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Hi, Bobby —
Great to hear from you.
On the Assumption:
First, if you want a solid background
for anything Catholic that's of an
historical nature,
New
Advent is a great site to check
out. It is the 1909 Catholic Encyclopedia — on-line.
Here is what they say on the Assumption:
To your question:
If you go to the bottom of the New
Advent page above, a note states:
[Note: By promulgating the Bull
Munificentissimus Deus, 1 November,
1950,
Pope Pius XII declared infallibly
that the Assumption of the Blessed
Virgin Mary was a dogma of the
Catholic Faith. Likewise, the
Second Vatican Council taught
in the Dogmatic Constitution Lumen
Gentium that:
"the Immaculate Virgin,
preserved free from all stain
of original sin, was taken
up body and soul into heavenly
glory, when her earthly life
was over, and exalted by the
Lord as Queen over all things
(n. 59)."]
This last quote is the extent to
what practicing Catholics have to
believe doctrine-wise. It is a reiteration
of what Munificentissimus Deus stated
in 1950.
That said: There are two non-doctrinal traditions, small "t" in
the Church.
One, that our previous Holy Father,
John Paul II believed in, taught
that after the end of her earthly
life, Our Blessed Mother died, like
us, and was then assumed into Heaven
after her death.
There is another tradition, small "t",
that I, Greek Orthodox Christians,
and Eastern Rite Catholics subscribe
to. It believes that Our Blessed
Mother at the end of her life fell
asleep, then was assumed into Heaven.
The celebration of the Assumption
of Mary is known as the Dormition
of Mary in Orthodox churches and
Eastern Catholic Rites.
Years ago, I remember my Benedictine
oblate friend telling her version
of the tradition:
After Pentecost Sunday, the apostles
when to all corners of the world
bringing the Gospel of Jesus to
mankind, laboring day in, and
day out. When news had spread
of the passing of Our Blessed
Mother to the apostles, they all
returned, [except
the doubting Apostle, Thomas,]
in order to give her the appropriate
funeral Mass and burial rituals
for the closing of the tomb. When
Thomas heard of the news, he returned
to where Our Blessed Mother had
been living. Although he has missed
the funeral Mass, the burial rituals,
etc., he asked if he could just
see Our Blessed Mother one more
time.
The apostles rolled back the tombstone
from the tomb where our Blessed
Mother had been laid to rest and
instead of her body, they found
one Easter Lily.
Side note: The second time my
friend told me this tradition,
she said they found "a
bunch of Easter Lilies".
I personally think they found one,
but again these are all issues of
tradition, small "t", not
issues of doctrine.
I've appended the section On
the Assumption and the Bible from
my list of Catholic Scripture
verses that defend Catholic doctrines
page:
Of special interest is the negative
proof from history below.
Our Blessed Mother's Assumption
Pope Pius XII: 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.
Patrick Madrid from "Where is that in the Bible" states:
Revelation 12:1-8 shows us that Mary, Ark of the New Covenant, is truly the mother of all Christians (even those who refuse to acknowledge her as their mother). This passage also shows us a vision of Mary, queen of Heaven, and hints at her Assumption. This gift of suffering no corruption in the grave and being "caught up" into heaven while still alive is perfectly in accordance with Scripture. Similar assumptions are described below, and are promised to some Christians in 1 Thessalonians.
Genesis 5:24 — Enoch walked with God, then was no more, because God took him.
Hebrews 11:5-6 — It was because of his faith that Enoch was taken up and did not experience death: he was no more, because God took him; because before his assumption he was acknowledged to have pleased God. Now it is impossible to please God without faith, since anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and rewards those who seek him.
2 Kings 2:11 — Elijah was assumed into heaven in a fiery chariot
Matthew 27:52 — many saints who had fallen asleep were raised
1 Corinthians 15:52 — we shall be instantly changed at the last trumpet
1 Thessalonians 4:17 — caught up to meet the Lord in the air
Revelation 11:19 - 12:1 — ark in heaven represents the woman clothed with the sun. (this woman is Mary)
A negative proof from history: - Historically to this date archaeologists have not found the bones of Mary though they did find the bones of St. Peter.
RE: On being an Oblate.
Since Oblates have a connection to
a Catholic religious order, yes,
it would be limited to those of the
Catholic Faith. I'll show my bias
here, because I'm a Benedictine at
heart. If someone wanted to become
a Benedictine Oblate, he or she would
go to their local diocesan Catholic
directory to see if there is a local
Benedictine monastery in their diocese.
They could also check out nearby
dioceses as well!
If there was a Benedictine order
in your area, you would want to visit
the monastery and ultimately make
an appointment with the Superior
of the Order to talk about the issue,
and what would be required on your
part. In my area it can consist of
a series of required daily prayers
and making periodic visits to the
monastery, but this will vary.
The key is the spirituality and loyalty
to the Holy See. I would FAR rather
be a Dominican Oblate associated
with a religious order that is loyal
to the teachings of the Church, than
be an Oblate of a Benedictine order
whose members are allowed to dissent
from the Magisterium of the Church.
Hope this helps,
Mike
On the Assumption and the
Bible
Patrick Madrid from "Where is
that in the Bible" states:
- Revelation
12:1-8 shows us that Mary, Ark
of the New Covenant, is truly
the mother of all Christians (even
those who refuse to acknowledge
her as their mother). This passage
also shows us a vision of Mary,
queen of Heaven, and hints at
her Assumption. This gift of suffering
no corruption in the grave and
being "caught up" into
heaven while still alive is perfectly
in accordance with Scripture.
Similar assumptions are described
below, and are promised to some
Christians in 1 Thessalonians.
- Genesis
5:24 - Enoch walked with God,
then was no more, because God
took him.
- Hebrews
11:5-6 - It was because of his
faith that Enoch was taken up
and did not experience death:
he was no more, because God took
him; because before his assumption
he was acknowledged to have pleased
God. Now it is impossible to please
God without faith, since anyone
who comes to him must believe
that he exists and rewards those
who seek him.
- 2 Kings
2:11 - Elijah was assumed into
heaven in a fiery chariot
- Matthew
27:52 - many saints who had fallen
asleep were raised
- 1 Corinthians
15:52 - we shall be instantly
changed at the last trumpet
- 1 Thessalonians
4:17 - caught up to meet the Lord
in the air
- Revelation
11:19 - 12:1 - ark in heaven represents
the woman clothed with the sun.
(this woman is Mary)
- A
negative proof from history: -
Historically to this date archaeologists
have not found the bones of
Mary though they did find the
bones of St. Peter.
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