The Assumption of Mary August 15

Every August 15, the Church celebrates a beautiful holy day of obligation : the Assumption of Mary.

The Assumption is the moment when God gathered His Mother into Heaven, body and soul, at the end of her life. It’s the crown at the end of a life lived perfectly in the eyes of the Lord.

While the Bible doesn’t give us a step-by-step account of Mary’s Assumption, but ,  Sacred Tradition from the earliest centuries Christians has been passed down. Scared tradition predates scared scriptures and is the living memory of the Church guided by the Holy Spirit.

After Jesus ascended into heaven, Mary continued to live among the apostles, encouraging the young Church. When her time on earth came to an end, all the apostles (except St. Thomas, who was far away) gathered around her. She gave them her blessing, and with complete trust in God, peacefully surrendered her soul to Him. They laid her body in a tomb. But when St. Thomas arrived days later and wanted to see her one last time, the apostles opened the tomb, and found it empty. Instead of a body, they found the tomb filled with sweet fragrance and flowers.

The Church understands this as the moment when God, in His love, took Mary up to heaven — body and soul — so that the one who carried

His Son would never know decay.

This truth was proclaimed as a dogma of faith by Pope Pius XII in 1950, but it had been believed and celebrated in the Church for well over 1,500 years before that.

“The Assumption of the Blessed Virgin is a singular participation in her Son’s Resurrection and an anticipation of the resurrection of other Christians” (CCC 966).

From the very beginning, Mary was different. The angel Gabriel didn’t greet her with “Hello” , he said, “Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with you” (Luke 1:28, NABRE). That “full of grace” means there was no room for sin in her.

This is what we call the Immaculate Conception — not Jesus’ conception, but Mary’s. God, looking ahead to her role as the Mother of the Savior, preserved her from the stain of original sin. That’s why death, which is the consequence of sin, had no claim over her.

Mary isn’t just the mother of a great prophet or holy man — she’s the Mother of God. When she carried Jesus in her womb, she was carrying God Himself in human flesh. Elizabeth, filled with the Holy Spirit, called her “the mother of my Lord” (Luke 1:43).

Think about that: the One who created the world chose to have a mother — and He chose her. In the Old Testament, the Ark of the Covenant was the holiest thing on earth. It carried the tablets of the Law, Aaron’s priestly rod, and manna from heaven. In the New Testament, Mary carried the living Word of God, the eternal High Priest, and the Bread of Life.

In Revelation 11:19–12:1, we see the Ark in heaven — and then immediately, a “woman clothed with the sun.” That’s no accident. Mary is God’s Ark, pure and untouchable, and in the Assumption we see her brought into His heavenly temple.

The first Eve’s “no” brought sin, death, and suffering into the world. Mary’s “yes” opened the door for salvation. St. Irenaeus wrote over 1,800 years ago that “the knot of Eve’s disobedience was untied by Mary’s obedience.”

Where Eve brought a curse, Mary brought a blessing. And in her Assumption, we see the final undoing of Eden’s curse — instead of returning to dust, she was lifted into glory.

Mary’s Assumption isn’t just about her — it’s a promise for you and me. It’s God saying: “This is your future, too, if you stay close to my Son.” One day, our souls will be reunited with our glorified bodies, just like hers.

Mary is already there, cheering us on, praying for us, and reminding us that saying “yes” to God is worth it — every time.

Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee.

Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death.

Amen.

God Bless,

Patrick Leigh, COO

The Modern Apostle LLC