The Assumption of the Blessed Mother
Today we celebrate and meditate on the Assumption of Mary body and soul into heaven at the end of her life on earth. The doctrine of the Assumption is a divinely revealed truth that has always been implicit in Catholic Tradition. It is also the fourth Glorious Mystery of the Rosary, and in 1950 it was explicitly defined by Pope Pius XII as a dogma of the Catholic Church. Dogmas give us certainty. All sciences have dogmas. In arithmetic, it is a dogma that 2 + 2 is 4. In geometry, it is a dogma that triangles have three interior angles. In chemistry, it is a dogma that water is H2O. In the Christian faith, it is a dogma that Jesus is God. Karma cannot change dogma. All dogma is written in stone. Dogma is man’s best friend. Thank God for the dogmas of the Catholic Church. No one honors their Mother more than Christ and the Catholic Church. What do we believe about Mary?
In 1968, Pope St Paul VI formulated it in the Credo of the People of God:
We believe that Mary is the Mother, who remained ever a Virgin, of the Incarnate Word, our God and Savior Jesus Christ, and that by reason of this singular election, she was, in consideration of the merits of her Son, redeemed in a more eminent manner, preserved from all stain of original sin, and filled with the gift of grace more than all other creatures.
Joined by a close and indissoluble bond to the Mysteries of the Incarnation and Redemption, the Blessed Virgin, the Immaculate, was at the end of her earthly life raised body and soul to heavenly glory and was likened to her risen Son in anticipation of the future lot of all the just.
And we believe that the Blessed Mother of God, the New Eve, Mother of the Church, continues in heaven her maternal role with regard to Christ’s members, cooperating with the birth and growth of divine life in the souls of the redeemed.
The four Marian dogmas are her Motherhood of God, her Perpetual Virginity, her Immaculate Conception, and her Assumption into Heaven. As the Mother of Christ, Mary is the Mother of God. That truth of the Catholic faith necessarily follows from Christ’s divinity. Every Christian who denies it falls into a contradiction. The Council of Ephesus in 431 explicitly defined that Mary is the Mother of God because Christ is God. She is the Daughter of God the Father, the Spouse of God the Holy Spirit, and the Mother of God the Son.
Mary is the model of faith and Christian discipleship. To become the Mother of God the Son, she had to be immaculately conceived. Since she was immaculately conceived, she was taken body and soul into heaven at the end of her earthly life. There is a pious tradition that Mary chose to die because she wanted to be like her Son in all things. But we do not know for certain that Mary died, because that is not part of the dogma. It has not yet been defined. So perhaps Mary was assumed directly into heaven without dying. That’s what many Eastern Orthodox Christians believe, so they call her passing a dormition, like falling asleep. Neither Christ nor his Mother was obligated to die. If she died, then she chose to die in imitation of the sacrifice made by her Son. She would have died for love of her Son and for love of us. Mary shows us our destiny. We are destined for heaven. Christ desires to make us like his Mother, to some degree or another.
Christ gave his Mother to us to be our Mother. Do we love and honor our Mother? What are the signs?
Seek the intercession of Mary for your pressing needs and concerns. It works. Cast your cares on her, because she cares for you. Try it and see what happens.
Pray the Rosary and meditate on the mysteries, joining mental prayer to vocal prayer. Mary has asked us repeatedly to pray the Rosary, especially for world peace, which we need worse than ever.
Tell others about the graces and blessings you have received through Mary’s intercession. Give witness and recommend Mary’s intercession to others, especially to non-Christians. To give a testimony freely and joyfully is not proselytism. It is part of Christian discipleship. It is part of being a good son or daughter of Mary.
Today we honor our Mother Mary in the highest way possible, with the holy Sacrifice of the Mass.
Mass Collect
Almighty ever-living God, who assumed the Immaculate Virgin Mary, the Mother of your Son, body and soul into heavenly glory, grant, we pray, that, always attentive to the things that are above, we may merit to be sharers of her glory.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever.
© 2026, Lawain McNeil, Mission Surrender, LLC.