“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.” Thus ended the beautiful Apostolic Constitution Munificentissimus Deus, in which Pope Pius XII defined the dogma of the Assumption as an article of the Catholic Faith. The document is dated November 1, 1950, almost 50 years ago, and is, undoubtedly, one of the greatest events of the 20th century.
The year 1950 was one blessed by the Lord. People had so recently suffered the horrible ravages of World War II, and the memory of that devastation was to remain throughout their lifetimes. As in every age which knows disaster, hardships, and souls straying from faith and morals, there are the other fervent faithful people who strive to live holy lives with an increased devotion to the Mother of God. The mid-20th century was no different. In fact, there had been a greater anticipation of the dogma of the Assumption ever since Pius IX had proclaimed the dogma of the Immaculate Conception in 1854. These two dogmas go hand in hand.
Magisterium and devotion
The faithful can learn much about the Church’s magisterial role in defining dogmas if study is made of the Assumption. Pius XII demonstrated the workings of the universal Church in a remarkable manner in his defining this particular dogma. Although thousands of petitions had been made to the Holy See from all over the world, including those from cardinals, bishops, dioceses, parishes, theologians, and all classes of the laity, the Holy Father petitioned all those in the episcopate directly and authoritatively to present their opinion to him. He wrote in these words, “We wish to know if you, Venerable Brethren, with your learning and prudence, consider that the bodily Assumption of the Immaculate Blessed Virgin can be proposed and defined as a dogma of faith, and whether in addition to your own wishes this is desired by your clergy and people” (Deiparae Virginina Mariae, May 1, 1946). The bishops gave an almost unanimous affirmative response to both these questions. This was a confirmation of what popular devotion had held throughout the centuries.
Loved in every age
Faith in the Assumption of Mary had been demonstrated in many and various ways throughout the ages since the early Church, and it is one of the most ancient of all Marian feasts. One of the earliest feasts we know of commemorating Virgin Mary was kept at Antioch about the year 380. Authentic teaching dating back to the 6th century concerns the entrance of Mary—body and soul—into heaven shortly after her death. Churches have been dedicated to her; cities and dioceses have been placed under the guardianship of Mary assumed into heaven; liturgies in both the East and the West have celebrated this privilege; the fourth glorious mystery of the rosary is named the Assumption; and by this title she is honored in the Litany of Loretto. The feast of the Assumption has been ranked among the most solemn liturgical celebrations.
Mother in the order of grace
Saints have written of this great privilege of Mary. Saint Albert the Great, for one, concluded from Sacred Scripture as well as from former writers and from the Church’s liturgy: “From these proofs and authorities and from many others, it is manifest that the most Blessed Mother of God has been assumed above the choirs of angels. And this we believe in every way to be true.” (Mariale, 1.132, quoted in Munificentissimus Deus, 30) St. Thomas Aquinas, the Angelic Doctor, did not teach directly on the question of Mary’s Assumption but, whenever he dealt with it, “he always held, together with the Catholic Church, that Mary’s body had been assumed into heaven along with her soul.” (Pius XII, Munificentissimus Deus, 31).
The ultimate foundation of all teachings on the Assumption throughout the ages is Sacred Scripture. It is fitting that the one chosen to be the Mother of God should not be corrupt in the grave. For she is one who conceived him, was privileged to hold him in her arms as a baby and to nurse him, to share in his sufferings, to witness his death, to hold him close once again in her arms when he was taken down from the cross. Mary, who was conceived without sin, would not see bodily corruption but would be taken up, body and soul, into heaven where she sits at the right hand of her Son as Queen. There she awaits the resurrection of all the members of Christ’s body.
“Our tainted nature’s solitary boast” (William Wordsworth, “The Virgin”) is our Mother in the order of grace. The Assumption has always been loved dearly by the faithful who are children of Mary. It is our hope and the sign to us that someday, through God’s grace and our efforts, we too will join the Mother who waits for us in heaven, in rendering glory to God. The Assumption, above all, is a cause of great hope!
©Magnificat August 1999
