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 has 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 had 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.