Wednesday, July 22, 2020 –
Ooooo…only two Holy Days of Obligation left to discuss. Well, onward! Today we will be doing our Holy Day throwdown on August 15th: Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary. This is one of those Holy Days that a lot of people scratch their head at. Certainly not as much confusion as the Immaculate Conception, but I would put it in the top 10 (heh…see what I did there!?).
Thankfully, the Catechism gives us a definition in the glossary:
ASSUMPTION: The dogma which recognizes the Blessed Virgin Mary’s singular participation in her Son’s Resurrection by which she was taken up body and soul into heavenly glory, when the course of her earthly life was finished.
It also goes on to say a bit more about the Assumption and the role it plays for the rest of us:
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.” 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.”
So, what we have here is a dogma (truth) taught and declared and all bind-y and whatnot. In fact, there is a whole Apostolic Constitution (basically the most Papally decree you can get) on this matter. Pope Pius XII wrote Munificentissimus Deus (Defending the Dogma of the Assumption on November 1, 1950. In it he explains a great deal of the history and belief throughout the Church.
You can read Munificentissimus Deus HERE.
But, we like things simple on this blog, so here you go:
Mary, who was preserved from sin from the moment of her Immaculate Conception, was free from the blemish of sin even at the end of her earthly life, and therefore was not subject to the corruption of death. Instead, at the end of her earthly life, her body and soul were taken up to heavenly glory where she is exalted as Queen of Heaven and Earth. And that, dear reader, is what the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary celebrates!
All right, we are down to just one Holy Day of Obligation. Are you ready?
Mary, Queen of Heaven and Earth, pray for us!
