Where in the Bible is the Assumption of Mary?
Many of our non-Catholic brothers and sisters-in-Christ have many misunderstandings and misconceptions about the Blessed Virgin Mary and what the Catholic Church teaches about her. (It doesn't help that many Catholics have the same misconceptions or do not know how to explain these truths.) Out of the three Catholic Dogma's about Mary (her Immaculate Conception, being Ever Virgin and being Assumed body and soul into heaven) I think the one that seems the strangest to most people is the Assumption of Mary. The idea of this is so strange, that most people, Catholics and non-Catholics alike, just avoid it all together.
"Catholics just assume the Assumption." many will say as a way of just dismissing the whole thing without even knowing what it is, let alone considering if there's any truth to it at all. It's assumed it's false and assumed it's leading Catholics to hell. If you don't believe me, just come to the next "Walk to Mary" or come to the Shrine of Our Lady of Good Help this Saturday and observe the protesters. If anyone were to ask them, my guess is some might be able to tell you what the Assumption is in general - though there will be at least one thing wrong - and NONE will be able to tell you what verses from Scripture the Catholic Church read to come to this conclusion.
So, this is where we will begin:
What is the Assumption of Mary?
Many people get the "Assumption" of Mary and the "Ascension" of Jesus Christ mixed up in two ways:
1) Believing the "Assumption" is the "Ascension". These are two distinct events and are very (infinitely) different.
2) Believing that Mary did this of her own power.
To answer both at the same time, "Ascension" is something someone does for one's self: we ascend the stairs. "Assumption" is something someone has done to them: the cow ate the grass and assumed it into itself. The grass did not - nor is it capable of - force itself into the cow's stomach.
Jesus, being all God (and all man minus sin) Ascended into Heaven. He did it of His own Power. Mary was Assumed into Heaven. She did not have the power to do this herself. It was done to her by God. This is why I said before these two events are infinitely different.
So... What is the Assumption then?
I've said what the Assumption is not, but I have not said what it is. The Catholic Catechism paragraph 966 says:
"Finally 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...Again, just to point out that the Assumption was done TO Mary, not of her own power. This is important to point out to non-Catholics who believe the Catholic Church teaches that Mary is another member of the Trinity or otherwise deified.
Where is this in the Bible?
It is argued by detractors, that if Mary's Assumption is so important why isn't it mentioned explicitly in Scripture? The first response is that many important things are not mentioned in Scripture: the Trinity, the Hypostatic Union etc.
Unfortunately, though, most Catholics believe because of this, that the Assumption is just Tradition - which many errantly think is some sort of secret rules and teachings passed on in a secret game of 'telephone' from bishop to bishop. I won't stop to correct that here. I've even heard some Catholic apologists say that there's nothing in the Bible regarding Mary's Assumption. I believe they miss some very important verses in Scripture.
But there is some truth in what people say about not finding the Assumption in Scripture. If we recall, Mary was given to St. John, by Jesus - in the apex of Salvation history, I might add, making that an extremely important event that most ignore (I sense a future post...). Mary lived for many years after, with St. John, in Ephesus and later, possibly went back to Jerusalem with him for the 1st Ecumenical Council detailed out in Acts 15. It is argued whether or not she stayed in Jerusalem or traveled back to Ephesus. There are two graves claiming to be Mary's grave: one in Ephesus, one in Jerusalem. BOTH ARE EMPTY.
The whole point is that Mary was still alive when the vast majority of the New Testament was written so her Assumption COULDN'T have been mentioned.
The Assumption Revealed...
One of the few books of the New Testament not yet written prior to Mary's Assumption was Revelation. Interestingly, it is written by St. John, the one who lived with Mary. So wouldn't we expect him to mention it? He does.
Starting at Rev 11:19, St. John states he saw the Ark of the Covenant in Heaven. He then says the Ark is a woman (Rev 12:1). Most people miss this because of the chapter break. Now we know from our study of the Immaculate Conception of Mary that she is revealed as the Ark of the New Testament. So this is no surprise to knowledgeable Catholics that John sees the Ark as a woman.
This woman is no ordinary woman though. She is clothed in the sun, has the moon under her feet and is wearing a crown of 12 stars. She also bears Jesus: the one who is to rule the world with a rod of iron (Rev 12:5). Even though Revelation is written in a very symbolic language and each passage can have multiple meanings at the same time, this does not mean that we can't know some of the meanings, or that if we figure out one meaning that's the ONLY meaning to the passage. On the literal level, there is only one woman this woman could be: Mary. If we continue to read carefully, we see that this woman is one of the only ones mentioned in Heaven to have body parts (head, feet). The others in Heaven are mentioned only as 'Souls' (Rev 6:9). Mary is also taken away from Satan by 'two wings of the great eagle' (Rev 12:14).
There is one more verse that must be taken into consideration when speaking of Mary's Assumption. As I mentioned before, Mary is revealed in Scripture as the Ark of the New Covenant. Once we see this, Psalm 132:8 becomes very interesting:
"Rise up, O Lord, and go to your resting place,
you and the ark of your might."
Unfortunately even many Catholics have this attitude towards the Marian dogmas: 'How does this help me get to heaven?'
Almost all Christians agree that at the end of the world, our earthly bodies will be raised and rejoined to our souls. For those going to heaven, our earthly bodies will be glorified and what they will become, we cannot conceive of.
Mary's Assumption is that promise fulfilled at an earlier time so that we may believe in the resurrection of the dead. To deny that it is possible that Mary was Assumed into Heaven is to deny that we, as Christians, can hope for the resurrection of the dead. After all, Mary was the first person to accept Jesus, His Word and follow it so well she manifested, physically, Jesus to the world. If she is denied the bodily resurrection of the dead, what hope do we have?
How do I have this conversation?
1) Remain calm. Let them have the last word before you get upset.
2) Listen to their question / statement.
3) Start with a positive phrase: "This is a Great Question"
4) Explain what the Assumption is not and how it differs from Christ's Ascension
5) Explain what the Assumption IS (CCC 966)
6) Explain that Mary was alive for most of the writing of the New Testament so the Assumption, like many other important teachings, is not explicitly mentioned in Scripture
7) Take out your Bible (have a Bible with you) or use theirs and turn to Rev 11:19 through Rev 12:14
8) Show them how 'the woman' is Mary, she has body parts, she is seen in Heaven.
9) You may have to take a large detour to explain Mary as the Ark of the New Covenant
10) Show them Psalm 132:8
11) Point out that this is just an early fulfillment of the promises of Christ. If the possibility of Mary's Assumption is denied, then there's no way we gain it either.
12) End with, "I hope this helps you see that the Catholic Church has biblical reasons for her teaching on the Assumption of Mary."
Let us rejoice in the Power and Glory of Christ in bringing His mother into Heaven, this Aug 15th!
