Expert: George A. Card,sfo, M.I - 6/6/2005

Question
Thanks for your answer.

So there is no biblical evidence of Mary's Assumption and the belief is merely based upon conjecture and papal opinion? I suppose that is as valid as biblical evidence as there is actually no contemporaneous evidence of Jesus' life, for example the gospels were written by those who had never met Christ some years after the Crucifixion.

Steve

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Followup To
Question -
Hi

What is the basis for the belief in the Assumption of the BVM?

Regards

Steve
Answer -
         Peace

Dear Steve--

  The doctrine of the Assumption says that at the end of her life on earth Mary was assumed, body and soul, into heaven, just as Enoch, Elijah, and perhaps others had been before her.
  It's also necessary to keep in mind what the Assumption is not. Some people think Catholics believe Mary "ascended" into heaven. That's not correct. Christ, by his own power, ascended into heaven. Mary was assumed or taken up into heaven by God. She didn't do it under her own power.
   The Church has never formally defined whether she died or not, and the integrity of the doctrine of the Assumption would not be impaired if she did not in fact die, but the almost universal consensus is that she did die.
  Pope Pius XII, in the document Munificentissimus Deus (1950), defined that Mary, "after the completion of her earthly life was assumed body and soul into the glory of heaven."(note the silence regarding her death)
   The possibility of a bodily assumption before the Second Coming is kinda suggested by Matthew 27:52–53: "The tombs also were opened, and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised, and coming out of the tombs after his resurrection they went into the holy city and appeared to many."
   Did all these Old Testament believers die and have to be buried all over again? There is no record of that, but it is recorded by early Church writers that they were assumed into heaven, or at least into that temporary state of rest and happiness often called "paradise," where the righteous people from the Old Testament era waited until Christ's resurrection (cf. Luke 16:22, 23:43; Heb. 11:1–40; 1 Pet. 4:6), after which they were brought into the eternal bliss of heaven.
    It is easy to document that, from the first, Christians venerated the saints, including many about whom we now know little or nothing about. Cities vied for the title of the last resting place of the most famous saints. Rome, for example, houses the tombs of Peter and Paul, Peter's tomb being under the high altar of St. Peter's Basilica in Rome.
   It is agreed upon that Mary ended her life in Jerusalem, or perhaps in Ephesus. However, neither of them  nor any other claimed her remains, though there are claims about possessing her temporary tomb. Why did no city claim the bones of Mary? Apparently because there weren't any bones to claim, and people knew it. Here was Mary, certainly the most privileged of all the saints, certainly the most saintly, but we have no record of her bodily remains being venerated anywhere.
         
         your sevant but His first

         george
PS. this is my attempt to write on the Assumption, so your input would be helpful to improve for next.  

Answer
         Peace
Dear Steve-
 I would say there is no explict biblical prove for the Assumption yet there is possible inexplicit proves as I shared.
 The Gospels were written before or in A.D. 100. To where written by an Apostle: St. Matthew and St. John. St Luke based his report on eyewitnesses to the events. St. Mark wrote his in style that suggest he was personal friend and/or sectary to St. Peter.
  In the year A.D. 90, the so-called council of Jamia took place. It was a private group of Jewish Rabbi, who met to establish a rabbical school. One of their documents the list books they (personally) agreed was Sacred Scripture that was beyond the Torah (the first five books of O.T.).
They make mention of the Gospel of Matthew, with these harsh words:
   " we reject all those that speak of the dark one who claimed to be the Messiah, especially the Memior written by his vile servant Levi, in the tongue of God's Chosen"
  St. Matthew is also called Levi in the New Testament. I am in the process of writting more on this interesting so called council. I will posting to my blog site, once I confirm some ideas I have related to it.
  What I quoted of Pius XII is not his mere opinion but a dogmatic statement, which is binding on all Catholics. Dogmatic statements are confirmations of doctrines already believed by the Church, and are never prouncements of new revelations from God.

         your servant in the Messiah
         george