August 15, the Catholic Church celebrates the great feast of Our Lady’s Assumption.
In 1950, Pope Pius XII dogmatically defined the ancient faith of the Church in Mary’s assumption into heaven: “the Immaculate Virgin, preserved free from all stain of original sin, when the course of her earthly life was finished, was taken up body and soul into heavenly glory, and exalted by the Lord as Queen over all things, so that she might be more fully conformed to her Son, the Lord of lords and conqueror of sin and death.” Our earthly life is like a pilgrimage to the Father’s house. We see this truth realized in the glorious assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary who “when the course of her earthly life was completed, was taken up body and soul into the glory of heaven, where she already shares in the glory of her Son’s resurrection, anticipating the resurrection of all the members of his Body” (CCC 974). In Mary, we contemplate what the Church already is on pilgrimage and what she will be in heaven at the end of her journey.