A religion teacher once asked her students: “What is the Solemnity of the Assumption?” One student responded, “That is when the Church assumes that Mary is in heaven.” We can give partial credit for the answer, but we must remember, the Church is not merely “assuming”. The doctrine of Mary’s Assumption is firmly rooted in Sacred Scripture and Church Tradition and this constant teaching was infallibly defined as a dogma of the Catholic Faith by Pope Pius XII as follows: “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.
Today, with the universal Church, we affirm our belief that Mary, the Mother of God is the perfect model of Christian life; who was preserved from the corruption of the grave and who is the Queen of Heaven and Earth.
On this Solemnity, we are also reminded that our destiny lies beyond the grave and each day we are being called to eternity. For that reason, we said these words in our Opening Prayer: “Always attentive to the things that are above, may we merit to be sharers of Mary’s glory.”
We cannot assume that we will go to heaven. We must strive daily to cooperate with the Lord’s grace so that we may be prepared on the day He calls us to Himself. Mary shows us the way: Like her, we must, “proclaim the goodness of the Lord and rejoice in God our Savior. Like her, we must with profound trust say daily: “Let it be done to me according to your word.” In other words, as humble and faithful disciples our souls must magnify---not ourselves, but the One is Lord, the Son of God, the Son of Mary.