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@raalkivictorieux Master Ra’al Ki Victorieux

Discover the mystery and tradition of the Assumption of Mary in the Catholic faith. Join us in celebrating the divine loving mother and her heavenly ascension. #AssumptionOfMary #CatholicFaith https://wp.me/p3JLEZ-4Wy

Mystery, dogma, and tradition in the Catholic faith

We find a reason for celebration on the day of the Assumption of Mary because we consider important what it represents: a divine loving mother who listens to our prayers and gives us hope and unconditional love. The Assumption, also called Assumptio Beatae Mariae Virginis, means that after completing the course of her earthly life, Mary, mother of Jesus, was taken to Heaven in body and soul.

Liturgical Cycle of Mary

The festivities related to the Virgin consist of her Immaculate Conception on December 8. Her Nativity on September 8. The Purification of the Blessed Virgin, on February 2, with a procession of candles, hence the name Candlemas. The Annunciation, on March 25, and the Assumption, on August 15.

History of the Assumption

In religion, commemorative dates are established through consensus among authorities. It is the Catholic, Orthodox, Eastern Orthodox, and Anglican churches that celebrate the Assumption. This festival was celebrated since the 6th century in the East, in the Byzantine Empire, with the name «The Memory of Mary», or «The Dormition of Mary», to commemorate the assumption and entry into Heaven of the Virgin. In the East, after the third ecumenical council of Ephesus, in the year 431 CE, Mary was declared «Theotokos», which means «Mother of God». On that date, Mariology began, the study of the Blessed Virgin. In the 7th century in Rome, around 630 CE, the date was named «the Assumption of Mary». According to a popular legend, at the time of Mary’s transit a cloud transported her body to Jerusalem, and while the apostles witnessed it, the archangel Gabriel took her soul to heaven.

During the festival of the Assumption, while the Lord’s Prayer and the Hail Marys of the Rosary were prayed, the faithful Roman Catholic had to meditate on the great mysteries through the 150 Psalms of the Old Testament. Little by little, the fifteen Christian mysteries, divided into Joyful, Sorrowful, and Glorious Mysteries, were incorporated into the prayer of the Rosary as beads in the devotion. The Assumption is considered one of the glorious mysteries of Christianity, along with the Resurrection of Christ, his Ascension to Heaven, Pentecost, and the Coronation of Mary as Queen of Heaven. On November 1, 1950, Pope Pius XII established the Assumption as a dogma of faith: a truth that cannot be doubted. The parallelism between the Assumption of Mary and the Ascension of Jesus Christ is notable. Just as the glorious Resurrection of Christ, as the New Adam was a victory over sin and death, so Mary, as the New Eve, shares that victory over sin and death. Her victory over sin is symbolized in part in the Immaculate Conception, and her victory over her death is expressed in the dogma of the Assumption of her body and soul into Heaven. In the Christian tradition, we speak of the ascension of Christ, because he ascends to heaven as the son of God. In the case of the Virgin Mary, reference is made to the assumption, because she ascends by divine grace and the intervention of her son Jesus.

Why did it take the Catholic Church several centuries to recognize the assumption of Mary as dogma? The date and circumstances surrounding María’s death were unknown. It was not known for sure where she had lived the rest of her life, after the crucifixion of Christ. It was rumored that she had lived with John, the son of Zebedee, in Jerusalem, and that she died there. Her tomb had not been found, although some claim that she had a grave in Jerusalem. There was also no witness account regarding the bodily assumption of Mary. There is no reference to it in the New Testament. At best, there was a tradition of paintings that represented «dormancy», that kind of «falling asleep» to pass from this life to the next. Some claimed that this had taken place in the ancient Ionian city of Ephesus.

We pronounce, declare, and define as divinely revealed dogma: that the Immaculate Mother of God, the ever Virgin Mary, having reached the end of her earthly life, was assumed body and soul into heavenly glory.

Pius XII, Munificentissimus Deus

The key words in the declaration of the Assumption as a dogma of faith are «divinely revealed» since divine revelation cannot be doubted because it is the basis of all religions. Pius​​ San Adrián I, the name of Assumption or Elevation was given to the festival. Furthermore, he claimed that Mary’s elevation to Heaven, like smoke, was hinted at in the Bible.

Father Frederick Jelly, a Dominican Mariologist, states that although there is no explicit reference to the glorious Assumption in the Bible, that does not mean that there is no biblical basis for it, because it is hinted at through the guidance of the Holy Spirit.

What is that thing that rises from the desert like a column of smoke?

Song of Songs 3:6

In the description of a king receiving a princess in his palace:

With embroidered gold dresses; she with her brocade is brought before the king. Virgins behind her, her companions, where he is introduced.

Psalm 45:10-16

In the Psalms, under the argument that the ark symbolizes the Virgin:

Arise, Yahweh, to your rest, you and the ark of your strength!

Psalm 132:8

Also, the image of Mary as the «New Eve», as the «woman» of Genesis 3:15, and as the «Woman clothed with the sun» of the Apocalypse. As well as in the teachings of Saint Paul, specifically in:

And when this corruptible being puts on incorruptibility and this mortal being puts on immortality, then the word that is written will be fulfilled: Death has been swallowed up in victory.

1 Cor. 15:54

Greek Story of the Assumption

In the mid-5th century a story of Mary’s death came to light, so compelling that it was translated into Latin, Syriac, Arabic, Coptic, and Ethiopian. Here is the story:

Mary spent her last days in Jerusalem. She used to pray at her son’s grave asking to be reunited with him, until one day an angel appeared to her in that same place and announced that her wish had been granted. She then begged that she be allowed to see her son’s apostles one last time before she died. These were scattered throughout the world. John in Ephesus, Peter in Rome, and Thomas in India. However, the Holy Spirit made them ride on clouds and took them to Jerusalem. Among them was Paul. Mary, already weak and on her deathbed, woke up and talked to her guests. Angels appeared around the house, and the sick in the city were miraculously healed. Christ himself showed up to call his mother. The soul of the Virgin passed into the hands of her son, who was next to the bed, while his body fainted. The apostles carried Mary’s lifeless body to her burial, while the Jews threatened her funeral procession. They spat insults at them, but the stones thrown at the mourners were miraculously repelled. Seeing this, many Jews converted. Mary’s body was placed in the tomb, the crypt was sealed. Shortly after, the apostles went to take a look at the tomb of the Virgin and discovered the door open and Christ, standing inside the tomb. He was reinfusing Mary’s soul into her body. And then, both – Christ and his Mother – ascended to Heaven.

The tradition of the Ascension

In many spiritual traditions there is talk of ascension, although with differences between cultures, it is considered that this phenomenon is achieved through personal, mental, spiritual, evolutionary, or enlightenment development. Thanks to a certain level of wisdom, self-knowledge, and the development of a character with virtues, humans manage to «climb» to a higher energy plane. The great spiritual masters, such as the Virgin, the Christ, and the Buddhas, female or male, have achieved ascension. Due to their great goodness, from a higher plane, they continue to provide blessings and guidance to human beings.

References:

Panati, Charles. 2002. The sacred origins of deep things. Obelisk. Barcelona.

Keep on reading:

• Our Lady’s Prayer
• Ra’al Ki Victorieux imagines a Virgin Mary at the Lacandon jungle
• Prayer to Our Lady Mary
• Alignment
• L’Amour Fou; The Crazy Love of the Soul
• Affirmations of Hope
• Affirmations for Transmuting Anger
• Affirmations of Light and Love

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