The Dogma of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary

This article was first published in the May 2001 issue of the magazine "Angelus".

"For this reason, after we have poured forth prayers of supplication to God and have invoked the light of the Spirit of Truth, to the glory of Almighty God who has lavished His special affection upon the Virgin Mary, to the honor of her Son, the immortal King of the ages and the Conqueror of sin and death, to the greater glory of the same noble Mother, and to the joy and gladness of the entire Church, by the authority of our Lord Jesus Christ, of the blessed Apostles Peter and Paul, and by Our own authority, We declare, pronounce, and define it to be a dogma revealed by God: 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."

— Pius XII, Munificentissimus Deus (§44), November 1, 1950

On November 1 of the Jubilee year 1950, a new honor was given to the Mother of God when Pope Pius XII proclaimed the dogma of the Assumption. Nearly a hundred years earlier (1854), Pope Pius IX had proclaimed her Immaculate Conception.

The dogma of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary is an honor that resembles a great star illuminating the "sea" of the twentieth century, just as the dogma of the Immaculate Conception illuminated the nineteenth century. The dogmatic definition of the Assumption adds yet another crown to the Most Holy Virgin and is yet another motive strengthening devotion to her.

The dogma proclaiming that the Mother of God was assumed body and soul into heaven is a truth revealed by God, which Christians have believed since the early centuries of the Catholic Church. This dogma is yet another of the Blessed Virgin's exhortations to her children, lest they fall into the clutches of her eternal enemy.

Mary – The New Eve

It is very important not to forget that devotion to Mary is a mother's help to her children. Moreover, devotion to Mary enters into the principal plan of Divine Providence for the eternal salvation of mankind. Shortly after the fall of Adam and Eve, God, addressing the devil, promised to send a Redeemer – the new Adam – through the Blessed Virgin, the new Eve:

"And the Lord said to the serpent: 'Because you have done this... I will put enmity between you and the woman, between your offspring and her offspring: she will strike your head, and you will strike her heel.'"

— Gen 3:14–15

This majestic sentence is like a landmark and compass in the history of the Christian religion and Mariology. This passage from Genesis so clearly shows the important role of the Virgin Mary in the plan of human redemption that it is impossible to think of the redemption of our Lord Jesus Christ without also thinking of the role of the Mother of God.

In the plan of restoration, the Most Holy Virgin occupies the same place that Eve occupied in the order of the fall. In other words, the prophecy of Genesis teaches us that the entire work of Redemption is a certain victory over the devil and everything that Satan had planned for our fall. God turned his designs so that He might win salvation for us: alongside the new Adam, i.e., Christ, there had to be also the new Eve, i.e., Mary, and she had to be inseparably united with Christ, so that the plans of the devil might be destroyed.^[1]

Mary's title of Help of Christians (Latin: Auxilium Christianorum) wonderfully expresses the role of the Blessed Virgin in helping Christians overcome the designs of the serpent.

"Based on the recorded testimonies of Mary's life, we can appreciate her constant zeal for the salvation of the world and the greater glory of the Holy Church. She guided and gave advice to the apostles and the Lord's disciples; she urged everyone to maintain the Faith and preserve grace... But in truth, the Most Holy Mary began to help Christians after her glorious Assumption into heaven."

— St. John Bosco

Mary has intervened and supported the Church on more than one occasion: the victory over the Turks at Lepanto in 1571 under Pope Pius V, the liberation of Vienna in 1683 during the time of Pope Innocent XI, and the liberation of Pius VII from Napoleon's captivity on May 24, 1814. The latter event inspired the proclamation of the feast of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Help of Christians.

A Blessing from Heaven

A dogma is a truth that the infallible Magisterium of the Church directly presents to us for belief as a matter of divine revelation. A dogma merely clarifies what is in the deposit of faith. The deposit of faith was closed with the death of the last apostle.

In so doing, the Church is guided by the internal law of the development of its doctrine. This teaching is inspired and guided by the Holy Spirit, so that it might nourish and lead the Church's flock to eternal pastures. As the First Vatican Council teaches, the role of the papal Magisterium is to guard, explain, and transmit the deposit of Divine Revelation.

When the holy Church proclaims such a dogma as the Assumption, she explicitly sets forth what Christians, guarding the deposit of revelation by faith, have always implicitly believed. When the dogma of the Assumption was proclaimed in St. Peter's Square on November 1, 1950, all Catholics acquired a clear faith.

Both early Christians and Christians of 1950 have the same faith, but the faith of believers in 1950 was enriched by the infallible explanation of the Roman Pontiff. Pope Pius XII, by proclaiming this dogma, objectively strengthened the faith and increased true devotion to the Blessed Virgin. This proclamation encouraged Catholics to regard the truth as a true blessing from heaven.

The History of Belief in the Assumption

For the first four centuries, there was no open teaching about Mary's bodily Assumption into heaven, but this truth was presented indirectly. From the fifth to the thirteenth century, there are already many clear proofs of the teaching of this truth. At the end of the seventh century and the beginning of the eighth, the Fathers of the Church had a clear belief in the Assumption of the Most Holy Virgin Mary into heaven.

In the West, Pope Sergius I (687–701) decreed that the feast of the Dormition of Mary should begin with a solemn procession. From the thirteenth century, the bodily Assumption of the Blessed Virgin was considered a true fact, and denial of this truth was regarded as rash.

Serious requests for a dogmatic definition of the Assumption arose in the mid-seventeenth century. In 1849, Cardinal Sterckx, Archbishop of Mechelen, and Bishop Sanchez of Osman asked Rome to dogmatically define both the Immaculate Conception and the Assumption.

In 1863, Queen Isabella II of Spain, encouraged by St. Anthony Mary Claret, asked Pope Pius IX to proclaim the mystery of the Assumption as a dogma. Pius IX replied:

"There is no doubt that the Catholic faith in the Assumption of Mary arises from the dogma of the Immaculate Conception; but everything will happen in due time... The time will come when the holy desires of Your Royal Majesty will be fulfilled. Now we must continue to pray."

— February 13, 1864

The course of dogmatizing the Assumption was interrupted by the First Vatican Council. However, after the letter of Pius IX, a movement for the dogmatization of this truth began. It can be divided into three stages:

1. 1863–1900
2. 1900–1920
3. 1921–1950

In the third stage, especially under Pope Pius XI, the movement became very strong. In Pope Pius XII's encyclical Mystici Corporis (1943), the bodily and spiritual Assumption of the Blessed Virgin is clearly mentioned. The long-awaited dogma was solemnly proclaimed in the bull Munificentissimus Deus on November 1, 1950.

Is This Dogma Exaggerated?

This great dogma of the Catholic Church is called an exaggeration by some, because, as they say, it increases division and hinders unity. But dogma is not an obstacle to truth – it clarifies the deposit of faith and protects it from relativism.

Pope Pius XII in his dogmatic bull emphasized that the solemn proclamation of the Assumption would contribute to the common good, increase the glory of the Most Holy Trinity, awaken greater devotion of the faithful to their heavenly Mother, and strengthen faith in our own resurrection.

"...when deceitful materialistic teachings and the moral corruption flowing from those teachings, causing discord among men, threaten to extinguish the light of virtue and ruin their lives, in this wonderful way all may clearly see to what a great purpose our bodies and souls are destined. Finally, we hope that faith in the bodily Assumption of Mary will make our faith in our own resurrection stronger and more effective."

— Munificentissimus Deus, §42–43

The Dogma of the Assumption: A First Step or a Moment of Fulfillment?

The historical development of the Catholic Church from the dogma of the Immaculate Conception to the dogma of the Assumption also encouraged the development of Marian devotion. In 1948, Pope Pius XII said:

"The most important sign of our times is the increasingly manifest confidence and filial love that leads souls to the purest and most innocent Virgin Mary. This manifestation is truly wonderful."

The definition of the Assumption was both a moment of fulfillment and a starting point for a deeper understanding of the mysteries of Mary. It was connected with the previously proclaimed dogmas of the Divine Motherhood and the Immaculate Conception.

Is Mary a Mediatrix?

The dogma of the Assumption is a true blessing from heaven for Catholics. The teaching of Mary as Mediatrix of all graces highlights not a diminishment of Christ's role, but His power and mercy.

1. The power of the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ is so great that He draws others to cooperate in the work of salvation. In the case of the Mother of God, this cooperation reaches the highest possible degree.
2. Christ's mercy, in giving graces and leading us to salvation, uses means that correspond to our nature and psychology.

The traditional Catholic teaching on Mary as Mediatrix of all graces elevates and strengthens the teaching on the role of the one Mediator, Jesus Christ.

Conclusion

The 50th anniversary of the proclamation of the dogma of the Assumption is an occasion to deepen true devotion to the Blessed Virgin and to strengthen the hope of reaching heaven, where we are all called to live in soul and body, as this dogma affirms. This jubilee should encourage us to separate ourselves from the spirit of the world, so that we may more ardently desire heaven.

St. Louis de Montfort has said:

"God has made only one enmity, but it is irreconcilable and will not disappear, but will only increase until the end. This is the enmity between Mary, His honorable Mother, and the devil; between the children and servants of the Most Holy Virgin and the children and instruments of Lucifer. The most terrible of all enemies that God has raised up against the devil is His holy Mother Mary."

Catholic Mariology is based on the protoevangelium, i.e., Genesis 3:15, showing the Mother of God as opposed to Eve. It is true that the Blessed Virgin desires peace, but not through compromise.

We are children of Mary and the Church. We wish to follow our Most Holy Mother and all her holy children, who form part of her offspring.

Queen assumed into heaven, pray for us!

¹ Cardinal Billot, quote on the role of the New Eve in the plan of redemption. Return to text.