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Kayla
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| Joined: | Mon Jul 30th, 2007 |
| Location: | Emmitsburg, Maryland USA |
| Posts: | 369 |
| First Name: | Kayla | | Gender: | Female | | Faith History: | Atheist, kind-of Mormon, Catholic |
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Posted: Wed Oct 17th, 2007 09:46 pm |
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I was wondering if there were any official Church documents that speak in depth on the matter of the Assumption of the Blessed Mother? Also, any well known writings of the Church Fathers, Popes, renowned theologians, etc. I'm looking for something that is more than the simple explanation of this doctrine (that Mary was indeed assumed, body and soul into Heaven).
What would be ideal is something that delves into Mary's sinless nature, her inability to experience death (in the parting of body and soul), prenatural graces (is this the correct term?) juxtaposed to supernatural graces, and how she participates in the Resurrection.
I realize this a laundry list  , and I am more than willing to look into many different sources.
____________________
I believe, Lord, help my unbelief.
Jesus, I trust in You!
There's not a lot of job security for us after death. I suppose that's one advantage of being a philosopher. - Peter Kreeft
http://kayla23mount.blogspot.com/
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David W. Emery
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| Joined: | Fri Sep 29th, 2006 |
| Location: | Brownsville, Texas USA |
| Posts: | 2282 |
| First Name: | David | | Gender: | Male | | Faith History: | Catholic |
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Posted: Wed Oct 17th, 2007 11:01 pm |
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Kayla, the fact is that our blessed Mother’s assumption is nothing more than an extension into the present time (from our admittedly temporal viewpoint) of what will happen at the end of time with each and every person that is saved: her body was reunited with her soul, and she was received into heaven. In that regard there is nothing whatsoever extraordinary about it.
The only thing left is the question of when and how it happened, and this has not been detailed in the dogmatic pronouncement beyond the idea that it is an accomplished fact. Considering that we are talking about eternity here, I don’t see much of a problem in saying it’s a matter of our temporal perspective: eternity has no past or future, so the question cannot really be discussed.
Even if we consider an alternative tradition which says she didn’t die when she reached the end of her earthly sojourn, there is nothing extraordinary in it. In that case, her body would have remained united with her soul, as is expected of those humans who will be living at the end of time (cf. 1 Corinthians 15:51). But whether or not she died is not part of the dogma, so I do not think this factor needs to be considered as a necessary condition.
With this in mind, why should we be looking for official documents detailing how the assumption came about? If we need to know the reasons behind the pronouncement, these were outlined, point by point, in the declaration of the dogma.
Yes, there are books of theology which discuss the reasons in detail, but they are not always easy to acquire or understand. I can mention one that I am just finishing, which is The Mother of the Saviour, by Fr. Reginald Garrigou-Lagrange. I think it is about as easy a theology text as we are going to find, but it is full of Thomistic terms and analyses which would require a certain familiarity with that school of thought to assimilate. The book has a good bibliography, but only a specialized library (maybe the seminary library at Mount St. Mary’s?) might have the works referenced; they are mostly in French or Latin and almost certainly all out of print. Oh, and only limited quantities of the Garrigou-Lagrange book are available, because it has recently gone out of print. Sorry I can’t be of more help.
David
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CajunRick
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| Joined: | Fri Sep 29th, 2006 |
| Location: | Houma, Louisiana USA |
| Posts: | 5458 |
| First Name: | Rick (& Kermie) | | Gender: | Male | | Faith History: | Lifetime Catholic, Latin Rite |
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Posted: Thu Oct 18th, 2007 01:12 am |
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Kayla wrote: her inability to experience death (in the parting of body and soul)
Kayla, the Church has taken no position on whether or not Mary "died".
On August 15th, the Latin Rite celebrates the Assumption of Mary. The Eastern Churches (Catholic and Orthodox) celebrate the "Dormition of Mary". Dormition comes from the same root word as "dormitory" and it means "falling asleep". The Church declares that Mary was assumed body and soul into heaven at the end of her earthly life. CCC966 and 2853 detail that Mary was preserved from the "corruption of death" when the "course of her earthly life was finished." That doesn't necessarily mean that she didn't die.
The actual dogma declared by Pope Pius XII, as given in the document David cited, states:
"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."
That's it. That's the whole thing. It is not impossible under that definition that she died, or even that her body and soul briefly separated, although I doubt it. I prefer to believe that she was spared of death entirely and simply fell asleep, and was then taken bodily into heaven. That's the Eastern explanation, which I prefer.
But it would not violate the dogma as I read it to believe that she actually died and that her soul momentarily separated from her physical body.
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Understanding is the reward of faith. Therefore seek not to understand that you may believe, but believe that you may understand. - Augustine
Rick Luquette
Luquette Lane
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