Catholic holidays - Assumption of Mary among Western Christians

The Roman Catholic Church celebrates the Dormition of the Blessed Virgin Mary on August 15 as a great celebration The end of the earthly life of the Blessed Virgin is a bright holiday, confirming the power and strength of God, because he raised her soul and body to heaven, likening her to his Son Before her Dormition, the Mother of God promised to be a helper and intercessor in all matters of believers, to serve as a comforter to those who turned to prayer The principles of Catholic doctrine do not officially recognize the natural death of the Virgin Mary The very fact of the corruption of the body, the Ark of God as Christians call it, was considered impossible for centuries, but only in November 1950 by Pope Pius XII it was formalized in the form of a special doctrine recognized as the only true one This leader of Western Christians was even nicknamed "The Pope of Mary" for his devotion to the Mother of God and the contributions to Mariology (the branch of dogmatic theology about the Holy Virgin Mary) he made during his pontificate Beliefs about incorruptibility are very important for Catholic postulates, because they are logically connected with another significant event - the Immaculate Conception, confirming the absence of original sin, and therefore ordinary death and subsequent processes The Holy Scriptures do not mention the end of the life of the Mother of God, and other primary sources are unlikely to shed the truth, because they date back to the 4th – 5th centuries There are also conflicting data about the year in which she left this world - the middle of the 1st century AD e rather inaccurate date For example, Eusebius of Caesarea, a Roman theologian and historian, believed that she left the world in 48 AD But for true believers this is not so important Of primary importance is the fact of the miraculous manifestation of God that accompanies the last days of Mary’s earthly existence For such an extraordinary personality, the end of the journey is also special, proving triumph over death According to legend, the Archangel Gabriel, who had already appeared to her earlier, descended from heaven during prayer, informing her of his resettlement to heaven in 3 days He handed over a special palm branch that shone with light Mary was glad about this, since she herself had long been striving to go to heaven to God She wished to see the apostles and disciples of her Son before her death, and they were gathered at her deathbed, transported in a bright cloud At the appointed hour, Jesus Christ himself appeared from heaven and accepted her soul The body was carried through Jerusalem to the burial place - the Cave of Gethsemane, where Mary's parents and the betrothed Joseph rested Another phenomenal circumstance is considered to be the manifestation of the power of God, which did not allow any atrocities regarding the burial of the Mother of God At that time, severe persecution of the teachings of Christ continued in Jerusalem, and the solemn honors given to the Blessed Virgin were displeasing to the ruling authorities The order to disperse the procession and burn the body of the Virgin Mary remained unfulfilled, since a wall of light protected the believers from attack The ascension of not only the soul, but also the remains, is confirmed by the legend that instead of the body of the Virgin Mary, only funeral clothes were discovered This happened thanks to the Apostle Thomas, who was the only one who did not arrive on time He did not believe that Mary had died, and the other apostles allowed him to say goodbye to the Mother of God by opening the cave This is another act of God, the purpose of which was to reveal the ascension of the Mother of God Thanks to this personality, the descendants received another allegorical name - “Doubting Thomas”, which is actively used in modern life Until the 5th century, the holiday was not established: only with the emergence of heretical movements that offended the feelings of Christians, the need arose to extol the earthly path of the Virgin Mary According to some sources, Emperor Mauritius introduced universal glorification in 582 in honor of the victory over the Gentiles Today, the Dormition in Western liturgical rites has the status of a celebration in the hierarchy of holidays, in some countries even being an official day off (Austria, Portugal, France) Religious processions take place, majestic and beautiful, with sculptures of the Blessed Virgin The ancient tradition of bringing flowers and fruits of the new harvest among parishioners has been preserved And although there are certain dogmatic differences between Christian teachings, on this bright feast of the Assumption, the Catholic Church, as well as the Orthodox Church, once again emphasizes that death is a transition from earth to heaven, the path to eternal immortality The Blessed Virgin is an example of faith, and honoring the day of her departure into heavenly glory is not just obligatory, but a sincerely beloved holiday for all Catholics It is worth noting that the Orthodox Church celebrates the feast of the Dormition of the Blessed Virgin Mary and the Ever-Virgin Mary annually on August 28th