"By 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."
From the Apostolic Constitution of Pope Pius XII, "Munificentísimus Deus", defining the dogma of the Assumption of Mary into heaven
- November 1, 1950.
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Booklet of the Divine Office with Gregorian Chant for Morning and Evening Prayer on the liturgical
Solemnity of the Assumption - August 15
The beautiful centuries old antiphons of the liturgy for the Assumption gathered in the official prayer of the Church, the Divine Office, speak of our faith around Mary and the perfect way in which the Mystery of Redemption was accomplished in Her, thus fulfilling the Plan of God:
Christ ascended into Heaven and prepared an everlasting place for His Immaculate Mother, alleluia!
Through Eve the gates of Heaven were closed to all mankind through the Virgin Mother they were opened wide again, alleluia!
The Virgin Mary has been exalted above all the Heavens; come, let all men glorify Christ the King, whose Kingdom will endure for ever, alleluia!
All generations will call me Blessed: the Almighty has done great things for me, alleluia!
Arise, O Virgin Queen, you are for ever worthy of our praise; take your place in the glorious dwelling place of the Eternal King!
The Lord has chose Her, his loved one from the beginning. He has taken Her to live with Him.
Glorious things are said of you, O Virgin Mary!
Blessed are you, O Mary, for the world's salvation came forth through you; now in glory, you rejoice for ever with the Lord!
The Virgin Mary is exalted above the choirs of angels; let all believers rejoice and bless the Lord!
The Lord has made you so glorious that your praise will never cease to resound among men.
We acclaim you, Holy Mary, as Queen of Heave; the Sun of Justice came froth from your bridal chamber!
The Holy Mother of God is exalted in glory, above the choirs of angels, in the Kingdom of Heaven!
We share the fruit of life through you, O daughter blessed by the Lord!
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Some mystics of the Church have been given a profound insight into the mystery celebrated by the Church under the title of the Assumption.
Here are two examples from two mystics in the way to sainthood, whose writings have been declared by the Church free-from theological error:
I
The Assumption as described by Venerable Maria of Jesus of Agreda in her "Mystical City of God"
Our Redeemer Jesus entered heaven conducting the purest soul of his Mother at his right hand.
She should be his Companion for all eternity, possessing such a likeness to Him, that none greater can be possible between a Godman and a creature. In this light the Redeemer himself presented Her before the throne of the Divinity; and speaking to the eternal Father in the presence of all the blessed, who were ravished at this wonder, the most sacred humanity uttered these words: "Eternal Father, my most beloved Mother, thy beloved Daughter and the cherished Spouse of the Holy Ghost, now comes to take possession of the crown and glory, which We have prepared as a reward for her merit.
She is the one who was born as the rose among thorns, untouched, pure and beautiful, worthy of being embraced by Us and of being placed upon a throne to which none of our creatures can ever attain, and to which those conceived in sin cannot aspire. This is our chosen and our only One, distinguished above all else, to whom We communicated our grace and our perfections beyond the measure accorded to other creatures; in whom We have deposited the treasure of our incomprehensible Divinity and its gifts; who most faithfully preserved and made fruitful the talents, which We gave Her; who never swerved from our will, and who found grace and pleasure in our eyes.
The most holy soul of Mary was immediately raised to the right hand of her Son and true God, and placed on the royal throne of the most holy Trinity, which neither men, nor angels nor the seraphim themselves attain, and will not attain for all eternity. This is the most exalted and supereminent privilege of our Queen and Lady, that She is seated on the throne with the three divine Persons and holds her place as Empress, while all the rest are set as servants and ministers to the highest King. To the eminence and majesty of that position, inaccessible to all other creatures, correspond her gifts of glory, comprehension, vision and fruition.
The full chapter on the Assumption can be read here:
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II
The Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary as explained to the Servant of God Luisa Piccarreta in her "Book of Heaven" Vol. 18
I began to think about the feast of my Celestial Mama Assumed into Heaven; and my sweet Jesus, with a tender and moving tone, added: “My daughter, the true name of this Feast should be Feast of the Divine Will.
It was the human will that closed Heaven, broke the bonds with its Creator, made miseries and sorrow enter the field, and put an end to the feast that the creature was to enjoy in Heaven. Now, this creature, Queen of all, by doing the Will of the Eternal One always and in everything – even more, it can be said that Her life was Divine Will alone – opened the Heavens, bound Herself to the Eternal One, and restored in Heaven the feasts with the creature.
So, the true cause of this feast is the Eternal Will operating and fulfilled in my Celestial Mama. It operated such prodigies in Her as to astonish Heaven and earth, chain the Eternal One with indissoluble bonds of love, and capture the Word even into Her womb.
The very Angels, enraptured, repeated among themselves: ‘From where comes so much glory, so much honor, such greatness and prodigies never before seen, in this excelling Creature? Yet, it is from the exile that She is coming.’
Astonished, they recognized the Will of their Creator as Life operating in Her; and, trembling, they said: ‘Holy, Holy, Holy - honor and glory to the Will of Our Sovereign Lord. And glory, and trice Holy - She who let this Supreme Will operate.’
So, it is My Will that, more than anything, was and is celebrated on the day of the Assumption into Heaven of my Most Holy Mother.
It was My Will alone that made Her ascend so high as to distinguish Her among all. Everything else would have been as nothing, had She not possessed the prodigy of my Will.
It was My Will that gave Her Divine Fecundity and made Her the Mother of the Word.
It was My Will that made Her see and embrace all creatures together, becoming the Mother of all, and loving all with a love of Divine Maternity. And making Her the Queen of all, It made Her rule and dominate.
On that day, My Will received the first honors, the glory and the abundant fruit of Its work in Creation, and It began Its feast, which It never interrupts, for the glorification of Its operating in my beloved Mother.
And even though Heaven was opened by Me, and many Saints were already in possession of the Celestial Fatherland when the Celestial Queen was assumed into Heaven, however, She Herself was the primary cause, having fulfilled the Supreme Will in everything, and therefore we waited for She who had honored It so much and contained the true prodigy of the Most Holy Will, to make the first feast for the Supreme Volition.
Oh! how the whole of Heaven magnified, blessed and praised the Eternal Will, upon seeing this sublime Queen enter the Empyreum, in the midst of the Celestial Court, all circumfused by the Eternal Sun of the Supreme Volition! They saw Her all studded with the power of the Supreme Fiat; there had been not even a heartbeat in Her which did not have this Fiat impressed on it. And, astonished, they looked at Her and said to Her: ‘Ascend, ascend higher. It is right that She who so much honored the Supreme Fiat, and through whom we find ourselves in the Celestial Fatherland, have the highest throne and be our Queen.’ And the greatest honor that my Mama received, was to see the Divine Will glorified.” Book of Heaven August 15, 1925
