08/15/2023
๐บ๐ถ๐ณ๐ฌ๐ด๐ต๐ฐ๐ป๐ ๐ถ๐ญ ๐ป๐ฏ๐ฌ ๐จ๐บ๐บ๐ผ๐ด๐ท๐ป๐ฐ๐ถ๐ต ๐ถ๐ญ ๐ป๐ฏ๐ฌ ๐ฉ๐ณ๐ฌ๐บ๐บ๐ฌ๐ซ ๐ฝ๐ฐ๐น๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ต ๐ด๐จ๐น๐
Here is a repost of something that I had written in the past regarding this Solemnity:
In the past, I have written about the intersection between the Eastern and Western views on the Dormition and Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary. The prevailing thought tends to be that the East had no concept or belief that the Blessed Mother was assumed bodily into Heaven. For the Solemnity this year, I would like to briefly discuss the Eastern view on this.
As a reminder, in the Latin Church, the Assumption of the B.V.M. was dogmatically defined by Venerable Pius XII in the encyclical, โMunificentissimus Deusโ: โ[B]y the authority of our Lord Jesus Christ, of the Blessed Apostles Peter and Paul, and by our own authority, 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.โ (MD, 44)
In the East, homilies on the subject of the Virginโs dormition and assumption began to spread after Emperor Maurice (Eastern Roman Emperor from 582 to 602 and the last member of the Justinian dynasty) declared the Dormition of the B.V.M. an official feast day, set on August 15. From these various homilies, two aspects of the Blessed Motherโs final days were emphasized: (1) Since the Blessed Mother possessed the holiness and purity to give birth to the Word Incarnate, she also possessed the same to escape the corruption of death that befalls regular mortals; (2) the Blessed Mother departure from the earthly life parallels the Annunciation and Visitation narrative.
The first point is most aptly conveyed by a homily on the Assumption by John of Damascus: โThy blessed soul is naturally parted from thy blissful and undefiled body, and the body is delivered to the grave, yet it does not endure in death, nor is it the prey of corruption. The body of her, whose virginity remained unspotted in child-birth, was preserved in its incorruption, and was taken to a better, diviner place, where death is not, but eternal life.โ (Sermon 1: On the Assumption)
The great homilists and theologians of the East, however, were not in agreement on how long exactly the Blessed Mother remained in her tomb or even if it was resurrected (reunited with her soul) before or after it assumption into Heaven. Although, they were in agreement that bodily death did take place first (a point which Pius XII hints at in his encyclical, but does not clearly define as part of the Dogma of the Assumption).
Regarding the second point, Maryโs death and assumption again drew parallels to the archetype of the Ark of the Covenant. In particular, Eastern theologians focused on the โannunciationโ experience that occurred before the birth of Jesus and then before the Virginโs own death. Hence, similar to the Visitation parallel with King David finding the Ark, the link is applied to the Virginโs death, since she is the Ark of the New Covenant: Her body was carried to her tomb parallels the transfer of the Ark of the Old Covenant to the Holy of Holies of the Jewish temple (1 Kings 8:1-8); Maryโs repose for three days in her tomb; and then her bodily assumption into Heaven. By drawing these parallels, it was reiterated that the Blessed Motherโs body, having contained the Word Incarnate, remained the Ark of the New Covenant throughout her entire life. In the same way that a sacred space assumes the sanctity and sanctifying power of the divinity that inhabits it, Maryโs physical body and incorruptible flesh was imbued with Christโs divinity.
The belief in Maryโs assumption is rich in history and tradition, from both East and West. By studying the traditions of the East and West on this beautiful Marian teaching, we can deepen our devotion and respect for the Blessed Mother of God and more confidently approach her for the graces and intercessions that Our Lord Jesus Christ has entrusted her to dispense.
Let us pray:
ฮฮตฮฟฯฯฮบฮต ฮ ฮฑฯฮธฮญฮฝฮต, ฯฮฑแฟฯฮต, ฮบฮตฯฮฑฯฮนฯฯฮผฮญฮฝฮท ฮฮฑฯฮฏฮฑ, แฝ ฮฯฯฮนฮฟฯ ฮผฮตฯแฝฐ ฯฮฟแฟฆ. ฮตแฝฮปฮฟฮณฮทฮผฮญฮฝฮท ฯแฝบ แผฮฝ ฮณฯ
ฮฝฮฑฮนฮพฮฏ, ฮบฮฑแฝถ ฮตแฝฮปฮฟฮณฮทฮผฮญฮฝฮฟฯ แฝ ฮบฮฑฯฯแฝธฯ ฯแฟฯ ฮบฮฟฮนฮปฮฏฮฑฯ ฯฮฟฯ
, แฝ
ฯฮน ฮฃฯฯแฟฯฮฑ แผฯฮตฮบฮตฯ ฯแฟถฮฝ ฯฯ
ฯแฟถฮฝ แผกฮผแฟถฮฝ. (Prayer to the Virgin Mary in Greek)
Sancta Maria, Mater Dei, ora pro nobis peccatoribus, nunc, et in hora mortis nostrae. Amen. (the second half of the Ave Maria in Latin)
Sacred Heart of Jesus, have mercy on us.
Our Lady of the Assumption, pray for us.
Amen.
