Assumption of Virgin Mary is the taking up of Marys body into heaven after the end of her earthly life.
The word “assumption” comes from the Middle English “assumpcioun” which means “a taking up into heaven“, and from Latin “assumptio” which means “a taking”.
The feast of Assumption is celebrated annually on 15 of August.
In the Catholic dogma, Virgin Mary after completing her earthly life, was assumed body and soul into heaven. This dogma was established by Pope Pius XII on November 1 1950, in the Apostolic Constitution Munificentissimus Deus, while exercising papal infallibility.
Although the Assumption of Virgin Mary is not biblical, the evidence of the Assumption of Virgin Mary has existed as early as 4th century in script that covers different languages and fairly wide geographical dispersion. As early as 5th century, the teaching of Assumption became widespread around the Christian nations and was liturgical celebrated in the east.
The declaration of the Assumption as a dogma in 1950, was a formal establishment of what the faithful has already believed and practiced.
Mary who is to be Jesus mother, was filled with Gods grace since her existence, she was born without original sin, which we call the immaculate conception of Virgin Mary and remained Virgin throughout her life. The immaculate conception of Virgin Mary made her worthy to carry Jesus who is God (second person in Trinity). God can’t not come into the world from any woman, Mary was specifically selected and prepared for this purpose. Due to this, it will be impossible for Mary, whose womb carried the son of God to suffer corruption which every other human suffer.
Mary is described as the second Eve, which unify her with Jesus her son the second Adam. By her assumption she has attained the final bodily resurrection promised to all Christians, and the Church has reached its ultimate salvation. These with Perpetual Virginity of Mary make up the Marian dogma of the church.
Is Assumption of Virgin Mary biblical
The word assumption of Virgin Mary is not specifically written in the Bible. Some denominations believe unless something is written in the Bible, it’s not God revealed truth. The Bible itself doesn’t contain all the things that happened during the days of the apostles. The Bible is compilation of different scripts and not every script was compiled in the Bible. The Catholic Church does not hold that Sacred Scripture is the whole of Divine Revelation.
Along with the scriptures, the Catholics also hold the teachings traditions and doctrines which has been handed over from generations to generations since the beginning of the church by the Apostles. These traditions help us to understand the scriptures and proclaim the teachings of the church.
Although there’s no passage in the Bible that directly tells about the Assumption of the Virgin Mary, Theologians analyzed some passages which sheds light to the doctrine of Assumption of Mary.
Pope Pius XII stated: “All these proofs and considerations of the holy Fathers and the theologians are based upon the Sacred Writings as their ultimate foundation.”
Gen 3:15 says “I will make you and the woman hate each other; her offspring and yours will always be enemies. Her offspring will crush your head, and you will bite her offspring’s heel.”. From the passage both Mary and Jesus has same enemy. Jesus conquering death and ascending into heaven body and soul, fulfilled the prophecy in the passage, this means his mother Mary who also take part in the prophecy will have same ending, since they share same enmity with the devil.
In Luke 1:28 The angel came to her(Mary) and said, “Peace be with you! The Lord is with you and has greatly blessed you!”. Mary conceived Jesus by the power of the Holy Spirit, this has never been done before, to show how special Mary is. In Luke 1:42 when Mary visited Elizabeth, Elizabeth said in a loud voice, “You are the most blessed of all women, and blessed is the child you will bear!”. She addressed Mary with the words, “Who am I that the mother of my Lord should come to me?”. These passages made the church to conclude, because of her role as the mother of God, Mary will be preserved from original sins and it’s consequences.
In Hebrew 11:5 Enoch was taken into heaven without seeing death. In 2Kings2:11 Elijah was whisked into heaven by the chariots of fire at the end of his life. If God could assume these righteous men of the Old Testament, it is certainly possible that Jesus could assume his own mother as well, for accepting the role to take part in salvation of humanity.
Revelation 12:1-2 says “Then a great and mysterious sight appeared in the sky. There was a woman, whose dress was the sun and who had the moon under her feet and a crown of twelve stars on her head. She was soon to give birth, and the pains and suffering of childbirth made her cry out.” This passage is a support in defining the Marian dogma of the Catholic Church.
Did Mary die
In the Catholic catechism Mary was assumed into heaven she finished the course of her earthly life. The Church didn’t state whether Mary died and then was assumed into heaven or whether she was assumed into heaven before she died. However, most of the theologians and saints throughout the centuries said that Mary experience death not as a penalty for sin but in conformity to her son, who willingly experienced death on our behalf. In support of this John Paul II said, “The Mother is not superior to the Son who underwent death, giving it a new meaning and changing it into a means of salvation.”
