August 15th. The feast of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary. I can hear the comments from Non-Catholics now…“WHERE IS THE ASSUMPTION MENTIONED IN THE BIBLE!?” And I can hear this even though I am writing this 2 weeks early. It is a fair question and one we as Catholics will likely hear from Protestants since many believe in the concept of Solo Scriptura...the Scriptures Only. The belief that if it is not in the Bible, it is not legitimate. First understand that there are many terms that are not in the Bible that we hold to be true…both Catholics and Protestants alike. The word Trinity is not in the Bible but all Christians believe in the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. The word Easter is not in the Bible (it is mentioned in Acts but the Greek word is pascha, which means Passover). As Catholics we believe that Scripture and Tradition (teachings passed down from the Apostles to the Bishops via oral and written record throughout the millennia) are taken together to reveal the truth that Jesus gave us through the Holy Spirit. The authority given to the Church by Jesus allows for interpretation of these truths.
So what is the deal with the Assumption? Where does it come from? First, there is a Biblical basis for the Assumption. In Revelations Chapter 11 verse 19 we see a description of John describing seeing the Ark of the Covenant, the structure that held the tablets of the commandments given to Moses at Sinai, visible in heaven:
Then God’s temple in heaven was opened, and the ark of his covenant could be seen in the temple. There were flashes of lightning, rumblings, and peals of thunder, an earthquake, and a violent hailstorm.
But, in fact, it is Mary who is the New Ark of the Covenant. She does not bear tablets of stone. she bears the Son of God. In the Old Testament we see the story of David brining the Ark up to the hill country of Judea. But in Luke we see Mary, the New Ark, bringing her and God in her womb to the hill country of Judea in the Visitation to her cousin Elizabeth.
In Revelations Chapter 12 we see John’s description of the woman in the sky, in the heavens, giving birth to a male child while a red dragon waits to devour the child at its birth::
A great sign appeared in the sky, a woman* clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars.a
But there is no precedent for the Assumption in the rest of the Bible! Well, not really.
As they walked on still conversing, a fiery chariot and fiery horses came between the two of them, and Elijah went up to heaven in a whirlwind, and Elisha saw it happen. He cried out, “My father! my father!* Israel’s chariot and steeds!” Then he saw him no longer. (2 Kings 2:11-12)
If God could do this for a prophet like Elijah, then He certainly could do it for the Mother of Our Savior. And why would this be done for Mary? We know Mary was conceived without Original Sin and we know that she was “Full of Grace”. We also know that she lived her life without sinning. It would then seem to follow that God would grant her the grace to ascend to him without her body becoming corrupted so she could sit and rule with her Son in heaven.
Practically speaking, there is no record of her relics ever being found. There would have been much competition between towns and Churches to have the relics of the Mother of God. In the 5th Century St. John Damascene preserved a letter from a 5th Century Patriarch of Jerusalem, named Juvenalius, in which he is responding to a Byzantine Princess who asks for relics of Mary. In his response, Juvenalius informs the princess that there have never been relics of Mary since ancient tradition holds that she was taken up to heaven upon her death.In his response he seems surprised that she does not know this. As if it is common knowledge.
Tradition also holds that upon Mary’s death she was buried in the Garden of Gethsemane and eleven of the Apostles were there, except for Thomas. Why is he seemingly always late to the party? Three days later, Thomas returns and asks to see Mary’s body. When they open the tomb, it is empty. There are no records of any saint or church Father who disputes the account of the Assumption. In 1950, Pope Pius XII formally declared that the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary was a dogma of Church teaching.
So, no, the word Assumption is not in the Bible. And there is no story written in the Bible that describes the accounts of the Assumption. But we have the scriptural entry from Revelations and we have much extra-biblical accounts to make the likelihood of Mary being assumed body and soul into heaven very high. In the end, how much do you trust almost 20 centuries of Church history and teaching? I guess I just assume that she giving us the truth.
