SOLEMNITY OF THE ASSUMPTION OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY Thursday, August 15: 7:00PM (at Holy Name of Jesus)
We will celebrate the Solemnity of the Blessed Virgin Mary with an evening Mass at Holy Name of Jesus Church. Please note that incense will be used at this celebration.
What is the Assumption?
The doctrine of the Assumption says that at the end of her life on earth Mary was assumed, body and soul, into heaven. Some people think Catholics believe Mary “ascended” into heaven. That’s not correct. Christ, by his own power, ascended into heaven. Mary was assumed or taken up into heaven by God. She didn’t do it under her own power.
The Church has never formally defined whether she died or not, and the integrity of the doctrine of the Assumption would not be impaired if she did not in fact die, but the almost universal consensus is that she did die. Pope Pius XII, in Munificentissimus Deus (1950), defined that Mary, “after the completion of her earthly life was assumed body and soul into the glory of heaven.”
Mary freely and actively cooperated in a unique way with God’s plan of salvation (Luke 1:38; Gal. 4:4). Like any mother, she was never separated from the suffering of her son (Luke 2:35), and Scripture promises that those who share in the sufferings of Christ will share in his glory (Rom. 8:17). Since she suffered a unique interior martyrdom, it is appropriate that Jesus would honor her with a unique glory.