Evidence for the Assumption of the Blessed Mother

The month of August brings the Church one its great feast days. In a society that demands proof when presented with theories and beliefs, the question arises ‘does the Church really have evidence of Mary’s Assumption?’ Yes, the Church does have evidence. In fact, to be more specific, there is evidence for the Assumption both Biblically and historically. It is not just enough to tell others about Christ, The Blessed Mother, and about all the Church’s teachings. ‘Prove it’, they will tell you. So, let’s prove it.

There are so many truths found in Sacred Scripture about the purity of Mary, her preservation from sin, and her special place in salvation history. She is “full of grace” (Luke 1:28), the fulfillment of the Daughter of Zion in Isaiah 12:1-6, more blessed than all other women (Luke 1:42), the Ark of the Covenant (Luke 1), and free from the pangs of labor (Isaiah 66:7-8). These reasons alone should give you a reason to pause and realize there was something so special about Mary that Christ would never have allowed His Mother to taste death.

If one is to argue that Mary did, indeed, die like everyone else then it is hard to defend that Jesus would allow His own mother to experience death (given all the things Scripture says about her), yet, God the Father would consider it appropriate to spare the prophet Elijah from death by taking him to heaven in a flaming chariot (2 Kings 2:11). Would God allow Enoch to be spared from death (Genesis 5:24), yet make the mother of the Messiah face death? It does not seem reasonable or make any sense to believe this would be the case. There are, indeed, examples of those that God spared from death and took directly to heaven. Is it too much of a stretch to believe that God would do the same for the Blessed Mother

The Bible is full of jewels of truth about Mary. However, history will echo those truths. The historical evidence is astounding and hard to ignore as a Christian. We believe in the resurrection of Jesus, in part, because His tomb is empty. There is no body in His tomb. “Then the angel said to the women in reply, ‘Do not be afraid! I know that you are seeking Jesus the crucified. He is not here, for he has been raised just as he said.” (Matthew 28:5-6) The empty tomb evidence can also be applied to Mary. Archeologists have discovered two tombs they have identified to belong to Mary. This should not come as a surprise since we know Mary, according to tradition, lived in both Jerusalem and Egypt (locations of the tombs). It was custom, as we see in Genesis with Abraham, for individuals to purchase land for their burial just as many pay for the burial plots for their loved ones or even for their own plot today. We know women did not own property and could not purchase land in those ancient times. It would serve to reason that perhaps the apostle John or some early Christians would have purchased one for her to ensure she had a proper burial (which would explain why she would have two in separate cities).

The reality, however, is both of those tombs are empty. There is no body, no relics, and no evidence there ever was a body in them. If you reflect on the importance of relics to the early Christians, then it would be a shocking truth to say the early Church ignored relics of the Lord’s mother in her tomb and left them to be pillaged and stolen. That would not have happened. In fact, the very opposite occurred and early Christians shared stories throughout the generations of the Blessed Mother’s Assumption. If Mary did die and there was a body in the tomb then we could expect the early Church to possess and protect relics relating to that tomb and body (even at the cost of their lives).

“We have known for some time that there were widespread “Transitus Stories” that date from the sixth century that teach Mary’s glorious Assumption. It was the promulgation of the dogma of the Assumption by Pope Pius XII that rekindled interest in these stories of the end of Mary’s life.” (Fr. Michael O’Carroll, Theotokos: A Theological Encyclopedia of the Blessed Virgin Mary”)

Fr. O’Carroll has conducted extensive research into the evidence of the Blessed Mother and has discovered a wealth of documents validating the Church’s belief on Mary. These documents are written in various languages and reflect how the early Christians passed these stories down from one generation to the next.

If you are in doubt about the Assumption of the Blessed Mother and join the chorus of those that would dare the Church to “prove it” then I, in turn, would offer the challenge to “prove it didn’t happen.”