The Feast of the Assumption of Mary
Sunday 31 July 2016
August 15th is the date for the Feast of the Assumption of Blessed Virgin Mary. The Feast commemorates the Assumption of Mary into Heaven at the end of her earthly life. The Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, body and soul into heaven was one of the last dogmas of the Roman Church to be declared. It was formally declared by Pope Pius XIII in 1950, but the idea of it has been around for centuries.
It is not Biblical, meaning that there is no mention of it at all in the Bible, but as early as the 6th century we have writings of St. Gregory who spoke of Mary being taken up to heaven. Thus, it is one of those long-standing beliefs that has been codified into an essential teaching of the faith.
Most Catholics have a strong devotion to Mary going back to their early childhood. Mary has always had a central place in our hearts. This is not true of many of the other Christian faiths, who rely less on tradition and only on what is stated in the Bible for their belief system. So it has always been a bit of a mystery to them why Catholics revere Mary so much. For many it is even a stumbling block.
As Mary was assumed into heaven, so shall we be one day – though in a different manner.The great promise held out to the disciples of Jesus is that those who are united with Him in the likeness of death will also share with Him in his resurrection.The difference between Mary and the rest of us is that she did not have to wait until the end of the world for her resurrection; but we have to wait. This is because we are conceived in sin, whereas Mary was not. Thus Mary is the authentic instance of realized resurrection.Death is not the end of everything. We are destined to live for all eternity. May we continue our Christian journey in this certain hope.