The Assumption Of Mary Confirms Death Is When Our Story Truly Begins

Last updated on: August 15, 2022 at 2:49 am by Henry Karlson

The Assumption Of Mary Confirms Death Is When Our Story Truly Begins 2022-08-15T02:49:28-05:00 Henry Karlson

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

No artist listed: Dormition Of Virgin Mary At Troya / Wikimedia Commons

The dormition and assumption of Mary are two parts of one special event in salvation history. The first part, the dormition, refers to her death (as the word, dormition, employs the euphemism Paul used to represent death, that is, sleep, cf. 1. Thes. 4:13-15). Her death led directly to the second part of the event, that is, her entry into eternity, done in a special way, as she was fully assumed into heaven, body and soul, so that she could partake of the glory of the resurrection in anticipation of the rest of us. “She was earth by her mortality and she went into the earth by her death.” [1] She died, not because she was a sinner, but because she was human, one who lived in the world and possessed, through her humanity, a temporal life. She died, and was buried, but, like her son, it is said that her body did not remain in the tomb, which is how Christians came to realize that her body had been assumed into heaven. And yet, though she was glorified, she remained connected with the rest of creation, for her body, even though it was spiritualized thanks to the glorification she received in her assumption, was still connected to the creation from which it came, for it still was a part of that creation, which meant, she still possessed within herself a connection to the world from which she came. Her assumption did not make her abandon the world, but rather, gave her a new way to engage it:

There is no one closer to man, more kindred to the human being than the Mother of God in the heavens. She covers the world [with her mantle], intercedes for it. She is with all creation, over all nature, She is over the waters and the dray lands, the fields and the forests, over humans and creation. She embraces all things in Herself, unites all things – She is a merciful heart to all. After praying to the Lord and while praying to the Lord, pray also to His Mother, the Bearer of the Holy Spirit. Believe that the Mother of God will have mercy and will send you the gift of the Holy Spirit, and you will behold the Son of God living within you.[2]

We shall all die. It is a part of the human condition, a condition which Mary, the Theotokos, shared with us. But it is important to remember, Christ confirmed to us that death is not the end. This is exemplified through Mary. Her assumption, her glorification in heaven, shows us that the resurrection was not just something which belonged to Christ alone. Likewise, as death is not the end, our connection with the rest of creation does not end with our death. Indeed, we must remember, eternity transcends time in a way in which it also contains time within itself, so that what takes place in eternity, eternal life, can and should have an effect on what happens in time. The assumption of Mary, which had her go from temporal to eternal existence, therefore allows her to continue to have influence over what happens in time, even as she continues to experience world history, and all that happens within it, within her new, eternal perspective; she experiences sorrow for the pain and suffering in the world even as she rejoices for all the good, all the grace, shared throughout creation.

The assumption of Mary, of course, connects with the incarnation; for it was in and through her, in and through her flesh, that the Word became flesh. That is because the Word assumed human nature through her, taking from her, from her flesh and blood, transforming what he took so that it became his own. In this way the assumption of Mary, after her death, can be seen as the final act, and indeed, the consequence of the way the Word incarnated through her. “The assumption of our nature was to be also its liberation. And that no one should perchance suppose that the creator of sex despised sex, he became a man born of a woman.”[3] As the assumption of our flesh was through Mary, so the assumption of her flesh was first for her own liberation, and then in and through her, it served for the liberation of the whole of humanity, indeed, the whole of creation. The assumption or glorification of Mary after her death vouchsafes this, showing us that indeed, though Jesus is the first born of the dead, the first to experience the full transformation of the resurrection, he is not the only one. Now, we must not confuse the resurrection as mere resuscitation; rather, it is brings Jesus not only back from the dead, but into a new made of existence, one where the restriction of material creation no longer applies, as his body became spiritualized. Thus, when we are resurrected, we will see how Jesus has liberated us, for we will find ourselves likewise no longer limited to the constraints of pure materiality.

Mary died, not because of any sin she did, but because of her humanity; she was a temporal being. For her to be assumed into heaven, she would have to have her temporal life come to an end. We are told she willingly embraced that death, recognizing that if her son, Jesus, could face death, then she could too. She had experienced the pains and sorrows of death already, as she experienced them through the death of Jesus; and though she was glorified in her death, she still felt the pains and sorrows of death by the way she was connected with the rest of humanity, and with it, human history:

She is in heaven, the glorified Queen of Heaven, but She is also a creature, undivided from the world: She lives its life and is wounded by it and grieves for it and will heal the world in the fullness of time. [4]

Mary truly died, but that was not the end of the story. We, too, shall die, but it shall not be the end of our story either. The resurrection of Jesus has liberated us, making sure that death is truly not the end; rather, it will be when our story truly begins.

[1] Richard of St Victor, “On Emmanuel,” in Interpretation of Scripture: Practice. Trans. Frans van Liere. Ed. Frans van Leiere and Franklin T. Harkins (Turnhout, Belgium: Brepols, 2015), 431. [About the Theotokos].

[2] Sergius Bulgakov. Spiritual Biography. Trans. Mark Roosien and Roberto J. De La Noval (Brooklyn, NY: Angelico Press, 2022), 68-9. [16/29. VIII.1924].

[3] St. Augustine, “Of True Religion,” in Augustine: Earlier Writings. trans. John H.S. Burleigh (Philadelphia: The Westminster Press, 1953), 239.

[4] Sergius Bulgakov. Spiritual Biography, 72 [6/19.IX.1924].

Stay in touch! Like A Little Bit of Nothing on Facebook.
If you liked what you read, please consider sharing it with your friends and family!

Eastern Orthodox

Religious Events

History and Religion

Previous Post

August 14, 2022

Death Comes For All

Next Post

August 17, 2022 Animals Have A Place In The Eschaton

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Abortion Abraham abuse Aesthetics AI Aliens Ambrose Ancestors and Everything Andrew Angels Animals Anne Anthony Antisemitism apologetics Apophatic Apostle John Aquinas Artificial Intelligence Asanga Ascension Asceticism Assumption Atheism Attachment Augustine Authority Avarice Balthasar Baptism Beauty Biden birthright citizenship Bishops Black History Books Buddhism Bulgakov Byzantine Calendar C.S. Lewis Calcidius Catholic Catholicism Catholicism Celibacy Charity Chastity children Chrismation Christ Christmas Christology Church Climate Change Common Good Communion Confession Confirmation Conscience Constantine conventions conversion councils Covid Creation Cross Dead Death Death Penalty Debate Deception Demagogues Demons Desert Monks Desert Mothers Desire destruction development Dialogue Dignity Dionsyius Dionysius Discipline Diversity Division Doctor Who doctrine dogma Dormition Dualism Easter Easter Series Ecumenical Councils Ecumenism Education Election Empathy Environment Error Eschatology eschaton Eternity Ethics Eucharist Evangelism Eve Evil evolution Faeries Faith Fear femininity Ficino Florence Florensky Folktale Fools Forgiveness Freedom Future gender Gentile Gentiles Glory Gnostic God gods Good Samaritan Goodness Gospel Government Grace Great Fast Guns Hate healing Health Heaven Hell Hellenism Heresy Hierarchy Hildegard Hinduism History Holiness Holy Spirit Holy Week Hope Horror Human rights humanity Humility hypocrisy ICE icon icons Identification Identity Idol II Nicea Immigration incarnation Individualism Informal Reflections Inklings Intention Inter-Religious Interfaith Internet Interpretation Intrinsic evil Irenaeus Islam Israel Jacob Jerome Jesus Jews John Chrysostom John of Damascus John the Baptist Joseph Judaism justice Justification kenosis Kindnesss Kingdom of God Kingdom of Heaven Law Law of Moses Lazarus Leaf by Niggle Lent Lenten Reflection Liberation Theology Lies Life Listen Literature Liturgy locutions Logic Logos Love Marriage Martyrs Mary Mass Maximos The Confessor Meanness Meditation Mercy Middle Path Migrants Mind Miracles Miriam Morals Moses Movies Music Muslims Myths Names Nationalism Native Americans New Year Nicea Nicholas Nothing Novatian Obedience Occam's Razor Ordination Origen Original Sin Orthodox orthopraxis Pagans Palamas Palm Sunday Paradise Paschaltide Paul Peace Pentecost person Peter piety PKD Plato pluralism Plurality Poem Poetry Poiltics Politics Poor Pope Pope Francis Pope Leo XIV Post Office Prayer Pride Pro-life Prodigal Son propaganda Prophecy Prophets Providence Putin Racism Reading Reason Reflection Refugees Relationships Religion Religion Series Religious Liberty Repent Republicans Rest Resurrection Rich Rites Russia Sacraments Saints Salvation Salvian Santa Science Scripture Self-Giving Sexuality Sibyl Sick Silence Sin Singlehood Social Justice Society Sodom Solovyov Speculations Spiritual Reflection St. Cyril of Alexandria St. Justin Martyr Suffering Sunday of the Paralytic Man Sunday of the Samaritan Woman Superhero Supreme Court Teaching Technology Thanksgiving The Father the Universe Theological Reflection Theology Theosis Theotokos Thomas Timaeus Time Tolerenace Tolkien Tradition Transfiguration Trinity Trump Truth Uncategorized Unity Universities USCCB Value Vatican II Vegetarian Vices Violence Virtue Vocations War Water Welcome Wisdom Womanhood Women Work World View Worship Writing Zacchaeus

Select a Month October 2026 September 2026 August 2026 July 2026 June 2026 May 2026 April 2026 March 2026 February 2026 January 2026 December 2025 November 2025 October 2025 September 2025 August 2025 July 2025 June 2025 May 2025 April 2025 March 2025 February 2025 January 2025 December 2024 November 2024 October 2024 September 2024 August 2024 July 2024 June 2024 May 2024 April 2024 March 2024 February 2024 January 2024 December 2023 November 2023 October 2023 September 2023 August 2023 July 2023 June 2023 May 2023 April 2023 March 2023 February 2023 January 2023 December 2022 November 2022 October 2022 September 2022 August 2022 July 2022 June 2022 May 2022 April 2022 March 2022 February 2022 January 2022 December 2021 November 2021 October 2021 September 2021 August 2021 July 2021 June 2021 May 2021 April 2021 March 2021 February 2021 January 2021 December 2020 November 2020 October 2020 September 2020 August 2020 July 2020 June 2020 May 2020 April 2020 March 2020 February 2020 January 2020 December 2019 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz