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Monday, October 26, 2009

The Assumption of Mary in the Bible

What is the biblical basis of the Catholic Church for the Dogma of Assumption of Mary?

The Assumption is closely related to the dogma of Resurrection of the Body. We believe at death, the immortal soul proceed for the personal judgment, and thence to hell, Purgatory or to the Paradise of heaven; meanwhile, the body is corrupted and goes back to dust whence it was taken. At the end of time, there will be the resurrection of the body- meaning that the body will be reunited with soul, and together the risen body and soul will proceed to the universal judgment. In the case of our Blessed Virgin, her body did not experience corruption but was assumed immediately together with her soul to Paradise.



The dogma of the Assumption of Mary is the implicitly based on the Book of Revelation: " 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" (Revelation 12:1 ). The woman is the Blessed Virgin. She is crowned with 12 stars, representing the 12 apostle, because she is the Mother of the Church; she is clothed with the sun, representing the Holy Spirit, because she is full of grace. The moon under her feet, symbolizing the firmament, indicates that she is the Queen of Heaven.
The feast of the Queenship of Mary, celebrated on August 22, was instituted in 1954 by Pius XII with the encyclical letter Ad Caeli Reginam. The feast is closely related to the Assumption, since the Blessed Virgin after beingg assumed into Paradise, was crowned Queen of Heaven and Earth.

Friday, October 2, 2009

Our Lady of the Rosary

The feast of the Our Lady of the Rosary was established in 1571 by St. Pius V to commemorate the naval battle of Lepanto. The victory of the Christian fleet over the Turks was attributed to the Blessed Virgin, whose help through praying the Holy Rosary.

According to the venerable tradition the rosary was revealed to St. Dominic by the Blessed Virgin. In the year 1214, as St. Dominic withdrew into a forest near Toulouse, France, for three days of prayer and penance, the Virgin Mary appeared to him accompanied by three angels and gave him the Holy Rosary. She said " Dear Dominic, do you know which weapon the Blessed Trinity wants to use to reform the world? I want you to know this warfare, the principal weapon always been the Angelic Psalter (the Hail Mary), which is the foundation-stone of the New Testament. Therefore, if you want to reach these hardened souls and win them over to God, preach my Psalter."





Our Lady said that anytime people recite the Hail Mary they are giving her a beautiful rose, and that each complete Rosary makes her a crown of roses, in Latin Rosarium. Accordingly, St. Dominic promoted the Rosary for the rest of his life, witnessing an outpouring of graces and conversions.

The mysteries of the Holy Rossary, divided into Joyful, Luminous, Sorrowful and Glorious, reflects the principal events of the life of Jesus and the Blessed Virgin Mary. Pope Paul VI said that the rosary, without the mediation on these mysteries is like a dead person with out life.
 
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