medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture
The little I have read of the legends about the Assumption say Mary died
but was raised by God.
Tom Izbicki
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> medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture
>
> ----- Original Message ----- From: "Marjorie Greene" <[log in to unmask]>
>
>> I believe that Mary's sinlessness, including the First One, was at
>> the heart of the belief that she did not die in the usual sense but
>> was assumed body and soul into heaven.<
>
> It's hard to see how her death can be disputed by Roman Catholics
> considering the words of Pope Pius XII in the very document by which
> he dogmatically defined the Assumption.
>
> It would, btw, be quite impossible for Eastern Catholics not to
> believe that the Mother of God died without doing an act of violence
> to their own sacred Tradition. The iconography, the hymnography and
> the oral Tradition all teach that she did in fact die.
>
> People like to say that the Apostolic Constitution "Munificentissimus
> Deus" by which Pope Pius XII established the dogma of the Assumption
> in 1950 makes no mention of whether Mary died or did not die.
>
> This is inaccurate. One only has to read the document to see that the
> Pope believed that she died. For example, he says:
>
> "Thus, to cite an illustrious example, this is set forth in that
> sacramentary which Adrian I, our predecessor of immortal memory, sent
> to the Emperor Charlemagne. These words are found in this volume:
> "Venerable to us, O Lord, is the festivity of this day on which the
> holy Mother of God suffered temporal death, but still could not be
> kept down by the bonds of death, who has begotten your Son our Lord
> incarnate from herself."
>
> and
>
> "As he kept you a virgin in childbirth, thus he has kept your body
> incorrupt in the tomb and has glorified it by his divine act of
> transferring it from the tomb."
>
> and
>
> "They offered more profound explanations of its meaning and nature,
> bringing out into sharper light the fact that this feast shows, not
> only that the dead body of the Blessed Virgin Mary remained incorrupt.."
>
> and
>
> "she has received an eternal incorruptibility of the body together
> with him who has raised her up from the tomb.."
>
> and
>
> "What son would not bring his mother back to life and would not bring
> her into paradise after her death if he could?"
>
> These quotes from the papal document defining the Assumption are proof
> that the Pope taught that Mary died and was buried in a tomb and from
> there she was resurrected by her Son.
>
> _________________________________
> "MUNIFICENTISSIMUS DEUS" Pope Pius XII
> http://www.ewtn.com/library/PAPALDOC/P12MUNIF.HTM
>
> -oOo-
>
> -
> -
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