Heaven's Jubilee: the Assumption

Happy feast of the Assumption! It is indeed a Holy Day of Obligation, so yes, you have to go to mass. It is also a very important Marian feast day. Applying papal infallibility, on November 1st, 1950, in the Encyclical Munificentissimus Deus, Pope Pius XII stated that the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary is a dogma of the Church. Within Holy Mother Church, there are doctrines and dogmas. While they sound alike, they actually differ. A doctrine would be an official Church teaching, such as transubstantiation or the Communion of Saints. On the other holy-hand, a dogma is an article of faith that has been revealed by God, which Holy Mother Church presents as obligatory to believe. There are four Marian dogmas; the Assumption is one the them, along with her Divine Motherhood, Perpetual Virginity and Immaculate Conception. Our Blessed Mother was blessed bearing the truths of these four dogmas, because as the dogma of the Immaculate Conception reveals, she was completely preserved from all stain of Original Sin. Therefore, Our Blessed Mother was perfectly pure and holy in every way. It is fitting that one so clean and undefiled would carry the Son of God, the Word made Flesh; Jesus Christ, in her sacred womb and also be graced to be taken, body and soul, to Heaven, where nothing unclean enters. (See Rev. 21:27)

"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."
-Munificentissimus Deus

This day should be a celebration of love for the Blessed Mother and awe at the mighty works of God Almighty. How good and loving is Our Lord to have protected Our Blessed Mother from the bodily corruption that naturally follows after death. One cannot fully fathom the joy of Mother and Son being reunited for all eternity, as their Hearts beat as one. Another subject to meditate on is the jubilee which followed Immaculate Mary's entrance into Heaven; my thought of it is all nine choirs of angels singing and flying everywhere, while the Son embraces His Mother. As she is now in Heaven with God the Father, Her Son, and her spouse the Holy Spirit, she became our powerful yet gentle Queen, Mother, Advocate and Intercessor. 24 hours is not long enough to give all of the praise and thanksgiving the Feast of the Assumption totally deserves. However, while the feast itself cannot be prolonged (August 15th doesn't last forever), it can still be kept alive in our hearts by daily honoring Our Blessed Mother and giving thanks and praise to Our mighty God. 

On a side note, I am at the beginning of my Marian consecration to Our Lady of Sorrows, which will end on the September 15th, her solemnity. I would greatly appreciate prayers for perseverance and a fruitful consecration!

I sincerely hope that you have a joyous feast day with an increase of love for Our Blessed Mother! Salve Regina!

                    


Mater Dolorosa, ora pro nobis,
-Yvonne Gemma