The Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary

The Assumption of the Virgin

In Assumptione Beatæ Mariæ Virginis    I. classis

Ant.  Assúmpta est María in caelum, gaudent ángeli, laudéntes benedícunt Dóminum.
Ant. Mary is taken up into heaven, the angels rejoice, and with praises bless the Lord.

Ant.  María Virgo assúmpta est ad aethéreum thálamum, in quo Rex regum stelláto sedet sólio.
Ant. The Virgin Mary was taken up [to the heavenly chamber, where the King of kings sitteth on His starry throne].

These antiphons are from Lauds in the Little Office of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

Our new site, dedicated to the Little Office was completed yesterday in time for Our Lady's great feast day. We humbly entreat Mary to accept our site as a small present and as an earnest of our determination to offer reparation  as she requested in 1917 at Fatima.*

Master of James IV of Scotland. (Flemish,about 1510–1520). Digital image courtesy of the Getty's Open Content Program.

*O my Jesus, forgive us our sins, save us from the fires of Hell and lead all souls to Heaven, especially those most in need of Thy mercy.

Notes on the image

The text reads:

Conver    Ad co(m)mpletorium
te nos Deus Salutaris noster

Conv       At Compline
ert us God our Saviour

It is perhaps fitting that the text comes from the hour of Compline, the last of the hours in the Little Office, recited at the end of the day; the picture contains images from the end of Mary's earthly life.

On the left of the picture, a funeral procession makes its way towards a small bridge. The coffin is covered in drapes of gold and blue, colours associated with the Blessed Virgin. There are twelve figures depicted, including two armed men on the ground. There is a legend that the Apostles were miraculously brought to Mary's death-bed from all over the world. At the head of the procession is a young man who must be St John, the beloved disciple, to whom Christ entrusted the care of His mother as He was dying on the Cross. Mary was to live with St John at Ephesus for the rest of her mortal days.

The main scene in the picture depicts the Assumption of Our Lady. She is wearing her traditional blue robe and cloak, edged with gold; and her hair is flowing loosely to represent her perpetual virginity.  She is being borne up to Heaven by the power of her Son Who is shown at the top of the image as Christ the King, gazing with love at His Mother. Mary returns His gaze and over her head is her crown, for Jesus is crowning her as Queen of Heaven.

There are seven Angels in attendance. Seven is perhaps a reference to the seven words she spoke that are recorded in the Gospels, or to the Seven Sorrows she suffered in her earthly life (as foretold by Simeon), or to the six days of her labours on earth, culminating with her seventh day of eternal rest in Heaven. It seems to me, however, that Our Blessed Mother has been incredibly busy in Heaven as she spearheads the war against Satan, his minions and his dupes.

[9] Who is she that cometh forth as the morning rising, fair as the moon, bright as the sun, terrible as an army set in array?
Quae est ista quae progreditur quasi aurora consurgens, pulchra ut luna, electa ut sol, terribilis ut castrorum acies ordinata? [Canticles 6]

One of the angels is handing Our Lady's belt or girdle to a man: perhaps this is Thomas the Apostle, who famously required tangible evidence to support his acceptance of the supernatural Resurrection of Christ.**

**Update**

Assumption of the Virgin. Palma Vecchio. 1512 - 1514
Accademia di Belle Arti di Venezia [Public domain]

At the Assumption of Mary, where the other apostles were present, Thomas once again missed the occasion, being on his way back from India. The Virgin Mary, aware of Thomas' sceptical nature, appeared to him individually and dropped the girdle she was wearing down onto him, to give him a physical proof of what he had seen.

The legend is described briefly in the Golden Legend, with Thomas missing the Assumption and receiving the girdle later, and is, uniquely among the surviving English medieval mystery plays, covered in the York Mystery Cycle.

In Palma's Assumption (left), only eleven Apostles are shown in the foreground, gazing Heavenwards. Our Lady has noticed one Apostle is absent: Thomas. She has spotted him to her left running to join the others and she holds out her girdle as if to provide him with proof. Zoom in on the image to see his figure in the distance!




Questions for readers:
What is the reason for the armed men on the ground as the procession passes?
What are the three discs at the opening of the grave?

Totus tuus ego sum 
Et omnia mea tua sunt;
Tecum tutus semper sum:
Ad Jesum per Mariam