Assumption of the Virgin Mary: Is the dogma in the Bible?

Fray Nelson Medina, Dominican priest and a doctor of fundamental theology known for his apostolate on social networks, travels through the Bible to answer the question about whether the dogma of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary, whose party the Church celebrates every August 15, is or not in the Holy Scriptures.

A response prior to fundamentalism

“A direct search in the Bible, trying to find the verses in which it is said that Mary the Mother of Jesus was assumed to heaven will be unsuccessful,” says the priest in an article entitled “On the biblical sources of the dogma of the assumption of the Virgin Mary”, Published on its website.

Fray Nelson after that, “according to some fundamentalists of the Bible, it would imply that the assumption of Mary is a creation or fantasy only human, typical in addition to Catholicism: a kind of myth or fable.”

However, it continues, “it is lawful to ask about the validity of such an interpretation system of the Holy Scripture. Is it that perhaps we should consider as false or doubtful everything that is not explicitly in the Bible? For example, the Bible does not say that the apostle John died; there is no verse that affirms it.”

This answer, highlights the doctor in fundamental theology, “implies admitting something very important: Not everything has to be explicitly in writing. The valid deductions that derive from the texts lead us to elements of our faith. ”

Fray Nelson explained that that is why the venerable “Pope Pius XII followed a very solid and clear path before declaring, on November 1, 1950 the dogma of the assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary.”

That process, said the theologian expert, had three steps:

· Verify that there is no contradiction with the Scriptures;

· Even more, show that, despite how unusual it may sound at the beginning to affirm the assumption of Mary, it is possible and logical to understand it from the Bible; and

· Listen widely to the testimony of Catholic communities around the world, and in particular, listen to their bishops brothers.

Some foundations of the Bible

As Romans points out 6, 23; “Death, and therefore, the corruption of death, are a consequence of sin; they did not belong to God’s original plan,” recalls Fray Nelson.

Given this, “Christ has come to undo the works of the devil (1 John 3, 8). That is why the redemption we have received in Christ involves victory over sin and death (see Romans 6, 3-4)” and “The redemptive work of Christ can be described and summarized as a new life, an abundant life (John 10, 10).”

The Dominican also stressed that “this new life is experienced by the Christian already from this earth, and manifests itself in the fruits of the Easter of Christ (Galatians 5, 22-23; Romans 6, 11)”.

“The fullness of that novelty of life, contains our full participation in the resurrection of the Lord (1 Corinthians 15, 19-20),” he continues.

On the resurrection of the faithful, Fray Nelson explains that “it is not a purely ‘spiritual event; on the contrary, as well as sin ruined the soul and body, the victory of the resurrection of Christ implies the new life of grace in the soul and the real and certain resurrection of our bodies, as in fact we say in the symbol of the apostles. In 1 Corinthians 15, 20 San Paul spiritual ”.

Thus, “all the disciples of the Lord are called to live in grace and holiness in this life, and then to resurrect for all eternity,” as 2 Timothy 2, 11 says.

Fray Nelson also details that the Bible “proclaims with eloquence and abundance the holiness of Mary, always presenting it as who receives from God and the grace of Christ. She is the ‘full of grace’ (Luke 1, 28); the ‘blessed among all women’ (Luke 1, 42), to which all generations we call and call ‘blessed’ by Antonomasia (Luke 1, 48).

In that sense, he emphasizes, “it is evident that such an abundance of the work of redemptive grace in it means one more and more full victory against sin.”

In addition, “by recognizing her as a true mother of the Son of God (Luke 1, 35.42), a mother who therefore has a way of authority over her son (Luke 2, 51), and seeing what the writing shows her, Christians, since the first centuries have seen in her the perfect victory of God over sin.”

Fray Nelson points out that “that is why they have spoken and confess the impeccability of Mary as well as the freedom of her pure soul in the face of the common consequences of original sin; otherwise, sin, through the mother’s authority over the Son, would have some kind of power over the eternal Son of God, which disgusts all the Christological teaching of all time.”

Then, the Virgin Mary “was free from the consequences of original sin and who lived without sin, had no impediment to receive all the work of grace, which, as we have said, culminates in the perfection of grace in the soul and in the resurrection of the body.”

Conclusion

In this way, “affirming the assumption of the Virgin Mary is nothing other than affirming the realization of the resurrection of Christ in it.”

Fray Nelson also points out that “the works of Christ are only good and were recorded in their resurrected and glorious body: they are in fact their glorious sores. That is why the resurrection of the Lord could happen shortly after his death because it is not mixed”, that is to say that there are no bad things, “but only goodness.”

“What happens then if a person’s works are only good, he is free from original sin and has not committed personal sin?” Questioned the doctor of fundamental theology.

“The logical thing is to affirm what the declaration of the dogma of the Assumption affirms,” he said.

Numeral 44 of the Apostolic Constitution Munificentissimus From Pope Pius XII, he points out: “We pronounce, declare and define being a dogma of divine revelation that the immaculate mother of God, always Virgin Mary, fulfilled the course of her earthly life, He was in body and soul to the celestial glory”.

Originally published on August 14, 2022. It has been updated for republication.