The Assumption of the Blessed Mother Mary.

By Shaila Touchton The Feast of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary is celebrated on 15 August by Catholics. Assumed means to be taken up by God bodily into heaven. If she was not assumed bodily the early Christians would have preserved her sacred remains. There is no earthly tomb containing her body, neither are there relics of her body to be found among early Christians. St. Juvenal, Bishop of Jerusalem, at the Council of Chalcedon (451), made known to the Emperor Marcian and Pulcheria, who wished to possess the body of the Mother of God, that Mary died in the presence of all the Apostles, but that her tomb, when opened, upon the request of St. Thomas, was found empty; wherefrom the Apostles concluded that the body was taken up to heaven. The word Assumption is not directly described in scripture but certainly assumptions are recorded in the scriptures. While the absence of evidence is not proof of absence. Not everything is said to be found in scripture. It can be said by oral traditions as well(1 Thess 2:13; 2 Thess 2:15; 1 Pet 1:25). God’s Word comes to us both through the writings of the prophets and apostles and through the oral Traditions that they handed on, and these are preserved by the Church through the leading of the Holy Spirit. For Example, Scripture says that Joseph and Mary returned to Nazareth after their sojourn in Egypt, "that what was spoken by the prophets might be fulfilled, ‘He shall be called a Nazarene.’" (Matt. 2:23). All commentators admit that the phrase "He shall be called a Nazarene" is not found anywhere in the Old Testament. Yet Matthew tells us that the Holy Family fulfilled this prophecy, which had been passed on "by the prophets." We know that Enoch was translated that he should not see death” (Hebrews 11:5), and “God took him” (Genesis 5:24), (Gen. 5:24, Hebrews 11: 5). Also "Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven" (2 Kings 2:11) and Moses were assumed into heaven in Jude 1:9 . Finally, we all know that when Jesus died on the Cross were also caught into heaven. Jesus was the first one to be resurrected to eternal life. 1 Corinthians 15:20, "But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the first fruits of them that slept. John 20:17 says Jesus Christ ascended into Heaven body and soul. How do we know Mother Mary is assumed in heaven? Mary by special intervention of God was preserved from the stain of original sin and its consequences and redeemed by the grace of Christ. Mary was without sin that doesn’t make equal to God. In the beginning, God created Adam, Eve, and the angels without sin, but none were equal to God. Most of the angels never sinned, and all souls in heaven are without sin Because heaven is not for sinners. Revelation 21:27, Revelation 21:8 remind us that nothing unclean will ever enter the kingdom of heaven. Mary freely and actively cooperated in a unique way with God’s plan of salvation (Luke 1:38; Gal. 4:4). Mary certainly is a 'Holy One', for in Lk 1:28, an angel said to her, "Hail full of Grace, the Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou among women." In Lk 1:30, the angel said, "...thou hast found grace with GOD" In Lk 1:42 Elizabeth said, "...Blessed art thou among women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb." In Lk 1:48 Mary herself says, "...henceforth all generations shall call me blessed." “Blessed art thou amongst women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb Jesus”. Her seed “rest of her offspring” are the ones who “call her blessed”. This is in the Bible. She is in Heaven in soul and body. Like Her Divine Son, She is with Christ in Her glorified body, even as He is in Heaven in His glorified Body "...Just as through one transgression condemnation came upon all, so through one righteous act acquittal and life came to all. For just as through the disobedience of one person (Eve) the many were made sinners, so through the obedience of one (Mary) the many will be made righteous." Romans 5:18-19 In Rev 11:19 – 12:5: The Woman is clearly Mary since the child is clearly Jesus. And Mary Was seen In heaven. St. John was shown in his vision, recorded here in the Book of Revelation, is that the Ark of the Covenant is now in heaven as a "woman clothed with the sun" whose child is the Messiah who will rule with a "rod of iron," (Psalms 2:9). Indeed, several of the Church fathers saw this passage as a reference to Mary, the Mother of our Savior, including St. Ephrem the Syrian, St. Ambrose, and St. Augustine. At the same time, many of the Fathers saw the "woman" as a symbol of Israel, and the Church, the New Israel. There are certainly indications that this is also what the woman symbolizes. Here Mary has a crown of 12 stars on her head, symbolizing the 12 tribes of Israel, and the 12 apostles. In a similar way, Mary, the Mother of the Church, is used in the book of Revelation to symbolize the fulfillment of the vocation of Israel in the new people of God, who are to bear Christ into the world. There is also the connection between Psalm 131:8 and the mystery of the heavenly woman-ark: "Arise, O Lord, and go to Thy resting place, Thou and the ark of Thy might." After the Lord "arose' from the dead, He took with Him into heavenly glory the true "ark" of the New Covenant, the body of His mother Mary. For just as the ancient Israelites believed that the original ark was made from incorruptible wood, so this passage foreshadows the bodily incorruption given to Mary by Her Risen Son Jesus. the "woman, clothed with the sun" of Revelation 12 was meant to be a symbol of Mary, her body and soul in heavenly glory. And Jesus said that some would not taste death: Matthew 16:28 says Verily I say unto you, there be some standing here, which shall not taste of death, till they see the Son of man coming in his kingdom. Nowhere in the scripture it says Mary was not assumed into heaven but the Bible does say that the mother of Jesus Christ, is in Heaven, bodily: Revelation 12:1And there appeared a great wonder in heaven; a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars. We know this woman is the mother of Jesus Christ because her Son is caught up to the Throne of God. And we also know that the mother of Jesus Christ, is Mary. Therefore, this woman is Mary. And we know that those in heaven with Christ are alive, in communion with God, worshiping God, doing their part in the Body of Christ. They actively pray to God for all those in the Church and perhaps, indeed, for the whole world. So we pray to the saints who have departed this life, seeking their prayers, even as we ask Christian friends on earth to pray for us. St. Peter said to be "always be prepared to make a defense to anyone who calls you to account for the hope that is in you" (1 Pet 3: 15). Just as the First Eve in the exercise of free will cooperated in the Fall of man so the Second Eve, in the exercise of her free will, cooperated in the redemption and salvation of the entire human race through her Son Jesus Christ because she was full of grace and the favor of God was upon her.