The Assumption of Mary

The Assumption is the mystery by which Mary, at the end of her earthly life, was raised body and soul into the glory of heaven. The word comes from the Latin assumere, to take with oneself, to raise up: God took Mary to himself entirely, in her soul and in her body. The Church proclaimed it a dogma of faith in 1950, gathering what Tradition had held since the first centuries.

Raised by the power of God

Christ ascended into heaven by his own power, on the day of the Ascension; Mary was raised there by the power of her Son. This is the very meaning of the word: she is assumed, received into glory by the One she had borne. The Church left undefined the question of whether Mary first knew death. Ancient Tradition speaks of her dormition, that peaceful sleep at the end of her life, followed at once by her raising.

Corruption, a consequence of sin

The decomposition of the body in the tomb is a consequence of sin: it entered the human condition with the fault of the origins. “You are dust, and to dust you shall return.” Genesis 3:19 Where sin remains absent, this corruption has no hold. Christ shows it: handed over to death without having known sin, descended into the tomb, his flesh did not undergo decay, and he rose on the third day. “His flesh did not see corruption.” Acts 2:31

The body of Mary preserved

Mary was preserved from all sin. Filled with grace, conceived without original sin and without fault throughout her life, nothing in her called for the corruption of the tomb. “Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with you.” Luke 1:28 Death itself she may have known, following her Son; what had no hold on her was the decay of the flesh. That flesh had given its own substance to Christ and borne the Author of life: it was fitting that it be raised entirely into glory, withdrawn from the dust, like the body of her Son. Associated from the origins with his victory over sin and death, Mary shares it first and entirely. “I will put enmity between you and the woman, between your offspring and hers: she shall crush your head.” Genesis 3:15

The new Ark

Scripture announces this mystery under the veil of a figure. The ark of the covenant, made of incorruptible wood and overlaid with pure gold, bore the signs of God's presence in the midst of his people; Mary bore God himself in her flesh. As the wood of the ark escaped decay, the flesh of Mary escapes corruption: she is the new Ark, the living dwelling of the Lord, received for ever into the sanctuary of heaven.

The firstfruits of our hope

What Mary already lives, all the saved await. At the end of time, the bodies of the just will rise and be united to their soul in glory; Mary is the first to know this victory fully, in advance and entirely. In her, the promise made to humanity is already accomplished. “Death has been swallowed up in victory.” 1 Corinthians 15:54 Raised beside her Son, she appears in the glory of heaven as the finished image of what God prepares for those who love him. “A great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars.” Revelation 12:1 Crowned, she now reigns as Queen of heaven.