Mary from East to West: “Assumpta”

The Catholic Dogma of the Assumption of Mary teaches that “having completed the course of her earthly life, [Mary] was assumed, body and soul, into heavenly glory”.^[1] The declaration of this doctrine deliberately does not specify whether or not Mary experienced earthly death, attempting to accommodate both a sizeable proportion of Catholic scholars who argue that she did not and the Orthodox Church’s view that she, as all the departed, (and indeed her Son) experienced death.

The Doctrine of the Assumption is similar to the Orthodox doctrine of the Dormition of the Theotokos, which also teaches that Mary was bodily assumed into heaven, but specifically holds that this occurred after her death. Orthodox Tradition holds that Mary’s death was witnessed by all the Apostles except St. Thomas and that she was subsequently placed into a tomb. Upon Thomas’ return a few days later, the tomb was opened to allow him to see the body, and it was realised that her body had gone.^[2] This develops Thomas’s role as the “doubting apostle”, mirroring his request to touch the risen Christ’s wounds. Mary’s bodily resurrection and glorification is seen as the ‘first fruits’ of the resurrection of the faithful that will occur at the second coming of her Son.^[3]

The differences between the Orthodox doctrine of the Dormition and the Catholic doctrine of the Assumption are underpinned by the Orthodox rejection of the Doctrine of the Immaculate conception (itself based upon divergent views of Original Sin), along with a differing understanding of sanctification and Theosis.

For Catholics, Mary’s preservation from personal and inherited sin effectively returned her to an ‘unfallen’ state. Whilst the issue of Mary’s death has not been codified in dogma, many Catholics argue that as death entered the world as a consequence of the fall, Mary’s freedom from Original Sin and preservation from personal sin ‘exempts’ her from an experience of earthly death as she remained in the state of grace that Adam and Eve were to enjoy – prior to death entering the world.^[4] Thus Tolkien argues:

“The Assumption of Mary, the only unfallen person, may be regarded as in some ways a simple regaining of unfallen grace and liberty: she asked to be received, and was, having no further function on Earth.”^[5]

Such a view is clearly incompatible with the Orthodox understanding of original sin as discussed above and represents a further separation of Mary from broader humanity – something which Orthodoxy opposes. Indeed, even if Mary is said to be unfallen, she was not pre-fallen, and lived within a fallen world. Thus, she is seen as subject to the same unavoidable consequences of the first sin, particularly death, which is not inherently a ‘punishment’ for personal sin.

Furthermore, the Dormition must be viewed within the context of the broader Orthodox theology of Theosis (θεωσις), the process whereby the Christian is drawn into union with God, enabled by Christ’s incarnation, as mankind “comes to share in the divinity of Christ who humbled himself to share in our humanity”.^[6] Orthodox Christians equate Theosis  with salvation, beginning on earth and being capitulated at the resurrection of the dead that is to come.^[7] In Orthodox thought the body and soul cannot be artificially dissected – the holy soul lives  in a holy body. Therefore, Mary’s  bodily assumption into heaven is the completion of her Theosis. Mary’s primacy amongst the saints is established because she is the “first among human beings to participate in the final deification of the creature,”^[8] – the first example of what is to come for all the saints.

Although Theosis features in Western liturgy and was extensively taught by Western theologians of earlier times – featuring in the works of Aquinas amongst others^[9] – it has less prominence in contemporary Roman Catholic theology. The Catholic proclamation of the dogma of the Assumption does not explicitly mention Theosis and rests heavily upon Mary’s freedom from Original sin and on the “affection of pre-eminent love which the Son has for his most worthy Mother”.^[10] This latter point features within Orthodox theology, particularly in the writings of some of the Holy Fathers,^[11] but not in a way that displaces Mary’s free-will, exemplary faith and life in Christ.

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[1]Pius XII. Munificentissimus Deus. (Vatican City: Catholic Truth Society, November 1st 1950): §43-4.

[2]Tavard GH. Thousand Faces of the Virgin Mary. (Collegeville MN: Liturgical Press, 1996): p27.

[3]Saward J. Redeemer in the Womb. (London: Ignatius Pres, 1993): p127.

[4]Romans 5:12.

[5]Pearce J. Tolkien. (New York: Ignatius Press, 2001): p92.

[6]Kleniki L, Wigoder G. A dictionary of Jewish-Christian dialogue. (New York: Paulist Press, 1995): p200.

[7]Acts 24:15.

[8]Lossky V, Ouspensky L, Palmer GEH, Kadloubovsky E. The Meaning of Icons. (New York: St Vladimir’s Seminary Press, 1983): p76.

[9]Cavanaugh WT. A Joint declaration? Justification as Theosis in Aquinas and Luther. The Heythrop Journal. 41.3 (2002): p265-280.

[10]Pius XII. Munificentissimus Deus. (Vatican City: Catholic Truth Society, November 1st 1950): §25.

[11]Spretnak C. Missing Mary: The Queen of Heaven and her re-emergence in the modern Church. (London: Palgrave, 2004): p150.

Devotional Novena of prayer for Priests

Recently we held a novena of prayers for priests on this blog, and it continues to attract quite a few hits off google. For ease of use, here are the links to the individual days of the novena:

• Day 1
• Day 2
• Day 3
• Day 4
• Day 5
• Day 6
• Day 7
• Day 8
• Day 9

Why should I bother with Mass?

“All the good works in the world are not equal to the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass because they are the works of men; but the Mass is the work of God. Martyrdom is nothing in comparison for it is but the sacrifice of man to God; but the Mass is the sacrifice of God for man.” (The Cure d’Ars)

Rahner on “This is my Body”

“What Christ gives us is quite explicit if his own words are interpreted according to their Aramaic meaning. The expression ‘This is my Body’ means this is myself.” (Karl Rahner SJ).

Gift of Communion: St Maximilian Kolbe

“If angels could be jealous of men, it would be for one reason: communion.” (Maximilian Kolbe)

Thomas a Kempis: The Divine Whisperer

“Blessed are the ears that hear the pulse of the divine whisperer, and give no heed to the many whisperings of the world” (St Thomas a Kempis)

Nouwen on Suffering

“When we become aware that we do not have to escape our pains, but that we can mobilize them into a common search for life, those very pains are transformed from expressions of despair into signs of hope.” (Fr Nouwen)

Oremus pro invicem.

Meister Eckhart on Gratitude

“If the only prayer you ever say in your entire life is thank you, it will be enough.” (Meister Eckhart OP)

Oremus pro invicem.

John of the Cross on human suffering

“In tribulation immediately draw near to God with confidence, and you will receive strength, enlightenment, and instruction.” “If a man wishes to be sure of the road he treads on, he must close his eyes and walk in the dark.” (St John of the Cross)

Oremus pro invicem.

Stoddart on Christian Bereavement

Dr Eric Stoddart, Lecturer in St Mary’s College and an experienced minister, recently penned these insightful remarks regarding the Christian experience of bereavement (emphases mine):

In thinking about Christian grief we must begin with shared human experience. Only from there can there be exploration of the singular opportunities and challenges that face Christians who grieve.

Although it’s natural to jump to the resurrection of Jesus Christ as that which offers a well-spring of hope to transform a Christian’s grief, the Jesus who wept over the death of his friend Lazarus is perhaps a better starting point.

This endorses the pain of loss to an extent that can sometimes be lacking in Christians’ expectations of their own grief. You might think that belief in Christ’s victory over death and the promise of life beyond the finality of the grave would temper the pain of losing a loved-one. For many Christians this is vital and tangible comfort but can make it harder to engage in grief-work.

These words have struck me at depth, and strike me as coming from a man who has synthesised his practical experience of Christian ministry with his academic, theological pursuit.

Unavoidably, humans have expectations regarding how we ought to behave after experiencing bereavement. Often, individuals feel pressurised to “move on” and return to normality more quickly than they are able. In other cases, people feel less distressed than they feel they ought to be – perhaps even feeling relieved that the sufferings of a loved one have been ended, or that the burdens they those who have left behind will be lightened.

The experience of feeling deep suffering at the loss of a beloved friend, whilst at the same time knowing they have “gone to God,” to a place of perfect peace and tranquility, gives rise to a certain degree of cognitive dissonance within many. 

We as Catholics are able to pray for the departed. We are able to offer the sacrifice of the Mass for their intentions – we are not hopeless before God, for He has understands that in our human weakness the most natural thing is to pray for the departed, and – as always – we can be certain that He hears our prayers. Yet we must resist the desire to “canonise” the recently departed – for they are known to God and to man exactly as they were, and were loved through with and because of their very human weaknesses. We do not need to fear “speaking ill of the dead” – we may freely speak the truth and acknowledge the passing of somebody we loved very much, not some mysterious saint that we produce after their death.

Often families ask the priest to wear white at the funeral of their loved ones, to emphasise the resurrection that comes from faith in Christ. For me, I hope the priest at my funeral wears purple – I am a sinner, and I very much need God’s mercy and the mercy of the Christian community.