The death of the Blessed Virgin Mary, a Latin tradition

"The Death of the Virgin Mary" by Caravaggio

August 15th, Feast of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary

Many Catholics (at least in the West) are under the impression that the Latin (Roman) Church favors the opinion that the Mother of God did not die, but was assumed at the end of her life without suffering the separation of body and soul; while the Eastern Church favors the opinion that the Blessed Virgin Mary did die, and that they refer to this death as a “dormition”. In truth, although there are certain modern westerners who (quite rashly) maintain that the Virgin did not die, the Latin tradition has generally been even stronger than that of the East in affirming that our Lady suffered death: While the East speaks of “the falling asleep (dormition) of the Theotokos”, the West has traditionally favored the more blunt “the death of the Virgin Mary”.

The Latin tradition is so strongly in favor of the doctrine that our Lady suffered death before her Assumption that this was very nearly adopted at the Second Vatican Council after being promoted especially by mariologists of the Roman school.

On the less-than-reliable web source Wikipedia (as of July 2011), we find this same confusion - as though the Latin Church was not just as strong as the East in affirming the death of the Virgin Mary: “The Orthodox Church teaches that Mary died a natural death, like any human being. […] Roman Catholic teaching holds that Mary was ‘assumed’ into heaven in bodily form. Some Catholics agree with the Orthodox that this happened after Mary's death, while some hold that she did not experience death. Pope Pius XII, in his Apostolic constitution, Munificentissimus Deus (1950), which dogmatically defined the Assumption, left open the question.”

We shall briefly consider at least one reason as to why this confusion has crept into popular thinking. [For a discussion of whither the Blessed Mother was assumed, please consider this article, or this one.]

Blessed Kateri and the importance of Evanglization

Fr. Jacques de Lamberville, who brought salvation to Kateri

July 14^th, Feast of Bl. Kateri (in the United States)

As we celebrate today the memory of Blessed Kateri Takakwitha, we call to mind the importance of the missionary zeal in the life of the Church.

Bl. Kateri was born to a Catholic mother and a pagan father, but lost her parents to small pox at a young age – she herself was badly scarred by the disease. Living then with her uncle, who was not a Christian, she nevertheless maintained an interest in the Church and Christ Jesus.

When she was twenty years of age, she was baptized by Fr. Jacques de Lamberville, a Jesuit missionary priest. Kateri entered the Church on Easter, 18 April 1676.

It is well known how Bl. Kateri mortified herself and grew in the spiritual life. Moreover, she suffered much persecution and ridicule from her clan, who did not understand her new faith. Ultimately she was forced to abandon her community and flee to a Christian community of Natives in Kahnawake, Quebec. In 1679, Kateri took of vow of chastity, consecrating herself as a virgin. She died on 17 April 1680, at the age of twenty four.

What is particularly striking about her story is the simple fact (which is more than a mere statement of history) that, if a Catholic priest had not brought the faith to her people, Kateri would not be a blessed. Moreover, if a protestant missionary had been the one to baptize Kateri, she would not be a blessed and we would not be celebrating her feast today.

The salvation of the “Lily of the Mohawks” really did depend upon the missionary work of the Catholic priest, Fr. Jacque de Lamberville. Kateri’s eternal salvation came through the real historical work of the Church, who spread the Gospel among the pagan natives of the Americas, baptizing them in the Name and instructing them in the one true Faith.

How great must be our zeal for Evangelization, it is a matter of eternal life and eternal death!

St. John I, an Easter Pope and foundation of Ecclesial Communion

St. John I, 52nd successor to St. Peter

Pope St. John I was a great defender of the truth of the divinity of the Son of God and died on May 18^th in the prison of the Arian King Theodoric at Ravenna in 526, having served the Church as Supreme Pontiff for two years, nine months and seven days. His remains were translated to the Basilica of St. Peter in Rome on May 27^th, the day in which his feast is commemorated in the Usus Antiquior.

Additionally, this holy pontiff worked to maintain unity between the East and the West and helped to establish the current mode of calculating the date of Easter (in the Latin Church).

The Easter debate, in brief

By the time of Pope St. John I, it had already been determined that the yearly calculation of the date of Easter would be somewhat independent of the date of Jewish Passover – insofar as Easter would always fall on a Sunday, even when the Passover fell on another day. Still, there was diversity of opinion as to just how independent the Church should be from the Jewish traditions.

The Legacy of Pope Benedict: Governing

Continuing our celebration of Pope Benedict's fifth anniversary as Supreme Pontiff, we conclude our three-part reflection with some thoughts on Pope Benedict's exercise of the munus regendi. The task of the Bishop of Rome is to "confirm the brethren" in the Faith, building up the unity of the Body of Christ through fraternal and paternal charity. In this regard, the quest for ecclesial unity is of primary importance. Pope Benedict has made ecumenism a top priority of his pontificate, reaching out to the Lefebvrists with Summorum Pontificum and reaching out to the Anglicans with Anglicanorum coetibus. In these immense gestures of fraternal generosity, the Holy Father has made it very easy for these separated brethren to receive the gift of Catholic unity. Pope Benedict has also distinguished himself in his efforts to clean up the "filth" in the Church (as he put it) with regards to the clerical sexual-abuse scandals in Europe. His Letter to the Church in Ireland is particularly poignant in this regard, as is his disciplinary action towards the Legionaries of Christ. Despite attempts to besmirch his name, Pope Benedict remains above reproach in the fight against this contemporary scourge. These and all the efforts of the Holy Father in his governance of the Church are animated primarily by his personal holiness and love for the Church. In this, he is also a Pope who leads more by example than by fiat. It will be important going forward for Catholics, attuned to his governance of the Church, to pay close attention to that example, especially as regards the celebration of the Sacred Liturgy.