Today, we will join with the universal Church in celebrating the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of Jesus, into heaven. It is not often that we actually celebrate it on a Sunday. It is the principal feast day of the Blessed Mother, so I would like to offer you some reflections on it.
The commemoration of the death of Mary is known as the Assumption because of the tradition that, shortly after her death, Mary was raised up, body and soul, into heaven. In the Eastern Church, it is called the Dormition, or the “falling asleep”, because the Eastern Church does not speak of her death but of her falling asleep before being assumed. This tradition was already recorded in the sixth century; by the beginning of the 20th century, it was widespread. So, after consulting with the bishops around the world, Pope Pius XII formally declared the Assumption to be part of the authentic doctrine of the universal Church in 1950.
As you know, we derive our beliefs from both the Bible and Tradition. Although there is no Biblical reference to Mary’s assumption into heaven, there is a rich and varied tradition. Allow me to provide a summary of it; it is quite interesting!
As with her birth, nothing certain is known about the day, year and manner of Mary’s death. Dates assigned for her death vary from three to 15 years after her son’s Ascension. Two cities claim to be the place of Mary’s Assumption: Jerusalem and Ephesus. The Church of the Dormition just outside the walls of Jerusalem, has a tomb where tradition dating back to the 6th century asserts Mary was interred. The House of Mary outside of Ephesus enjoys an even earlier tradition that claims that she lived there with St. John and was buried in a nearby cave. Popes have visited both sites and have declared them both to be worthy pilgrimage sites. I have prayed at Mary’s tomb in the Church of the Dormition in Jerusalem several times and had the privilege of celebrating Mass with Pope Benedict XVI when he visited the Ephesus House of Mary in November 2006. Historical references favor the Jerusalem site but the tradition that John took Mary to Ephesus is also strong. On the one hand, St. John of Damascus, an 8th century Doctor of the Church, wrote this about the Assumption:
St. Juvenal, Bishop of Jerusalem, at the Council of Chalcedon (451), made known to the Emperor Marcian and Pulcheria, who wished to possess the body of the Mother of God, that Mary died in the presence of all the Apostles, but that her tomb, when opened, upon the request of St. Thomas, was found empty; wherefrom the Apostles concluded that the body was taken up to heaven.
On the other hand, in a letter sent in 431 by the members of the Council of Ephesus to the clergy of Constantinople we read that Nestorius “reached the city of Ephesus where John the Theologian and the Mother of God, the Holy Virgin, have their tombs“.
The origin of the feast that we will celebrate on Monday is also uncertain. It is more probably the anniversary of the dedication of some church than the actual anniversary of Our Lady’s death. Tradition has it that it originated at the time of the Council of Ephesus, or that St. Damasus introduced it in Rome, but there is no surviving evidence to support these Traditions.
According to a contemporary account of the life of St. Theodosius (d. 529) it was celebrated in Palestine before the year 500, probably in August. In Egypt and Arabia, however, it was observed in January.
In 847, Pope Leo IV extended the observance of the Assumption for an octave, ending on 23 August; the octave is still observed in the dioceses of the provinces of Sienna and Fermo in Italy as well as Michoacan in Mexico. The Greek Church also extends this feast to 23 August.
By promulgating the Bull Munificentissimus Deus, on 1 November 1950, Pope Pius XII declared infallibly that the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary was a dogma of the Catholic Faith. Likewise, the Second Vatican Council taught in the Dogmatic Constitution Lumen Gentium that “the Immaculate Virgin, preserved free from all stain of original sin, was taken up body and soul into heavenly glory, when her earthly life was over, and exalted by the Lord as Queen over all things (§ 59).” So, you can see that this feast has had a very long and interesting history in the Church. As I mentioned above, it is Mary’s principal feast day and one we all celebrate with great joy. After all, where she has gone, we hope to follow!