SOLEMNITY OF THE ASSUMPTION OF MARY : FROM THE BOTTOM UP - THE SENSUS FIDELIUM..........

When we hear of the teachings, doctrines, and dogmas, of the Church most Catholics think of them as being proclaimed from the top down, not from the bottom up, in the hierarchical structure.  But the Solemnity of the Assumption which we celebrate today is one of the Catholic dogmas that came to pass from the bottom up. From the belief and practice of the laity in the early centuries of Catholic-Christianity, until it was definitively, infallibly, promulgated - as an official dogmatic theological teaching of the Church by Pope Pius XII, sixty years ago today,  August 15, 1950, the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary originated as part of the, "Sensus Fidelium".   Sensus Fidelium, in this regard being, the common belief of the faithful, that God who chose and conceived Mary without the stain of sin to be the perfect vessel to bear His Son, who is the Savior of the World and Redeemer of Humankind - would not allow her earthly body be corrupted or decayed after her death.  Thus Catholics believe at the end of her life on earth the Blessed Mother, "fell asleep", one last time and was assumed into Heaven, body and soul, to be with God and the Saints forever.  The Blessed Mother of God, was the first, most faithful, and loyal, Disciple of Her own Son, Jesus the Christ, and is an outstanding example for all Believers, as to how we live our own Discipleship of the, "fruit of the womb", she bore in responding to God's invitation to be joined to the Body of Christ, as members of  the Church on Earth and heirs to the Kingdom of Eternal Life in Heaven.  Mary's Assumption is a further affirmation of the promise and hope of sharing in Christ's Resurrection ourselves, on the Last Day, when the Paschal Mystery, Jesus Christ's New, Risen, and Everlasting Life, is fulfilled in us, as we dwell in the eternal presence of God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, forever with Mary the Blessed Mother, and the entire choir of Saints and Angels, in the infinite communion of Divine Love..........Hail Mary, Full Of Grace, Assumed Into Heaven Body And Soul,  Pray For Us,   Fr.  Troy