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Dogma Mariology

The Dogmas of the Virgin Mary Part Four – The Assumption

But since the Pope has already declared the dogma and we take the account from traditions, it is what we believe. And why is the Virgin Mary so unique to the Assumption? What did she do? We know the Blessed Virgin was innocent from the very beginning. From the moment of her conception and when she was born, she had no original sin. And so the Archangel Saint Gabriel said: “Thou art full of grace, blessed are you among all women.” God has chosen the Blessed Virgin to the Theotokos, Mother of God and Mother of the Savior. “And the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us.

And since the Blessed Virgin is most pure, her reward is to be taken up into Heaven both her body and soul or have an Assumption. If the Lord had prepared rooms for His Apostles in Heaven, he would have prepared more for His Mother. So the Virgin was led to Heaven with body and soul.

So how did this happen? The time of the departing of the Blessed Virgin came. Also, during this time, the Apostles were spreading the Good News across the world. Some angels told them (the Apostles) that the Virgin was nearing the hour of her departure. The apostles returned to where the Virgin was located – in Ephesus. Ten Apostles arrived because Saint John was already in Ephesus with the Holy Mother. They reached the Virgin Mother before she went to sleep (Dormition). The last to arrive was Saint Thomas. He asked if he could see the Blessed Virgin for the last time. But when Saint Thomas went to the grave, there was no longer the body of the Blessed Virgin. She has already been assumed or taken up into Heaven. You can find this event in the vision of Blessed Anne Catherine Emerich.

The Catholic Church celebrates the Feast of the Assumption every August 15. What does this dogma say? It tells us that if we do good and continue doing good, we will one day be in the company of Our Lord in Heaven.

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Dogma Mariology

The Dogmas of the Blessed Virgin Mary  Part Four – The Assumption

But since the Pope has already declared the dogma and we take the account from traditions, it is what we believe. And why is the Virgin Mary so unique to the Assumption? What did she do? We know the Blessed Virgin was innocent from the very beginning. From the moment of her conception and when she was born, she had no original sin. And so the Archangel Saint Gabriel said: “Thou art full of grace, blessed are you among all women.” God has chosen the Blessed Virgin to the Theotokos, Mother of God and Mother of the Savior. “And the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us.

And since the Blessed Virgin is most pure, her reward is to be taken up into Heaven both her body and soul or have an Assumption. If the Lord had prepared rooms for His Apostles in Heaven, he would have prepared more for His Mother. So the Virgin was led to Heaven with body and soul.

So how did this happen? The time of the departing of the Blessed Virgin came. Also, during this time, the Apostles were spreading the Good News across the world. Some angels told them (the Apostles) that the Virgin was nearing the hour of her departure. The apostles returned to where the Virgin was located – in Ephesus. Ten Apostles arrived because Saint John was already in Ephesus with the Holy Mother. They reached the Virgin Mother before she went to sleep (Dormition). The last to arrive was Saint Thomas. He asked if he could see the Blessed Virgin for the last time. But when Saint Thomas went to the grave, there was no longer the body of the Blessed Virgin. She has already been assumed or taken up into Heaven. You can find this event in the vision of Blessed Anne Catherine Emerich.

The Catholic Church celebrates the Feast of the Assumption every August 15. What does this dogma say? It tells us that if we do good and continue doing good, we will one day be in the company of Our Lord in Heaven.

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Dogma Mariology

The Dogmas of the Blessed Virgin Mary  Part Three – Immaculate Conception

Let us take this one by one. The Pope said it was a privilege. Why did he say that? Let us look at the greeting of the Archangel Saint Gabriel – “Ave, full of grace. The Lord is in you”. And so with Saint Elizabeth’s greetings – “Blessed are you amongst women.” The Blessed Virgin would not receive the totality of grace in her soul if it had a mark of the spiritual death caused by the stain of the original sin. Saints like St. Justine, St. Ireneues, St. Ephriem, St. Ambrose, and St. Agustine are also testifying by the said teachings. The feast of the Immaculate Conception has been celebrated in the Greek Church since the 7th century and throughout Europe in the 12th century.

In a proof stated by Saint Thomas Aquinas, the redemption of the Blessed Virgin is a preservative redemption. It was a different kind of saving from what happened in humanity. What happened to humanity is liberative redemption. In common salvation, because man is in sin, we need to be cleansed. Let us describe it this way. There was mud on our path, and we were soiled with it as we passed by the path. Then we were cleaned from it through washing. But because the Virgin has preservative redemption, she has been kept away from contacting mud even before crossing it and therefore has not been soiled by it.
That is why God, when He came down to earth, chose to be His Mother, somebody who never became a companion of evil or never became under the dominion of sin. Because He will live in her womb for nine months, naturally, she should be immaculately clean. The Redeemer should have a Mother who was born and conceived immaculately.
Having this privilege also means that the Blessed Virgin has never had an instant of disobedience to God. She has become obedient to God. Also, through this privilege, her intelligence has never experienced a mistake. Her judgment is always correct. That’s why she is called the Seat of Wisdom, Virgin Most Prudent, and Mother of Good Counsel.

All four of the Virgin’s Dogmas are linked to one another because being the Mother of God means that the Blessed Virgin should be without sin and remain an eternal Virgin. And because she was immaculate, she was ascended into heaven with the body and soul. That is why the Dear Virgin is genuinely unique to all creations – blessed amongst women. Here is where the series about the Marian Dogmas will end. In the future, we hope to have more Dogmas regarding our Dear Mother.

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Dogma Mariology

The Dogmas of the Blessed Virgin Mary  Part Two – Aeiphartenos

What is its significance? First of all, the conception and birth of our Lord are divine. There is no method by the flesh or man. Instead, the Lord descended to this earth and mystically became Man. The integrity of the Blessed Virgin who became the house of Christ when He descended into the womb of the Blessed Virgin cannot have been destroyed. Because He is God, He must live for nine months in a womb that is clean and without blemish of sin. Because of the purity of the Blessed Virgin, she must remain intact. No evil cannot break it. That is what being Aeiphartenos says. She remained a Virgin before, during, and after the birth of the Lord.

So how did that happen? According to Blessed Anne Catherine Emerich’s visions, when it was midnight, and they were already in the manger, there was a bright light. After the light vanished, the baby was in the arms of the Blessed Virgin. Otherwise, the Blessed Mother felt no pain.

In the Church’s teachings to us, it is one of the four Dogmas that your Blessed Virgin has remained a Virgin throughout her life. What are the proofs of this? The prophecies say that there will be a sign, the virgin will conceive and have a child, and He will be called Emmanuel. This statement is what the prophet Isaiah has prophesized. It is only then that it is shown that what is referred to here is the Blessed Virgin because we know that Emmanuel is the Lord.

It was similar during his Resurrection when the Holy Sepulcher was also closed. Then He left the place, but the stone that blocked the entrance there was not damaged. Likewise, when He came to earth, He went out of the womb of the Blessed Virgin while it remained intact.

There are questions here because the Bible says that Jesus also had other brothers. The answer here is that in the Aramaic language, the word brother also refers to cousin or relative. Because Aramaic was the language used during that time, the brothers referred to here were cousins or relatives. So, the Lord is the only child of the Blessed Virgin.

What is the implication of this dogma? This dogma is also related to the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin and in the Immaculate Conception. In relation, God did not allow his mother to be corrupted by sin. He is the source of all goodness. If He chooses a woman to be his mother, she should be immaculate. First, this was proven in the Immaculate Conception. Now in Aeiphartenos, there can be no impurity in her personality and soul. And also, during the Assumption, because she was without sin and just went through the Dormitio.

Another importance of this is that you have the Nature of God in the Person of the Lord Jesus Christ. He is both God and Man. That is why we call the Blessed Mother the Virgin Mary. Another thing it shows us that we should have the purity of the soul so that we can be pleasing when we face the Lord.

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Dogma Mariology

The Dogmas of the Blessed Virgin Mary  Part One – Theotokos

What is a dogma? A Dogma is the teaching, decision, or pronouncement of the Pope that the whole Church will believe. When the Pope says that an article is a Dogma, all faithful will accept this, and there will be without a doubt.
Theotokos or the Motherhood of the Blessed Virgin Mary

From the beginning, the Blessed Virgin was called Theotokos or the Bearer of God or Mother of God. The word Theotokos comes from the Greek word, which means God-Bearer. Christians valued the term in the early years of the Church. Throughout the Eastern Church, people widely used the term Theotokos.

This title responds to the initial attacks of those who want to lower their respect to the Blessed Virgin because they do not believe in the Blessed Virgin’s importance. Our ancient Church had a clear pronouncement then, and this took place at the Council of Ephesus in 431 AD. The Council said if anyone does not declare that God is indeed the Emmanuel and on this account that the Blessed Virgin is the Theotokos, he should be anathema.

The Council explained they want the title Theotokos because they want to show and preserve the Church’s teaching that the Lord Jesus is both divine and human in one person. In the Lord’s person, there is both divine and human nature. Two natures unified into one person.

Not only is this belief being challenged early on. Even today, there are critics. That is why the Council of Ephesus came about because Nestorius, a bishop, says it is separate. He said that the Blessed Virgin is only the Mother of Christ but not calling her the Mother of God. So the Council put the title Theotokos to stop the heresy. When did this happen? When the Virgin Mary said, “may God’s will be done,” she accepted being the Mother of God.

What are the questions here? Their question is, as Alpha and Omega is not God without beginning and end, how did He have a mother? The answer to that is that when He saved humanity, He chose to take human flesh. And with that decision, he also wanted to experience human nature. To be born, grow up, and die. So he deserves to have a mother. And who are we to stop what He wants to do? He is God. If he chose to have a Mother when he became human, it is His will.

What else is the significance of being the Mother of God of the Blessed Virgin Mary? Because we are sinners, we are ashamed to go straight to the Lord because we are sinful and He is holy. We need someone to approach and plead for us, to lay down our requests. Because if we go straight to God and ask, we will suffer because we are sinners. So we go through the Blessed Virgin first because when the Mother begs for us, the Son will not deny it. Like here on earth, when our Mother asks a favor, we cannot refuse it.

We call the Blessed Virgin the Mother of God because the person of our Lord Jesus Christ has two natures. Nature as God and nature as Man. We cannot separate that. The Blessed Virgin is only the Mother of the Lord Jesus Christ as a human being is a heresy. Because Jesus Christ is both God and man, we cannot separate that.

The Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God, is commemorated every January 1.

The Sanhedrin was the forum for the pharisees, who believed in the resurrection and in angels, and the saducees, who are akin to new theories and philosophies. All beliefs and philosophies concerning God and His creation are allowed to be expressed here.

 

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