The Assumption of Mary

Brothers and sisters in Christ next Wednesday we will celebrate the Assumption of the Virgin, in the United States is a holy day of obligation. I write these lines to invite everyone to prepare well for this important feast in the liturgy of the Church. Each year on August 15, we read the same Gospel. It is the Gospel that provides an account of Mary's visit to her cousin Elizabeth. The Holy Scripture tells us nothing of the Assumption of Mary into Heaven. However, in 1950, Pope Pius XII, after having consulted all bishops, proclaimed the Assumption of Mary to be a dogma of the faith. Faithful to the Pope and to his teaching, we thus firmly believe this truth to be a dogma of our faith: Mary was taken up into Heaven, both body and soul. If Scripture does not speak of the Assumption of Mary into Heaven, on what can such a dogmatic definition be founded? Well, quite simply: on the unanimous belief of the entire Christian people: all Catholic Christians have, at all times, thought and believed that Mary was taken up into Heaven, not only her soul, but her body as well. Is this not a sufficient reason? So, wouldn't the unanimous belief of the Christian people be a testimony of Scripture itself, insofar as this testimony, like Scripture, goes all the way back to the Apostles themselves? Let us be sure of this: it is the Holy Spirit, who guides both the Church and the Pope, who is truly the guarantor of this truth which, from now on, is proposed for our belief, and teaches us that Mary was taken up into Heaven, both her body and her soul. The body of Mary could not know corruption: not a moment could pass between the end of her life on earth and the beginning of her glorious life in Heaven. Through her body, Mary said Yes! to God; through her body, Mary showed faith in the Angel who spoke in the name of God. Through her body, Mary was elevated to a place so high that no creature would ever be able to displace her. But above all, Mary then became the Wife of the Holy Spirit, becoming one with him in Christ. Lastly, Mary became the favored daughter of the Father, who had seen her in him, in his Son, and in his Spirit for all eternity! Long before time began, the Father had loved Mary and had given her the Glory that she now possesses forever, in her body and her soul! Fr. ■ Agustin, pastor.