies shall rise and be made whole again, even if they have long since decomposed and become dust. Furthermore, we know that our bodies will be glorified when they are reunited with our souls, so that we may glory in God’s divine presence for all eternity in our full humanity, body and soul together.
As part of the unique privilege granted to Our Lady as the Mother of our Savior, she is already experiencing this bodily glorification in Heaven. She intercedes for us to her Son in her full humanity, body and soul, reminding us of the reward that awaits us if we remain faithful. On this Feast of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, may we seek her intercession in our lives, that we may ever more fully believe in the truth and power of Christ’s Resurrection, whereby He transforms us into His image and calls us to Himself for all eternity.
Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us!
