Expert: Griff Ruby - 1/2/2009

Question
QUESTION: My understanding is that dogmas are considered true and   grounded on authority of the Catholic Church.  Are any of the following dogma?
1. The Assumption, 2. The Immaculate Conception, 3. Ever Virgin (Mary)

ANSWER: My extreme apologies for the delay.
All three are dogma.
Item (1) stems from the facts that from the earliest, the traditions as to her future (that the Apostle John, who wrote the Gospel of John, took her with him to live in Ephesus, that on the day she died her body disappeared, having been taken up into Heaven), and finally from the fact that unlike all other New Testament figures, there are no relics from the body of Mary, no bones, no teeth, or anything else of the kind that does exist for all Apostles and other New Testament saints.  Though finally yea verily nailed down as a dogma only as recently as 1950, the rosary had celebrated her Assumption as one of its mysteries for many centuries, at least as far back as the rosary itself goes.
Item (2) stems from the greeting given to Mary by the angel Gabriel, as reported in Luke 1:28.  The angel said, "Hail, full of Grace!"  No one but Mary has ever been described as being full of Grace, e. g. filled up to the brim with nothing but Grace, which therefore leaves no room for sin in any part of her being, all sin she might have otherwise inherited having been cleansed from her being from even before her own conception.  For to be so filled with Grace (itself a necessary prerequisite of being the mother of Christ, who must also be born without sin, despite drawing His flesh from His mother), there can be no part of her that was lost to sin, so from the tips of her toes to the top of her head, from the left fingertips to the right fingertips, from back to front, and most importantly, from the very beginning of her existence to throughout all the eternity of her existence that is to come, she must therefore be totally without sin, and so has always been believed from the very beginning.
Item (3) stems from the response given by Mary to the angel Gabriel when told that she would be the mother of the Messiah, as reported in Luke 1:34.  She said "How can this be?  I do not know man."  She did not say "I have not known man," as though to suggested she might yet in the future, even in her upcoming marriage to Joseph, for otherwise why ask the question?  She said that "I DO NOT know man," as the difference between one who says "I have not smoked" suggests the possibility that one might yet smoke some day, versus one who says "I do not smoke" which means that he will not.  So by this statement Mary revealed herself to have consecrated her virginity to God, that she should be perpetually a virgin, a decision in no way affected by her decision to marry Joseph, who consented to marry her with this understanding that they would remains virgins in their marriage.  That being the case, how could she have also been a mother, of the Messiah, or anyone else, and hence her question.  The answer, as given by the angel, was not that she would be dispensed from her vow of perpetual virginity, but that a miraculous event should occur.
I hope this answers your questions, God bless!


---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: You provided the date 1950 for the Assumption becoming dogma.  Can you cite a document for me to read?  Thank you for the assistance.

Answer
The original Papal document in which this doctrine was absolutely and irrevocably finalized was titled "Munificentissimus Deus" and it was promulgated on November 1, 1950 by His Holiness Pope Pius XII.
A little superficial background on this document can be found here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Munificentissimus_Deus
And a text of it can be found here:
http://www.ewtn.com/library/PAPALDOC/P12MUNIF.HTM
Hope this helps, God bless!