Catholics
hold that God permitted Mary, the mother of Jesus, to be taken up body and soul to heaven. This belief is commonly called the the Assumption of Mary.
On November 1, 1950, Pius XII declared to the entire Christian Church the following statement:
“…by the authority of our Lord Jesus Christ, of the Blessed Apostles Peter and Paul, and by our own authority, we pronounce, declare, and define it to be a divinely revealed dogma: 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” (Munificentissimus Deus)
Hence, the age old Christian tradition of the bodily Assumption of Mary was confirmed infallibly by the successor of St. Peter, head of the apostles.
Now let’s be clear — this date in 1950 did not mark the “invention” of the doctrine. Rather, Pope Pius XII saw a need to make it clear to the faithful what was the constant apostolic teaching and not a doctrine up for a debate. It was a re-affirmation of an antiquity-old doctrine.
But does Pope Pius XII and the rest of the Catholic faithful have reasonable grounds to proclaim such an event as true history? This is what this post is aiming to explore — whether there are any good reasons to believe that Mary was taken up into heaven, body and soul, at the end of her earthly life.
Read More The Assumption of Mary: Is It Reasonable To Believe?
Whenever good-hearted theological debate ensues among my non-Catholic Christian friends and I, I’ve noticed that the topic of Purgatory inevitably seems to arise. It appears to be a crowd favorite — a topic of much wonder and equal controversy.
Interestingly, and despite the fact Purgatory is a prized topic of friendly ecumenical quarrel, very few Protestants actually seem to know what the doctrine actually is that they are saying “no” to. Full of assumptions they often object without pause only to find after careful correction that their true understanding of Purgatory was, in fact, lacking..
All too often, however, we Catholics are no better in understanding this same doctrine to which we say “yes”.
This is a problem that can easily be corrected.
In his conversion story the renowned Catholic philosopher and author, Dr. Peter Kreeft, recalls one fateful day in college. He was in “Church History” class. To stimulate thought-provoking discussion amongst his Calvinist students, the professor provocatively lamented at how absurd it would sound to the early Christians if they were to respond to the question “Who founded your Church?” with “John Calvin.” This controversial reflection stirred the mind of young Kreeft into a state of deep inquiry.
That day in class, Dr. Kreeft was compelled to ask a profoundly bold question; and that question catapulted him in the direction of the Catholic faith. His question went something like this:
If two Christians, a non-Catholic and a Catholic, could travel back in time to the earliest centuries of Christianity who would be more “at home”? The non-Catholic or the Catholic?
After a thorough critical investigation, the answer became clear. The early Church was Catholic, through and through. Although it was in a more primitive form, he found that the early Christian Church had a shocking resemblance to the Catholic Church of modern times. So he became Catholic. He had to. He loved Truth too much.
Welcome! I like to ponder what St. John Paul II called "the fundamental questions which pervade human life." Sometimes I write my thoughts down. This blog is where you'll find them.
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