August 15: The Feast of the Assumption of the Virgin

Ancient tradition tells us and our own faith assures us of what the Church has solemnly proclaimed: the Virgin Mary has entered, body and soul, into heaven. After her death the Virgin Mother of God, without undergoing corruption, has entered heaven, by a special privilege of God, with her body glorified as was her Son’s. As God had preserved her from the stain of original sin, made her a mother and yet preserved her as a virgin, so also has he brought her to himself in her integral human nature of body and soul. The origins of this feast are very ancient and date to a period some time before the sixth century. Although it has been an ancient tradition to venerate the bodies of the saints, there never has been any mention of there being any veneration to the body of the Virgin. This is an added witness to the truth of the bodily assumption of the Virgin Mary. This feast is celebrated in the Churches of both East and the West under a variety of titles. May our Virgin Mother intercede for us and may her prayers protect us. Amen.

Synaxarion for the Assumption of the Virgin, Maronite Divine Office.