Aug-15 Solemnity of the Assumption of Our Lady into Heaven

 August 15: Solemnity of the Assumption of Our Lady into Heaven

Prayer on the Feast of the Assumption

O most blessed and glorious mystery,

 Virgin Mother of God

who, having finished your life on earth, rose body and soul into heaven

there to bless and intercede for us  who struggle here below.

Hear our humble prayer, Mother Mary,

who interceded for the bride and groom

at their wedding in Cana of Galilee

that our sorrow might be turned into joy, our sickness into healing and our

worries into distant memories.

You, blessed among women,

from whom your divine Son

drew his humanity and his body,

be ever near to us, your children,

who rejoice in your Assumption

wedding heaven and earth forever.

Amen.

(prayer written by Fr. Joseph Veneroso, M.M.)

Opening Prayer for the Liturgy of the Assumption of Our Lady into Heaven

All-powerful and ever-living God, you raised the sinless Virgin Mary, mother of your Son, body and soul to the glory of heaven. May we see heaven as our final goal and come to share her glory. We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen

The Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, celebrated on August 15th, commemorates the belief that when Mary, the mother of Jesus Christ, died, her body was "assumed" into heaven to be reunited with her soul, instead of going through the natural process of physical decay upon death. For many faithful, the most telling verification of the Assumption can be found not only in learned theological studies or definitive doctrinal statements, but in the medium of Mary’s many apparitions which the Church has declared worthy of belief. Where these apparitions have appeared have become beloved Holy shrines visited by millions each year and include the Shrines of Our Lady at Guadalupe, Lourdes, Fatima, Knock, La Salette etc.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church affirms that Mary did not suffer from original sin but was conceived full of grace. According to this doctrine, known as the Immaculate Conception, God’s supernatural life dwelt in Mary from the very beginning of her existence. This doctrine, which has its roots in early Christianity, ultimately is about the mystery of Jesus Christ. God became man in Mary’s womb, making Mary the true Ark of the Covenant that carried the Word of God. Since Jesus truly is the all-holy God, the Second Person of the Trinity, Catholics believe he is worthy to dwell in a pure vessel, a holy temple. Thus, it is fitting that God would prepare Mary as an immaculate dwelling place, full of grace and not stained by sin, for the God-man.

Furthermore the Catechism describes the Assumption in this way: “The Immaculate Virgin, when the course of her earthly life was finished, was taken up body and soul into heavenly glory, and exalted by the Lord as Queen over all things, so that she might be more fully conformed to her Son, the Lord of lords and conqueror of death.”

In 1950, Pope Pius XII vide the encyclical 'Munificentissimus Deus' proclaimed the Assumption of Mary a dogma of the Catholic Church in these words: "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 to heavenly glory"

On November 21, 1964 Vatican II published the 'Lumen Gentium: The Dogmatic Constitution on the Church'. Chapter 8, stated "In the most holy Virgin the Church has already reached that perfection whereby she exists without spot or wrinkle."

Pope Francis said the feast of Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, is a time when “the holy faithful people of God express with joy their veneration of the Virgin Mother. They do so in the common liturgy and also in a thousand different ways of piety; and thus, the prophecy of Mary herself comes true: ‘All generations will call me blessed’ (Luke 1:48), because the Lord has regarded His humble handmaid.”

The Assumption of Our Lady into Heaven, in soul and body, is a divine privilege accorded to the Holy Mother of God because of her particular union with Jesus, Pope Francis noted. “It’s a corporal and spiritual union, which began with the Annunciation and matured throughout Mary’s life, through her singular participation in her Son’s mystery,” the Holy Father continued. “Mary always went with her Son: she went behind Jesus, and so we say she was His first disciple.”

Pope Francis said that while the Blessed Virgin has entered into heavenly glory, this does not mean that She is distant or detached from us; “rather Mary accompanies us, struggles with us, and sustains Christians in their fight against the forces of evil. The stupendous reality of Mary’s Assumption manifests and confirms the unity of the human person, and it reminds us that we are called to serve and glorify God with all our being, soul and body. To serve God only with the body would be an action of slaves; to serve God only with the soul would be against our human nature.”