1) The Divine Motherhood of Mary (aka Theotokos)
2) Mary’s Perpetual Virginity
3) Mary’s Immaculate Conception
4) Mary’s Assumption
In 1950 Pope Pius XII infallibly declared 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). This truth was unanimously held in the Early Church and by Church Fathers, what we call our Sacred Tradition. But Pope Pius XII also points out the connections in Sacred Scripture.
Pope Pius said that the truth for the Assumption flows naturally from the scriptural foundation of another Marian Dogma, the Immaculate Conception which was defined in 1854. In Genesis 3:15, what is commonly called the protoevangelium (the first gospel), we see God say to the serpent, “I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed…” The serpent represents Satan and his seed is sin, evil, and all evil humans and angels. The Woman represents Mary and Jesus her seed. The Church defines this enmity as an absolute and complete opposition to sin and evil. Thus, Mary was granted, as a gift from God, an immaculate (sinless) nature at the moment of her conception – the Immaculate Conception. Naturally flowing from this truth, Mary then would not suffer the effects of original sin, one being death and corruption of the body. Therefore, this absolute and complete opposition prophesized in Gen 3:15 is opposition to sin and the effects of sin, death (Rom 5-8). Also, proceeding from the Assumption is the Coronation, which is Mary being crowned Queen of heaven and of earth. We see this in Rev 12:1, and this presumes Mary being assumed bodily into heaven.
Because this is a gift granted to Mary by God, and therefore declared that by the Catholic Church in the form of dogma, acceptance of Mary can not be arbitrary nor extraordinary. It is appropriate that we come to Jesus the same way he came to us, and that is through Mary the Mother of God. We as Catholics do not worship Mary, we only worship and adore God. We give Mary the highest honor and veneration over all creatures ever created, because God did first! We see in 1 Kings 2:19 Bathsheba, the gebhirah, or Queen Mother’s, role in the Davidic Kingdom. She enjoyed a position superior to all other woman, was crowned and sat in a throne at the right hand of the king. (see also 1 Kgs 15:13, 2 Chr 15:16, Jer 13:18, 29:2)
Therefore, it is essential that we find a place in our hearts for Mary. We must honor her because God honored her and crowned her Queen of heaven and earth. Because of Mary we have received the Word of God made flesh. On this feast of the Assumption may we truly take Mary into our homes, and into our hearts as Christ, using his last few breaths on the cross, commanded us to do (Jn 19:26-27).
