The Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary

The feast was originally celebrated in the East, where it is known as the Feast of the 

Dormition, a word which means "the falling asleep." The earliest printed reference to the belief that Mary's body was assumed into Heaven dates from the fourth century, in a document entitled "The Falling Asleep of the Holy Mother of God." 

The document is written in the voice of the Apostle John, to whom Christ on the Cross had entrusted the care of His mother, and recounts the death, laying in the tomb, and assumption of the Blessed Virgin.

The Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary into Heaven at the end of her earthly life is a defined dogma of the Catholic Church. On November 1, 1950, Pope Pius XII, exercising papal infallibility, declared in Munificentissimus Deus that it is a dogma of the Church "that 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."

We truly believe this because of her purity, thereby bringing her closer to God than anyone else. What we are celebrating is the purity of Mary that enabled to her to be assumed into heaven body and soul. In the Bible, only 2 other people have had this privilege, Enoch and Elijah.

This is a constant reminder for us as Catholics that the virtue of purity is still much alive in this current world. The past few years have brought many evils into society, gender issues, technology, virtual reality and so on. The one big issue that is currently affecting the church is that of family and marriage.

The church is constantly struggling with issues regarding cohabitation before marriage and same sex union. In Singapore, many couples are already cohabitating before marriage and this causes a lot of problems in the church. It is not about rules and regulations but it is about the dignity and purity of a human person before marriage as stated in Scripture.

We need to take Mary as our model and promote her as a model of purity for all families and couples. It is because of her purity that God chose her to be the mother of God and raised her to heaven.  In a world filled with the wrong notion of freedom, there is a constant need to bring this truth to everyone, that purity is not about surrendering our freedom but rather to allow ourselves to grow closer to God.

Many of us here are mothers and grandmothers and we have the responsibility to cultivate this virtue in our children and grandchildren. The challenge is great but I believe that whatever we do, however small, will make a difference in the future. The question is are we willing or courageous enough to take this step?

What we do will not be popular or well received, especially by our loved ones who are more inclined to follow the world but with God on our side, we can make a difference. Let us constantly ask the intercession of Mary that our effort may not fall on deaf ears and to grant us the grace to carry out this task.