Posted on 01/18/2015 8:33:58 AM PST by ADSUM
The Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary CUF
Issue: What does the Church teach concerning the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary?
Response: The teaching is aptly summarized in the Catechism of the Catholic Church, no. 974:
The Most Blessed Virgin Mary, when the course of her earthly life was completed, was taken up [“assumed”] body and soul into the glory of heaven, where she already shares in the glory of her Son’s Resurrection, anticipating the resurrection of all members of His Body.
(Excerpt) Read more at cuf.org ...
Discussion: In a document entitled Munificentissimus Deus (1950), Pope Pius XII solemnly defined the dogma of the Assumption as follows:
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.
In defining the Assumption, Pope Pius XII refers to the other three Marian dogmas: Immaculate Conception, Perpetual Virginity, and Mother of God. This illustrates the point that the Assumption is intimately connected to other Marian doctrines, especially Mother of God and Immaculate Conception.
No one obeys the Fourth Commandment of honoring father and mother more fully than Jesus, who is Son of God and Son of Mary. It is fitting that Jesus would uniquely honor His mother—truly the Mother of God—by preserving her from the corruption of the grave and by glorifying her body in heaven before the general resurrection of the body for all the other saints on the last day.
There is even a stronger connection between the Assumption and the Immaculate Conception. The key Scripture verse is Genesis 3:15, in which the Lord says that He will put enmity between Satan and the “woman,” who is identified as the Mother of the Redeemer. “Enmity” means “total opposition.” This verse foreshadows Mary’s participation in the absolute victory of her seed (Jesus) over Satan.
According to St. Paul, the consequences of Satan’s influence on the human race are twofold: sin and death (e.g., Romans 5:21; 6:16; 6:23; 8:2; Galatians 6:7-8; Hebrews 2:14-15). Therefore, Mary, who shared in her Son’s victory over Satan, would have to be saved from both sin and the corruption of death. Thus, her enmity, or “total opposition” toward the devil.
By a special favor granted to her by her Lord and Savior, Mary indeed did triumph over sin in her Immaculate Conception. Corruption of the body is a result of original sin. Because Mary was preserved from original sin in her Immaculate Conception, and since she sustained the fullness of grace given to her by God (cf. Lk. 1:28), Our Lady could not have experienced the consequences of original sin. So Mary also triumphed over the bodily corruption of death in her glorious Assumption.
The Assumption in Divine Revelation
CB,
Since you have expressed that the Assumption is not based on the Bible, perhaps this will help you understand the Catholic Church teachings on this subject.
The Assumption in Divine Revelation
In addition to Genesis 3:15, there are several other Scripture passages that point to the Assumption of Our Lady. For example, there is Luke 1:28, since her bodily assumption is a natural consequence of her being “full of grace.” Other passages include Revelation 12:1, in which Mary’s coronation implies her bodily assumption, and 1 Corinthians 15:23 and Matthew 27:52-53, which support the possibility of a bodily assumption. And lastly there is Psalm 132:8, which provides: “Arise, O Lord, into your resting place: you and the ark which you have sanctified.” Mary is the new Ark of the Covenant, who physically bore the presence of God in her womb before bearing Christ to the world.
The Assumption is also witnessed by sacred Tradition. For example, St. Gregory of Tours (d. 593) wrote: “The Lord commanded the holy body [of Mary] to be borne on a cloud to Paradise where, reunited to its soul and exalting with the elect, it enjoys the everlasting bliss of eternity.” The doctrine was also explicitly taught by Church Fathers such as St. Germain of Constantinople, St. Andrew of Crete, and St. John Damascene.
Ave Maria.
I find the "Assumption" belief by Catholics to be a bit of a stretch to say the least. Someone on FR recently referred to me as a "heretic" because I am a Protestant. He went on to say that being a heretic wasn't necessarily a bad thing however. I know there are a lot of R.C.'s on FR and they are passionate about their religion. But many others here are also passionate about their religion. We just don't talk about it so much.
Or just pontificating your own personal opinion? Why do you show hatred in your heart fo Catholic Church teachings? You certainly have the right to your own biased opinion but again you offer no rebuttal to the facts presented.
For your information:
In their writings the Early Church Fathers condemned heretics and schismatics. They taught that those outside of the Catholic Church had no hope of salvation. However, they made an allowance for those who through no fault of their own, didn’t know any better. They didn’t see God as being legalistic. Rather they saw a merciful God who judged men by what they did with what they had. Or as Paul teaches us in 1 Corinthians 4:5, men will be judged by the purposes of their hearts.
The real Assumption is, since Mary’s body couldn’t be found after she died, she must have gone physically to heaven. That’s quite an assumption.
Hmmm. Well, I know that the Catholic Church is there, but I still choose to be a Protestant. In the eyes of Catholics am I condemned?
For further information:
Recommended Reading
Holy Bible (Catholic Edition)
Catechism of the Catholic Church
Documents of Vatican II
Lumen Gentium; Dogmatic Constitution on the Church; Vatican II
Munificentissimus Deus; Pope Pius XII
Précis of Official Catholic Teaching on Marian Devotions and the Last Things
Introduction to Mary; Mark Miravalle; Available from Queenship Publishing Company, P.O. Box 42028, Santa Barbara, CA 93140-2028; (800) 647-9882.
Queen Mother: A Biblical Theology of Mary’s Queenship; Edward Sri
Catholic for a Reason II: Scripture and the Mystery of the Mother of God; Scott Hahn and Leon J. Suprenant, Jr.
To order these and other titles, call Emmaus Road toll-free: (800) 398-5470
I'm still struggling with the "Immaculate Conception."
I don’t see anything wrong with admiring the fact the Assumption isn’t in Scripture at all. First of all, there’s nothing in the Dogma of the Assumption that contradicts Scripture at all. So the only person or persons who could have a problem with it would be anyone who demands that every Christian dogma be specifically in Scripture. Which is precisely what sola scripturists assure us is NOT “sola scriptura”. So anyone who objects to it yet insists on sola scriptura is a hypocrite (unless they wish to explain why we should expect everything about Mary’s life be in Scripture when Scripture itself says everything about JESUS’ life isn’t in Scripture)
Secondly, I don’t know why any Catholic on this issue or any issue really continues to cow-tow to the sola scriptura insistence of “show me that in the Bible”. That requirement ITSELF was not in Christianity for 1500 years and even after the “Reformation” it still wasn’t present (as all the early “reformers” like Calvin and Luther and Zwinglii all still insisted on ecclesiastical authority and everyone’s submission to the Church. It was just their idea of what the Church should teach is what they were “reforming” not the nature and authority of the Church per se)
So you have as a matter of historical fact this demand of “show me that in the Bible or what you say isn’t real Christian teaching” being at best a 300 year old invention (starting mainly in the 17th century) and not even the original goal of the “Reformation”! So why even play that game at all? It’s pointless and ultimately self defeating, for all parties involved.
You again make blanket statements as your opinion.
All will have to account to Jesus for their actions including any false statements that you may make.
Correction: I don’t see anything wrong with *admitting* (not admiring) ... Etc
**I find the “Assumption” belief by Catholics to be a bit of a stretch to say the least.**
Do you believe the accounts of Elijah being assumed into heaven in a whirlwind?
Then why not the Blessed Virgin Mary?
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