The Message
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By Dr. Robert Stackpole, STD (Aug 13, 2009)
On Aug. 15 each year, Catholics celebrate a feast day in honor of one of the greatest mysteries of the life of the Blessed Virgin Mary: her bodily assumption into heaven. As the Catechism of the Catholic Church puts it:
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 (974).
One of our readers named Bernard recently wrote to me and asked if there really was any evidence that Mary was taken to heaven in body and soul upon her death, since the Bible seems to be silent about it, and even the early fathers of the Church say nothing about it. He had just read a book by a Protestant author who called Catholic belief in the Assumption the product of popular "sentiment and myth." So, is it a doctrine we just have to accept with blind faith, because the Church says so, trusting that the Church is guided by the Holy Spirit?
Well, yes, Bernard, in discerning such things and defining doctrine the Church is indeed guided by the Holy Spirit, which is why St. Paul calls the Church in 1 Tim 3: 15, "the pillar and bulwark of the truth." You can trust a "pillar and a bulwark"!
Still, it is perfectly legitimate to ask what the signs were that the Church considered when she sought to discern the truth about this matter, and explore how they added up to the final definition of the doctrine by Pope Pius XII in 1950. Besides, it is good to explore the reasons behind the doctrine in case you are ever asked by one of your non-Catholic friends or acquaintances why the Church believes such a thing, remembering the exhortation of St. Peter to "always be prepared to make a defense to anyone who calls you to account for the hope that is in you" (1 Pet 3: 15).
First of all, while it is true that the early Christian writers do not explicitly mention the Assumption of Mary, there is an ancient and curious silence about her bodily remains that cries out for an explanation. Sometimes, as we say, "silence" can be "deafening." Karl Keating of Catholic Answers writes:
We know that after the crucifixion Mary was cared for by the apostle John (Jn 19:26-27). Early Christian writings say John went to live at Ephesus and that Mary accompanied him. There is some dispute about where she ended her life, perhaps there, perhaps back at Jerusalem. Neither of these cities nor any other claimed her remains, although there are claims about possessing her (temporary) tomb. Why did no city claim the bones of Mary? Apparently because there were no bones to claim, and people knew it.
Remember, in the early Christian centuries, relics of saints were jealously guarded and highly prized. The bones of those martyred in the Colosseum, for instance, were quickly gathered up and preserved; there are many accounts of this in the biographies of those who gave up their lives for the Faith [for example, the bones of St. Peter and St. Paul were widely known to be preserved in Rome, and the sepulcher of David and the tomb of St. John the Baptist are both mentioned in Scripture]. Yet here was Mary, certainly the most privileged of all the saints ... but we have no record of her bodily remains being venerated anywhere.
Explicit mention of the Assumption of Mary begins to appear in highly embellished legendary accounts in the 4th century. We have a slightly more sober account of the event given by St. John Damascene in a copy of a letter he preserved from a 5th century Patriarch of Jerusalem named Juvenalius to the Byzantine Empress Pulcheria. The Empress had apparently asked for relics of the most Holy Virgin Mary. Patriarch Juvenalius replied that, in accordance with ancient tradition, the body of the Mother of God had been taken to heaven upon her death, and he expressed surprise that the Empress was unaware of this fact (implying that it must have been more or less common knowledge in the Church at the time).
Juvenalius joined to this letter an account of how the apostles had been assembled in miraculous fashion for the burial of the Mother of God, and how after the arrival of the apostle St. Thomas, her tomb had been opened, and her body was not there, and how it had been revealed to the apostles that she had been taken to heaven, body and soul. Later, in the 6th century, belief in the Assumption was defended by St. Gregory of Tours, and no saint or father of the Church thereafter disputed the doctrine.
Obviously, these bits of evidence all by themselves (the early and deafening silence about the bones of Mary, and widespread belief in the Assumption manifest among the early Christians of the 4th and 5th centuries, without any dispute of the doctrine among the saints and the fathers) does not prove that the doctrine is true. But the Church believes that because of the outpouring of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, the people of God as a whole possess what St. Augustine and St. Thomas Aquinas called an affectio or inclinatio fidei. In other words, an affective inclination that draws them to the truths of the faith. Given that the Holy Spirit is the Spirit of Truth, a consensus of the faithful on a matter of divine truth, and especially of the saints (who are full to overflowing with the Holy Spirit), is certainly not to be taken lightly.
Secondly, it is claimed that there is no mention of the Assumption of Mary in Scripture. But I would argue (following the Catholic Biblical scholar and apologist Scott Hahn) that there is, indeed, an allusion to the mystery of the Assumption right in the very place we would most expect to find it if the doctrine were true: namely, in the writings of the Apostle St. John, the one into whose care our Lord placed His Mother at the hour of His death on the Cross , and especially in what may be the last of the New Testament books to be written, a book almost certainly written after Mary's earthly life was over, the Book of Revelation.
In his recent book Hail Holy Queen, Prof. Hahn shows conclusively that the story of the visitation of Mary to her cousin Elizabeth in St. Luke's gospel, chapter one, bears numerous and remarkable similarities to the account in the Old Testament of King David bringing the Ark of the Covenant up to Jerusalem in 2 Samuel 6. The similarities are too many to be accidental: St. Luke means to tell us, in his own characteristic way, that Mary herself is the new Ark of the Covenant. Just as the Ark in ancient Israel contained the tables of the Law, and some of the manna-bread from heaven — signs of the Old Covenant — so Mary's womb contained the sign of the promise of the New Covenant and the true Bread of Life: Jesus our Savior Himself. Thus, it was already believed by the apostolic Church that Mary was the new Ark of the Covenant.
Now the old Ark of the Covenant had been lost for many centuries, and none of the Jews knew where it could be found (indeed, it remains missing to this very day). With that in mind, look what we find at the end of chapter 11 of the Book of Revelation:
Then God's temple in heaven was opened, and the ark of His covenant was seen within His temple, and there were flashes of lightening, voices, peals of thunder, an earthquake and heavy hail.
Wow, what an audio-visual spectacular! The Ark had been found! But look what the Revelation tells us next (and remember: the chapter and verse divisions of the Bible are not part of the original texts: they were inserted centuries later by monks to help us locate Scripture verses more easily, so the following sentence from the start of chapter 12 came directly after the one at the end of chapter 11 in the original manuscripts):
And a great portent appeared in heaven, a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars; she was with child. ... [S]he brought forth a male child, one who is to rule all the nations with a rod of iron.
Clearly, what St. John was shown in his vision, recorded here in the Book of Revelation, is that the Ark of the Covenant is now in heaven as a "woman clothed with the sun" whose child is the Messiah (who will rule with a "rod of iron," cf. Ps 2:9). Indeed, several of the Church fathers saw this passage as a reference to Mary, the Mother of our Savior, including St. Ephrem the Syrian, St. Ambrose, and St. Augustine. At the same time, many of the Fathers saw the "woman" as a symbol of Israel, and the Church, the New Israel. There are certainly indications that this is also what the woman symbolizes here (e.g., she has a crown of 12 stars on her head, symbolizing the 12 tribes of Israel, and the 12 apostles). So which interpretation is correct? Both are correct! (And the ancient Fathers saw no contradiction between them.) It was not uncommon in ancient Jewish literature to use a double-symbol: an historical individual used to symbolize a whole group of people. For example, it is quite likely that the famous passage in Isaiah 53 about the sufferings of the Messiah ("He was despised and rejected of men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief," etc.) are also meant to symbolize the vocation of suffering of the whole people of Israel.
In a similar way, Mary, the Mother of the Church, is used in the book of Revelation to symbolize the fulfillment of the vocation of Israel in the new people of God, who are to bear Christ into the world. It is no wonder that when the Church began to put together liturgical texts for the Feast of the Assumption, she made a connection (first made by several of the ancient Fathers), between Psalm 131:8 and the mystery of the heavenly woman-ark: "Arise, O Lord, and go to Thy resting place, Thou and the ark of Thy might." After the Lord "arose' from the dead, He took with Him into heavenly glory the true "ark" of the New Covenant, the body of His mother Mary. For just as the ancient Israelites believed that the original ark was made from incorruptible wood, so this passage foreshadows the bodily incorruption given to Mary by Her Risen Son.
And if we want further corroboration that the "woman, clothed with the sun" of Revelation 12 was meant to be a symbol of Mary, her body and soul in heavenly glory, have a look sometime at the image of Our Lady of Guadalupe, given miraculously by Our Lady to St. Juan Diego in the 16th century, and compare it with the description in the book of Revelation. In a future column we will discuss the evidence for that miracle, and its profound meaning. Suffice it to say here that Catholics can be confident that the Our Lady of Guadalupe and the "woman" of Revelation 12 are one and the same.
However, even all this might not have been enough to lead the Church to define the Assumption of Mary as a truth revealed by God. Something more was needed: what theologians call the analogy of faith. That means that every authentic doctrine revealed by God must be seen to "fit" with every other revealed doctrine. In other words, there must be a harmony among the truths of the faith — and certainly no contradictions between them.
Does the doctrine of Mary's Assumption fit with the Catholic faith as a whole?
Of course, it does.
First of all, it is a natural fit with the doctrine of Mary's Immaculate Conception: that she was preserved from the inheritance of original sin by the merits of her Son's Passion. (By the way, God can do that kind of thing, simply because He has all of time present to Him at once. For example, He took the merits of His Son's Passion and applied them to the patriarchs and prophets of Israel, granting them many graces on that basis. And in the same way, He took the merits of His Son's Passion, and on that basis gave to Mary an outpouring of grace into her soul from the first moment of her existence, to help prepare her for her special future role as Mother of the Savior).
Now, we know from the book of Genesis that one of the results of the Fall of Adam and Eve was that all their descendents became subject to suffering and death. "The wages of sin is death." But Mary did not share in this fallen condition. Rather, her soul was enriched from the moment of her conception with the grace of the life-giving Holy Spirit. As the Ven. John Henry Newman wrote: "Why should she share the curse of Adam, who had no share in his fall?" Thus, our belief in the graced origin of Mary naturally leads us to accept the truth that she was preserved from the curse and indignity of the bodily corruption involved in human death. And, by the way, that is why it was not until the 20th century that the Church became so sure of this doctrine that she proclaimed is a revealed truth from God: because it was not until the 19th century that she became convinced, beyond any reasonable doubt, of the truth of the Immaculate Conception. The one doctrine cleared the way for the other!
Most importantly, the Assumption of Mary is a loud and triumphant proclamation of the full truth of Easter. We sometimes say that the Easter faith, in a nutshell, is that "Christ is Risen." In a certain sense, that is true enough. But the good news that the Apostles proclaimed to the world was not only that Christ is Risen, but that, precisely because He is Risen, He is bringing His whole mystical Body on earth to join Him one day in heavenly glory. That is why St. Peter joyfully proclaims in I Peter 1:3-4:
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! By His great mercy we have been born anew to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and to an inheritance which is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you ...
Most of the peoples of the ancient world, if they believed in life after death at all, believed merely in the immortality of the human soul: as if the ultimate human destiny was for us all merely to end up like Casper the friendly Ghost! Not much "good news" in that! But the Gospel message is not only that Jesus Himself rose again in a glorified body and soul, but that also, if our hearts live in union with His, we, too, shall rise to a glorified life, body and soul, just like His own. This is precisely what the Assumption of Mary proclaims: "Christ is Risen — and is now bringing all faithful hearts with Him to glory!" For the sign of this hope to all the Church is that the heart that was closest to His own loving Heart, has already been raised to glory before us. Assumpta est Maria in coeli, gaudete angeli!
Robert Stackpole, STD, is director of the John Paul II Institute of Divine Mercy. His latest book is Divine Mercy: A Guide from Genesis to Benedict XVI (Marian Press). Got a question? E-mail him at questions@thedivinemercy.org.
Be a part of the discussion. Add a comment now!
A servant of Jesus and Mary — Aug 13, 2009 - 22:36 EDT
Thank you for defending and explaining Mary's Assumption. It is most appreached.
God's peace be with you.
Ileana — Aug 13, 2009 - 23:06 EDT
Thank you so much for the article. The image is also quite beautiful.
Avril Philomina VonGunster — Aug 13, 2009 - 23:41 EDT
She said " IN THE END MY IMMACULATE HEART WILL TRIUMPH" In deed it will
Ed Helmrich — Aug 14, 2009 - 7:56 EDT
Thanks, that was very beautiful.
Marg Goodwin — Aug 14, 2009 - 11:28 EDT
I truly enjoy when one blessed with the clarity of thought and speach can offer to us the beauty of our faith. Thank you Robert. One of the most beautiful parts of our Faith is the Communion of Saints, and it is SO beautiful it fills my soul. " What a wonderful thing is our Church.." Mother Angelica.
zulema — Aug 14, 2009 - 13:33 EDT
learned a lot from this article.
thank you and God bless.
Rick — Aug 14, 2009 - 13:57 EDT
This article is all well and good, but scripture does not say, thank goodness, that whether or not someone believes in these mysteries, that they are contingent for salvation.
Rev. Neil R. Buchlein — Aug 14, 2009 - 14:28 EDT
Wonderfully written, clear, and concise. It is sad that so many Catholics do not honor this great feast of the Mother of God.
Rey Vinole Jr — Aug 14, 2009 - 20:47 EDT
Thank you for this informative article regarding Mary our mother and queen! Ave Maria!
Rey Vinole — Aug 14, 2009 - 20:49 EDT
Thank you for this informative article regarding Mary our mother and queen! Ave Maria!
Carmen — Aug 14, 2009 - 20:58 EDT
Thanks. Very clear. It had always seemed logical to me that if we will have both our bodies and souls in the final moment, then Mary who was without sin would have it at her death.
Stephen Kim — Aug 14, 2009 - 23:41 EDT
Amid this glory the most blessed Mary arrived body and soul at the throne of the most blessed Trinity. And the three divine Persons received Her on it with an embrace eternally undissoluble. The eternal Father said to Her: "Ascend higher, my Daughter and my Dove." The incarnate Word spoke: "My Mother, of whom I have received human being and full return of my work in thy perfect imitation, receive now from my hand the reward thou hast merited." The Holy Ghost said: "My most beloved Spouse, enter into the eternal joy, which corresponds to the most faithful love; do Thou now enjoy thy love without solicitude; for past is the winter of suffering for Thou hast arrived at our eternal embraces."
Taken from 'The Mystical City of God', a monumental history of the life of the Blessed Virgin Mary, as revealed by Our Lady to Venerable Mary of Agreda (17th-century Spanish nun).
"Just as I have told you that he who knows Me knows also My Father, so I now tell you that he who knows My Mother knows Me." ('The Mystical City of God', Vol. III, p. 765)
The translator, Fr. George Blatter, a Chicago priest, first read the book in German and was so impressed that he learned Spanish in order to make a proper translation into English. His first edition appeared in 1912, ten years after he had started work.
The sublime truths of 'The Mystical City of God' can be obtained through:
http://www.tanbooks.com/index.php/page/shop:flypage/product_id/55/keywords/mystical+city+god+popular+abridgment
In honor of Our Blessed Mother Mary for greater glory to God.
Lori Thibodeaux — Aug 15, 2009 - 5:38 EDT
It is the Feast of the Assumption today and I so enjoyed this information! So informative, so interesting. I want to know how to defend our faith, our catholic faith and now I feel equipped to do that. Our Blessed Mother is an important part of our faith and so happy to have all the bible verses to help with my defence. Protestants do not understand our devotion and I want to be able to lovingly explain! Thank you for sending this article!!!
Florante August 15, 2009 3:50 a.m. — Aug 15, 2009 - 6:50 EDT
Thank you for the excellent information of Our living Blessed Mother Mary, Queen of Heaven and Earth. Please keep in mind the events of Our living Lady of Lourdes and Our living Lady of Fatima as added true information for Roman Catholics and non- Roman Cahtolics to consider. In the name of the living God the Father and of the living God the Son (Jesus) and the Living God the Holy Ghost. Amen The Living God Bless and the Peace and Joy of Our Living Blessed Mother Mary be with you. The living God Jesus, the living Mother of God Mary, and the living St Joseph the husband of the living BVM ... assist us. Amen
Emmy — Aug 15, 2009 - 7:44 EDT
Happy Feast Day, Most Blessed Mother, and thank you for interceding for me all of my life!
Anna Baker — Aug 15, 2009 - 8:47 EDT
For the Glory and honor of the Blessed Mother Mary. Her real story of the Assumption to Heaven is already been given to the faithful as Jesus called His "little John" Maria Valtorta. This was given as vision and many occasion Mother Mary and Jesus give their words about the assumption of Mary, as they understand that we need this truth. http://www.valtorta.org/assumption_of_mary_defaultpage.asp this a little long but this is necessary. God bless.
Francis and Teodora La Madrid - Toronto — Aug 15, 2009 - 9:37 EDT
Our Lady of the Assumption, Pray for us! Today, we also celebrate the Coronation of the Blessed Mother.
Let Heaven and Earth Rejoice for the Queen of Heaven and the Universe!
Thank you for the article! We will it share to others too! "Magnificat, anima mea dominum"!
Dana - August 15, 2009 — Aug 15, 2009 - 10:07 EDT
Hail Holy Queen, pray for us! Our Lady of the Assumption, thank you! Happy Feast Day, we love you and we need you.
Harry Birmingham — Aug 15, 2009 - 10:37 EDT
My wife Emma and I are usually in Jilotepec Veracruz for the annual fiesta in honor of Our Lady of the Assumption. Celebration begins on the 8th of August and ends with the Mananitas and mass in the church. We miss that, but we never miss Our Lady of Guadalupe and our Mexican parish family. Thanks for a beautiful article about her.
Mary Coleen — Aug 15, 2009 - 10:39 EDT
Excellent! Don't stop there we want more and more and more........
olivia — Aug 15, 2009 - 13:16 EDT
Thats a good article,as a writter said,no mary no jesus,n to know mary its to know jesus
Assumption of Mary — Aug 15, 2009 - 13:26 EDT
This is very intesting and thank you for sharing. God Bless.
Carol Dewey — Aug 15, 2009 - 13:26 EDT
Thank you so much for printing this. I am new to the Church and while I belive in the teachings it is so helpful to be pointed in the right direction. This is also the first time where I have read so many saints agree and point us along the same path. Thank you so much
J.O. — Aug 15, 2009 - 16:31 EDT
Dear Dr. Stackpole, excellent article. I would like to make the following comment.
In the liturgy today we have John's account how the Triumphant Church celebrates the birth of Jesus. We see clearly the power of God displayed. The child was taken from the Mother clothed with Sun, and then the child was sited at the throne of the Most High, before the dragon could move his tail again. The seemingly defend-less Mother, escaped to the special place prepared for her since the beginning of time. On the Earth, the Church Militant sees a star, shepherds and a large army of Angels (multitude of heavenly host) ready to defend the Child against all the earthly powers then and yet to come.
j.o.
just tina — Aug 15, 2009 - 16:52 EDT
I am so happy, so blessed to be here.Thank You God.
Sofia S. Viray — Aug 15, 2009 - 18:42 EDT
I am happy I was able to hear mass today, I love our Blessed Mother and I hope to manifest it in how I live my life. I will need to read this article again and hope to share it with my loved ones.
Harry — Aug 17, 2009 - 9:52 EDT
One thing still reamins unclear in my mind ... did Mary actually die as we know it? The Bible says "when her earthly life was over," but it seems to be vague about her death.
If she did die and then was assumed into Heaven does this mean she too was resurrected in life like Jesus, or does she not "live" in Heaven?
God Bless!!!!!
C. Mellie A. Turner* — Aug 17, 2009 - 15:20 EDT
Alleluiah* You are God sent* I truly believed of "The Blessed Assumption of our Loving Mother of God in Heaven*
I thank you so much for this awesome article. Catholic Christians, all Christians, and good people of God need to read this to truly know the roots of our faith; Knowledge to defend the Truth. God, Himself is the Spirit of Truth and Love* Alleluiah*
Moderator — Aug 18, 2009 - 17:00 EDT
Dear Harry,
That's a very insightful question. The Church does not say definitively whether Mary died or not. Throughout the Church's history, theologians have taken different sides. It seems that the majority view is that Mary did die. However, others hold that she was assumed without dying. One is free to hold either opinion.
If she did die, then it would seem that our Lord resurrected her; but we would distinguish this from Jesus' resurrection. He, being God incarnate, resurrected under His own divine power, while she, being human, was resurrected by God, more like Lazarus or the widow's son.
But, again, one is free to speculate as to whether she died. The important thing is that we believe that she was raised body-and-soul into heaven. This, the Church holds to be divinely revealed, that is, part of the Deposit of Faith.
God bless you.
Mehari - Eritrea — Aug 19, 2009 - 4:06 EDT
Thanks Dr. Robert Stackpole for all your inspiring articles.
Perfectly Explained! We will also celebrate the Feast of the Assumption of Our Lady on next Saturday 22nd August 2009 and on 23rd Sunday we will have St. Bernard's Day for Our Parish. These years Feast will be unique, as we will have "The Divine Mercy Image with the Signature 'Jesus, I Trust in You'" with all its graces to be delivered to the parishioners! Join us also by sending your sprit and prayers to celebrate these glorious Feasts with us too!
BTW, we used to tie a Ribbon on Cross during Mass, it is believed that the Ribbon represents Mary's Assumption to Heaven. It is also believed that, Mary herself gave it to St. Thomas for confirmation of her Assumption. So whenever we see Our Lord Jesus on the Cross, we also see the Ribbon on the Cross to realize that Our Mother Mary is on His side during Crucification ….. then ……. that gives us the opportunity to visualize ourselves as the Apostle John who was with Our Mother during Crucification of Our Lord. Yes it gives us the opportunity to remind us that we are Her children! So in addition to declaring the death and resurrection of Our Lord Jesus during each and every mass we celebrate, we are also reminded the Assumption of Our Mother as we see her Ribbon on the Cross indicating her presence and Assumption too. This is how I understand it, am I correct?
"Following Mary you will never go astray, asking her you will never despair, thinking of her you will never go wrong" St. Bernard
"Through Mary, we come to her Son more easily" JP II
Thanks again Dr. Robert Stackpole
Jesus, I Trust in You!
Marina&Rigo — Aug 29, 2009 - 16:20 EDT
Es precioso! Gracias, por compartir con nosotros. Yo estoy Enamorada de La Virgen; y tambien mi esposo. Ella es Maravillosa; y nos cuida a todos; creyentes y no creyentes. :)
SOHAIL YOUSF MALIK — Sep 11, 2009 - 9:22 EDT
LET US BE LIKE MARY GIVE JESUS TO THE WORLD AND THE NON CATHOLIC [BELIEVERS] & NON BELIEVERS WILL BELIEVE IN ASSUMPTION OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY TOO.
Humble servant of God — Dec 17, 2009 - 19:56 EST
God has given His infinite measure to eternal time. There is not the slightest possibility of the believer taming God's measure in eternity by means of some human measure. The believer can, therefore, come at it only in a roundabout way, through God, that is, he reserves an as yet undefined space in his deepening image of God for that which is eternal time. Nonetheless, he must concern himself with eternal time. for eternal time is God's time, and all that is God's should never cease to preoccupy him as a believer. He must also attend to it because eternity is one form of permanence in which he is to gain a share. He will attain to God's eternity out of his own transient time; that is a gift that originates from the Son's time of trnasience, from the time He borrowed from our time for His human existence. This establishes the relationship. Indeed, it was founded even earlier when the eternal God created transient time. It is just that we happen to have sinned in this time, though we know there is no room for sin in eternity. Through sin we have turned our transient time into a time that is bound for death. We can only come closer to grasping either time or eternity through the relationship of the one to the other. Because man sins and becomes unworthy of God's love, God creates a punishment while at the same time also creating as a new testimony of love that which alone can be indentified as the experience of finitude in the actual sense: He creates death. Through death, God puts an end to the creature who has chosen sin so that the condition of being in sin does not continue without bounds. This imposed end is both punishment and mercy and bears the the insoluble stamp of a divinely imposed measure that from the outset looks forward to the coming Redemptive death of the Son. Were man, as he has become, to continue his life on earth without end, his would be a completely ineluctable situation. He would have become a sinner unable to find a way back to God. However, a way back does present itself in two interconnected ways: through grace in mortal life and through grace in death. This is only true because the Son has taken upon Himself the end that is death and has died for all men. Becuase the Son dies for and with the redeemed and saved, he will be entrusted in death completely to the grace of God. The Son has taken death's purely punitive character upon Himself and therby realeased the character of grace for His brothers, whereby He unveils and fulfills the purpose of finitude. The Son's gift of Self has broken the bounds of finitude for all, and the sign of this is His Resurrection from the dead. His descent into the underworld is part of this sign: He does not just pass fleetingly through these areas unknown to us: He stays there for 3 days. He therefore takes the entire accumulation of His strength into the sacrifice that led to His death, beyond death and into the underworld. He lets Himself take effect there so as to crown the act of redemption and open to sinners a previously unsuspected form of being struck by His Loving Presence. With each act that the Son performs He opens up infinity. Each time He does somthing as man, Jesus does something divine. In everything He is and does, He grants us glimpses into the boundlessness of heaven. These strengthen our faith and, what is more, are capable of increasing our hope and love. For these are acts from the center of God's Infinite Love, which are not only surrounded by the Father's Love and not only point to it but also have the the characteristic of including us and almost thowing us into His Love, and Holy Confession grants us such a view of infinity. When we go to confession, we pass through a kind of death and, by acknowledging our sin, reach the end of it - the end that God has instituted through death. We repentantly confess and reach a boundary, an endpoint given us by the Son. The absolution we receive come from beyond the here and now and is comparable to going to heaven. Sin is shown its end in accordance with God's punitive judgement, but a new life is also shown its beginning. We eperience through this that God is exercising His love anew. He has been granted death and confession so that he can grant new space to the infinite love of the Triune God in his contrite heart.
The fruitfulness of the Church depends on the Blessed Virgin Mary, and she depends on the fruitfulness of heavenly grace. This in turn, was necessary in order for the Father to acquire the face befitting Him in the teachings of the Church as the First Person of the Holy Trinity.
If the Son is the Word of the Father, He is consequently the witness to the Father's infinity ad has come to give this eternity meaning on earth and, through His own loving sacrifice - a higher dying of the most living love, to place all men under obligation to the Father. He found the perfect fulfillment of His own life in His Mother's Yes, for she is pre-redeemd and recieved the grace and dignity in uttering the valid word, in the Son, that He Himself will utter. He has fulfilled Himself in this word just as she has fulfilled herself throught it; He has givien this word the significance of the Church's eternal Yes to the Triune God. He has thus made it capabble of eternity. But He has not let it as an isolated word, rather, He has given it the vocal resonance of all the faithful. The Father receives it filled in this way: as the Son's word together with those who are His. Nothing can happen to this word in the individual believer or in the Church except that it be used to the ever glorification of God, and finally, how everything redounds to the best for those who love God: in heaven. Their Yes is the opening onto the eternal vision of the Father, Son, and Spirit's eternal life where our souls live as if in heaven: "by God alone" or "as it please God, let it be done unto us".
Thanks to the Triune God, our Mother's Yes has let a peice of heaven to come dowm as the Catholic Church! Being sinless and full of heavenly grace, our Mother did not die, but was still purified before entering heaven! Although the innocent and pure Saint John died, he did not taste death!
wsteinbr — Apr 24, 2010 - 23:41 EDT
"Does the doctrine of Mary's Assumption fit with the Catholic faith as a whole?"
What is failed to be pointed out is that the Woman in Rev 12 had birth pains. Something that Mary supposedly did not because of "absence of original sin" For a Catholic, either the Woman in Rev 12 is Mary, or Mary was free of original sin. For a Protestant, their is no problem - Mary was not free of original sin (at the age of accountability) - and the Rev 12 Woman is Israel.