The Solemnity of the Assumption, which is celebrated on Aug. 15 each year, commemorates Mary’s assumption into Heaven. Our Lady holds a privileged place in the Church as the mother of Our Lord, and since the fifth century, the Church has taught that Mary was “assumed,” or drawn up into heaven by God the Father.
This year, even though it falls on a Tuesday, the Assumption is a Holy Day of Obligation, and parishes will be offering Masses for the faithful. Be sure to use the Archdiocese of Denver’s Parish Locator to find the Mass that works best for you!
The Assumption is one of those solemnities that is only alluded to in Sacred Scripture, but the development of which is rooted in the Church’s rich tradition. As the Catechism says:
“…The Immaculate Virgin, preserved free from all stain of original sin, when the course of her earthly life was finished, was taken up body and soul into heavenly glory, and exalted by the Lord as Queen over all things, so that she might be the more fully conformed to her Son, the Lord of lords and conqueror of sin and death. The Assumption of the Blessed Virgin is a singular participation in her Son’s Resurrection and an anticipation of the resurrection of other Christians: In giving birth you kept your virginity; in your Dormition you did not leave the world, O Mother of God, but were joined to the source of Life. You conceived the living God and, by your prayers, will deliver our souls from death” (CCC 966).
In many ways, the Assumption signifies a replete hope for Christians, because we have a powerful intercessor and advocate in Mary. During his homily for the closing Mass of World Youth Day in 1993, which was celebrated on the Solemnity of the Assumption, Pope St. John Paul II put it this way:
“At her Assumption, Mary was ‘taken up to Life’ – body and soul. She is already a part of “the first fruits” (1 Cor 15:20) of our Savior’s redemptive Death and Resurrection. The Son took his human life from her; in return he gave her the fullness of communion in Divine Life. She is the only other being in whom the mystery has already been completely accomplished. In Mary the final victory of Life over death is already a reality. And, as the Second Vatican Council teaches: ‘In the most holy Virgin the Church has already reached the perfection whereby she exists without spot or wrinkle’ (Lumen gentium, 65). In and through the Church we too have hope of “an inheritance which is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for us'” (Cfr. 1 Pet 1:4).
So, as we celebrate the Assumption, may we always be strengthened in faith by the prayers of Our Blessed Mother, who is in heaven with her son.
Below is a prayer attributed to Saint Paul VI for the celebration of the Assumption:
O Immaculate Mary, Assumed into heaven, you who are most blessed in the vision of God: of God the Father who exalted you among all creatures, of God the Son who willed that you bear Him as your Son and that you should be His Mother, of God the Holy Spirit who accomplished the human conception of the Savior in you. O Mary, most pure O Mary, most sweet and beautiful O Mary, strong and thoughtful woman O Mary, poor and sorrowful O Mary, virgin and mother woman very human like Eve, more than Eve. You are near to God by your grace and by your privileges in your mysteries in your mission, in your glory. O Mary, assumed into the glory of Christ in the complete and transfigured perfection of our human nature. O Mary, gate of heaven mirror of divine light ark of the Covenant between God and mankind, let our souls fly after you let them fly long your radiant path, transported by a hope that the world does not contain eternal beatitude. Comfort us from heaven, O merciful Mother, and guide us along your ways of purity and hope till the day of that blessed meeting with you and with your divine Son our Savior, Jesus. Amen!