On December 8, 1854, Pope Pius IX defined the dogma of the Immaculate
Conception, the doctrine that God the Father chose and prepared a
Mother for his only-begotten Son who was “ever absolutely free of all
stain of sin, all fair and perfect” and who “would possess that fullness
of holy innocence and sanctity than which, under God, one cannot even
imagine anything greater…”
On November 1, 1950, Pope Pius XII declared as dogma the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin. His Apostolic Constitution, Munificentissimus noted
the connection between the two Marian dogmas, stating that the two “are
most closely bound to one another.” It said that God does not usually
“grant to the just the full effect of the victory over death until the
end of time has come,” but did so with the Assumption, “and as a result
she was not subject to the law of remaining in the corruption of the
grave, and she did not have to wait until the end of time for the
redemption of her body.” What does this mean? That just as Mary was kept
from original sin by God’s grace, she was also kept from the decay of
the grave by that same grace.
Pius XII stated that the image of the woman clothed with the sun,
which is part of today’s first reading from the Book of Revelation, has
long been understood by the “scholastic Doctors” as signifying “the
Assumption of the Virgin Mother of God”. The celebration of the Feast of
the Assumption can be traced back to at least the seventh century in
both the East and the West. Liturgical developments and theological
insights flourished from the seventh to ninth centuries.
Among those insights was the recognition, as Pius XII observed, that
Mary—sinless and full of grace, the divine life of God—was uniquely
preserved from physical corruption and decay. Her body, in the words of
Fr. Reginald Garrigou-Lagrange, O.P., “would not return to dust but
would be resuscitated in an anticipated resurrection.” He makes the
careful and important distinction between the Ascension of Christ, which
occurred by Jesus’ own power, and the Assumption of Mary, who “was
lifted up by God to the degree of glory for which she had been
predestined.”
While many Protestants object to the dogma of the Assumption (and the
Immaculate Conception) because they see it as somehow introducing a
competition of sorts between Jesus and his Mother, the exact opposite is
the case. Jesus’ love for Mary and her perfect love for Him and her
faithful obedience to the Father leads a logical and incredible
conclusion: “The Assumption of the Blessed Virgin is a singular
participation in her Son's Resurrection, and an anticipation of the
resurrection of other Christians” (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 966).
Mary, the Mother of God, is also Mother of the Church. She gave
physical birth to the unique Son of God who is fully divine and fully
human; she now gives spiritual birth to the sons and daughters of God
who, filled with the divine life of her Son, are made fully human,
really alive, truly divinized (see CCC, 963-970; 1988). Pius XII also
wrote of the Virgin Mary as being the new Eve who, “although subject to
the new Adam, is most intimately associated with him in that struggle
against the infernal foe which … would finally result in that most
complete victory over the sin and death…”
Mary’s cooperation with the saving work of her Son is perfect and
whole, and the Assumption is a stamp of approval on her life of humble
faith and quiet discipleship. The old Eve failed the test of in the
Garden, and so returned to dust. But the new Eve willingly accepted the
Word of the Lord, embraced the will of the Father, and reciprocated the
love of the Holy Spirit. She perfectly shared in the conception, life,
and death of her Son, and so also perfectly shared in his Resurrection.
(This "Opening the Word" column originally appeared in the August 15, 2010, issue of Our Sunday Visitor newspaper.)