Theology Reporting,

Lesson 4:
The Assumption of the
Blessed Virgin Mother Mary
A Report By: Group 4
(Salabao, Santizas, Santos, Santoya, Sibi, Simbaco, Suarez, Toro
Toro)
Introduction:
The Assumption of
the Blessed Virgin
Mother Mary
Introduction: The Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mother of Mary
History of the Our Lady of Assumption Cathedral Maasin:

The Cathedral of Our Lady of the Assumption of Maasin (Spanish:

Catedral de Nuestra Señora de la Asunción de Maasin), commonly known as the
Maasin City Cathedral is a baroque Roman Catholic church in Maasin City, Southern
Leyte, Philippines. The church is home to one of the oldest parishes of the country.
The cathedral also houses a 200-year old antique statue of the Nuestra Señora de la
Asunción de Maasin or known as the "Patrona". The Maasin parish established by
the series of waves of missionaries namely the Jesuits, Augustinians and finally,
Franciscans. Originally built in 1700 by Jesuit priests, the church suffered several
destruction and damage over the years, but has been rebuilt many times by the
orders succeeding the Jesuits. Its present-day structure is constructed at 1968 and
subsequently became the seat of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Maasin.
Introduction: The Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mother of Mary
The Doctrine:

The fourth central Marian doctrine is the Assumption of Mary. The doctrine of
Mary’s Assumption, like her Immaculate Conception, has the added certainty of an
infallible papal statement. Pope Pius XII in 1950 defined the Assumption of Mary in
the following statement: "The Immaculate Mother of God, the Ever Virgin
Mary, having completed the course of her earthly life, was assumed body
and soul into heavenly glory" (Munificentissimus Deus).

What evidence is present in the sources of Divine Revelation for the doctrine
of Mary’s glorious Assumption? Pope Pius XII, in his papal document, declares the
Assumption a doctrine "revealed by God" and refers to several sources.
The Magisterium of
the Church
A. The Magisterium
The doctrine of Mary's Assumption received the unanimous consensus from
the Magisterium of the Church. In 1946, Pope Pius XII petitioned the bishops of the
world asking them whether the Assumption of Mary could be defined and
whether they favored such a definition. Out of 1232 bishops, 1210
enthusiastically answered yes to both questions (over ninety-eight percent). Such
near unanimity among the bishops of the Church is almost unprecedented in the
history of the Church regarding doctrinal pronouncements.

Pope Pius XII, therefore, in the service of the bishops and of the common
faithful, used the charism of infallibility to define and confirm this universally
accepted doctrine. In fact, after he papal definition of the Immaculate Conception in
1854, the Vatican received millions of petitions from bishops, priests, religious, and
faithful alike asking for the definition of the Assumption of Mary.
The Assumption in
Scripture
B. The Assumption in Scripture
A seed of the doctrine of Mary's Assumption is found in Sacred Scripture, in
Genesis 3:15. As the papal document of Pius XII explains, Genesis 3:15
foreshadows Mary as intimately sharing in the same absolute victory of her Son over
Satan: "I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your
seed and her seed..." (Gen 3:15).

According to St. Paul (cf. Rom 5-8; Hebrews 2), the consequences of
Satan's seed, evil, are twofold: sin and death (or bodily corruption).
Therefore, Mary, who shared in her Son’s victory over Satan and his seed, would
have to be saved from both sin and death or corruption.

Mary did triumph over sin in her Immaculate Conception and triumphed over
death (specifically corruption of the body) in her glorious Assumption at the end of
her earthly life.
B. The Assumption in Scripture
It is worthy of note that many bishops from around the world sent to Pius XII
the same scriptural support from Genesis 3:15 for Mary's Assumption. So there
had been some general episcopal confirmation that Genesis 3:15 is the primary
doctrinal seed in Scripture for Mary’s Assumption. Other scriptural support for the
Assumption of Mary includes Lk 1:28, since her bodily assumption is a natural
effect of being "full of grace"; Revelation 12:1, where Mary’s coronation implies
her preceding bodily assumption; 1 Corinthians 15:23 and Matthew 27:52-53
which support the possibility of a bodily assumption: "Arise, O Lord, into your
resting place: you and the ark which you have sanctified" (Ps 131:8).
The Assumption in
Tradition
C. The Assumption in Tradition
The doctrine of Mary's Assumption is also found in Sacred Tradition. The
early Christians gradually unraveled the implicitly revealed reference to Mary's Assumption.
Our first explicit reference is by St. Gregory of Tours (d.593): "The Lord commanded the
holy body [of Mary] to be borne on a cloud to Paradise where, reunited to its soul
and exalting with the elect, it enjoys the everlasting bliss of eternity.“

From the seventh century onwards, numerous Church Fathers proclaimed the
doctrine of Assumption (St. Germain of Constantinople, d.733; St. Andrew of Crete d.740;
St. Johr: Damascene, d.749, etc.). During the sixth century, the first liturgical feasts
dedicated to the Assumption appear in Syria and in the Alexandrian church in Egypt.
Western liturgical feasts dedicated to Mary's Assumption take place in Gaul (modern day
France) in the seventh century; and by the eighth century it was celebrated in Rome. From
the thirteenth century on, the doctrine of Mary's Assumption was taught with near unanimity
by Church writers and theologians in both the East and West.
 LESSON 4:
THE ASSUMPTION OF THE
BLESSED VIRGIN MOTHER
MARY

GROUP 4
1. ILLONA REIGN SALABAO
Thank You 2. NISSI SANTIZAS
3. PRINCESS MEROSE
SANTOS
4. SAVANNAH SANTOYA
5. BRYANT PAUL SIBI
6. KYLA NICOLE SIMBACO
7. JEAN ANDREAH SUAREZ
8. CINDY TORO TORO