The Catholic Church celebrates the feast of the Assumption of Mary every year on the 15th of August. The event is special in our Church and is marked by pageantry, processions, Holy Mass and other devotions. The doctrine of Assumption has always been a topic of interest in the Christian world and has sparked intrigue in the minds of those having a special reverence for our Mother. The doctrine states that our Blessed Virgin Mother after having completed the course of her earthly life was taken up to Heaven by God both in body and soul without suffering the corruption of the body as happens with mortals.
Catholic Dogmas
Although there is no explicit reference to this occurrence in the Bible, it must be noted that the Catholic Church does not hold that the Sacred Scripture embodies the whole of Divine Revelation. The Church has always identified and defined certain truths revealed by God. These are dogmas which form an integral part of our Christian belief and require the faithful to adhere to or follow them. Among the four Marian dogmas, the Assumption of Mary assumes a lot of significance, other important ones being – The Mother of God, Immaculate Conception and Perpetual Virginity.
The Dogma of the Assumption of Mary
Pope Pius XII defined it in November 1950 in his apostolic constitution Munificentissimus Deus as follows:
We pronounce, declare, and define it to be a divinely revealed dogma: 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.
Transitus Mariae
Having said that, the discussion on the Assumption of Mary remains incomplete without referring to the Transitus Mariae, an ancient document written by Lucius Carinus, a disciple of St. John the Apostle. In his writing, he recounts that Mary, following the death of her Son lived next to the Church of the Last Supper on Mt. Zion in Jerusalem for the remaining part of her life as she desired to be close to her Son Jesus in the Eucharist. Sometime later, Angel Gabriel made it known to her that her time to depart from the world was at hand. Mary then prayed for the return of all the apostles, but James the Less, the Bishop of Jerusalem who had been on a mission of spreading the Gospel across the world. She also visited the Holy sites in Jerusalem one last time.
Eventually, the apostles returned except St Thomas. At her home, in the presence of the apostles, Mary fell asleep or died. The Christian community then took her body in a procession through the streets of Jerusalem from Mount Zion to the foot of the Mount of Olives where they placed her in the tomb near Gethsemane. They then reverently kissed her and sealed the tomb. As they were keeping vigil for prayer, all of a sudden those present saw the bodily assumption of Mary. And so the apostles were the official witnesses of Mary’s Assumption, the truth of which was handed down by them through the authority given to them by Jesus Christ.
On his return to Jerusalem, St Thomas deeply grieved over not being able to be by her side at the time of her death and also having missed the glorious spectacle of Mother Mary’s assumption. But Mary to console him, appeared to him and presented him with her cloak as a sign of her love and protection. St Thomas entrusted this cloak, his treasured possession to the Church of Jerusalem for safekeeping before leaving for India. It was later brought to Constantinople and the Church of Blacherne was built to house this priceless relic.
In 718, the Muslims invaded Constantinople and wanted to wipe out Christianity. It was this mantle of Our Lady that offered protection to Christians who marched within the city walls carrying the cloak. The power that emanated from the cloak made the Muslim invaders retreat without a reason who were then struck by natural disasters and died. Not only that, the mantle served as a mighty protection for more than 700 years from the Muslims.
One could draw a parallel to a similar scenario in the Old Testament when the people of Jerusalem marched outside the walls of Jericho seven times carrying the Ark of the Covenant containing the tablets of the law. The walls crumbled bringing victory to the Israelites and they gained the Promised Land by the power of the Ark of the Covenant. In view of the striking similarity between the two phenomenal events, it could be established that Mary is the new ark of the covenant. Even to this day, this new ark of the covenant offers protection to her children who invoke her help and intercession in times of need. In Psalm 132: 8, the Psalmist alludes to our Lord’s Ascension and Mama Mary’s Assumption. He says, “Rise up, O Lord, and go your resting place, you and the ark of your might.”
Ascension & Assumption
In the Ascension of our Lord, Jesus ascended into Heaven out of His own power and will as He is God. On the other hand, Mary, being the handmaid of our Lord, did not rise on her own. She was assumed into Heaven both in body and soul by God, a divine gift that she received from God who wanted to honour His mother.
Let the feast of the Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary direct our focus to the essence of our Christian belief – our own resurrection that is promised to those to believe in Him and follow Him. May her Assumption teach us to completely surrender ourselves to the Will of God in perfect obedience just as she did and also strengthen our hope for eternal happiness that awaits those who live according to His Word. May Mary be our guide and protector and lead us to Jesus.
