The Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary

Who is she that cometh forth as the morning rising,
fair as the moon, bright as the sun,
terrible as an army set in array?

(Benedictus antiphon,
Monastic Office of Lauds for the Assumption)

Today’s great Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, which in the East is known as the Dormition of the Theotokos, is one that holds a special place in my heart.

So what is the Assumption, anyway? There’s plenty of information available on the meaning of the feast, but in a nutshell:

[T]he Immaculate Mother of God, the ever Virgin Mary, having completed the course of her earthly life, was assumed body and soul into heavenly glory.

(Pope Pius XII, Munificentissimus Deus)

Precedent for this may be found in the Old Testament in the cases of Enoch (Genesis 5:22-24) and Elijah (2 Kings 2:11). This is a foretaste of the bodily resurrection to which all the faithful are called. Once again, the Blessed Virgin is our model in the life of the faithful.

It is a day when the whole Church celebrates that the Mother of God has (once again) gone before us, being drawn up to the Father, which we too hope will be our ultimate fate.