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.

Mary's Birth to Heaven

The dogmatic definition of the Assumption does not specify whether the Blessed Virgin died or fell asleep. There are actually two traditions on the matter.

The Tradition of Ephesus:

The Blessed Virgin spent the last years of her life in Ephesus, Turkey, together with St. John. They resided in a house known as the House of the Virgin Mary, which was rediscover in 1881 and transformed into a chapel. When her time came, she fell asleep and the angels brought her, body and soul, to the glory of Heaven it was August 15, later chosen by the Church to celebrate the Feast of the Assumption. The Ephesus theory is supported by the presence of Tomb of St. John nearby. This tradition is known as Dormitio Mariae, or "Falling Asleep of Mary".







The Tradition of Jerusalem:

At the end of her life of her life, Mary was Jerusalem together with John and other apostles. She actually died as was buried near the Garden of Olives, in the so called Tomb of Mary preserved till the present. Three days later, St. Thomas arrived and wanted to inspect the body of the Blessed Virgin. After removing the stone, they found the tomb completely empty and they realized that they realized that she was assumed body and soul to Paradise. This tradition underlines that the Virgin Mary should also be subjected to the general law of death, in conformity with the death of her Divine Son Jesus.