What was the Assumption of the Virgin Mary like?

On the Solemnity of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary, the Church rejoices to contemplate the glorious mystery of her who, assumed into heaven body and soul, precedes us as Mother and model of faith.

This holy day invites us to reflect on the fullness of grace with which Mary was blessed from the moment of her conception, and how her earthly life culminated in her Assumption into heavenly glory, where she constantly intercedes for us before her Son, Jesus Christ.

In this article, we will explore the Church in which, according to the tradition of the Christian Church, the Assumption of the Virgin Mary is believed to have occurred, and also how this event was related by Blessed Anne Catherine Emmerich.

Church of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary

• Dormition Abbey of the Blessed Virgin Mary

By Andrew Shiva / Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=40997053

The Dormition Abbey of the Virgin Mary, located on Mount Sion in Jerusalem, is a place of deep devotion for Catholics, marked by the mystery of the Assumption of the Virgin.

In this holy place, the Church reverently remembers the moment when the Virgin Mary was taken to heaven. This abbey, with its majestic Romanesque architecture, has an image of the Virgin in her sleep, which invites to prayer and meditation on love and the promise of eternal life in Christ. It is a sacred place, where the faithful can come closer to Mary and feel her maternal intercession.

• For more information on this church, visit the Dormition Abbey website.
• Location: Next to Zion Gate in Jerusalem, Israel.

The Assumption of the Virgin Mary – visions of Blessed Catherine Emmerich

As Catherine of Emmerick tells about her visions, “The Holy Virgin rested calmly on her couch, it seemed that the moment of her death had already arrived. She was wrapped in a night dress and her veil was gathered in a square on her forehead, she only lowered it on her face when she spoke with men. I saw her take nothing in the last days, but from time to time a spoonful of a juice that the maid squeezed from certain yellow fruits arranged in clusters.

When Our Lady knew that the hour was approaching, she wished, in conformity with the Will of God, to bless those who were present and to bid them farewell. Her bedroom was uncovered and she sat on the bed, her face white, resplendent and as if entirely illuminated.

All the friends in attendance were in the front part of the room. First the Apostles entered, approached one after the other into Mary’s bedroom and knelt down at her bedside. She blessed each of them, crossing her hands over their heads and lightly touching their foreheads.

To all she spoke and did as Jesus had commanded her. She spoke to John about the arrangements he should make for her burial, and instructed him to give her clothes to her maidservant and to another poor woman who used to come to serve her. After the Apostles, the disciples came to Mary’s bedside and received her blessing from her, and so did the women. I saw that one of them bent over Mary and Our Lady embraced her.

My open eyes, which followed the most pure and immaculate soul of Mary, saw her enter the Heavenly Jerusalem and arrive at the Throne of the Most Holy Trinity. I saw a great number of souls among whom I recognized Saints Joachim and Anna, Joseph, Elizabeth, Zacharias and John the Baptist coming to meet Mary with respectful joy.

She took her flight through them to the Throne of God and of His Son, who, shining upon everything else the light that came from His wounds, received her with an all Divine love, presented her as a scepter and showed her the Earth beneath His feet as if He were bestowing upon Her some Heavenly Power. Thus I saw her enter Glory and I forgot everything that was happening around Mary on earth.

After this vision, when I looked at the Earth again, I saw the body of the Blessed Virgin resplendent. Virgin .
Reposaba sobre el lecho, con el rostro luminoso, los ojos cerrados y los brazos cruzados sobre su pecho.
Los Apóstoles, discípulos y santas mujeres, estaban arrodillados y oraban en derredor del cuerpo.

Then I saw the holy women spread a linen cloth over the Holy Body and the Apostles with the disciples withdrew to the front part of the house. The women covered themselves with their garments and veils, sat down on the ground and, kneeling or sitting, sang funeral lamentations. The Apostles and the disciples covered their heads with the cloth band they wore around their necks and celebrated a funeral service. Two of them always prayed alternately at the head and at the feet of the Holy Body.

Then the women removed from the bed the Holy Body with all its garments and placed it in a long basket filled with thick coverings and mats, so that it was as it were raised above the basket. Then two of them put a large cloth spread over the body and two others undressed her under the linen cloth, leaving her only her long woolen tunic.

They also cut the beautiful curls from the hair of the Holy Virgin and kept them as a remembrance of her. Immediately the Holy Body was dressed in a new open robe and then by means of linens placed underneath, it was respectfully deposited on a table on which the mortuary cloths and the bands that were to be used had already been placed.

They then wrapped the Holy Body with the linen cloths from the ankles to the chest and pressed it tightly with the girdles. The head, hands and feet were not wrapped in this way. Then they placed the Holy Body in the coffin and placed on the chest a crown of white, red and light blue flowers as an emblem of her Virginity.

MASAKO ISHIDA//GETTY IMAGES

Then the Apostles, the disciples and all the attendants, entered to see again before being covered the Holy Face that was so dear to them. They knelt and wept around the Holy Body, all touched the bound hands of Our Mother Mary as if to say goodbye and withdrew.

The women also said their last goodbyes, covered his face, put the lid on the coffin and nailed gray cloth sashes in the center and at the extremities. Then they placed the coffin on a litter and Pedro and Juan carried him out of the house on their shoulders.

I believe that they took turns, because later I saw that the coffin was carried by six Apostles, and when they arrived at the tomb, they placed the Holy Body on the ground, and four of them carried it to the cavern and deposited it in the excavation that was to serve as a sepulchral bed. All the attendants entered there one by one, scattered scents and flowers around, knelt praying and shedding tears and then withdrew.

At night many Apostles and holy women were praying and singing songs in the little garden in front of the tomb. Then I was shown a wonderfully moving picture: I saw that a very wide luminous way was descending from heaven toward the tomb and that there was moving there a radiance formed of three spheres filled with angels and blessed souls surrounding Our Lord and the resplendent Soul of Mary.

The figure of Jesus Christ with his rays coming out of his scars, waved in front of the Virgin. Around the soul of Mary, I saw in the inner sphere, small figures of children, in the second, there were children about six years old, and in the third outer sphere, adolescents or young people. I saw distinctly only their faces; everything else appeared to me as resplendent luminous figures.

When this vision, which became more and more distinct to me, had reached the tomb, I saw a luminous way extending from there to the Heavenly Jerusalem. Then the soul of the Blessed Virgin, who followed Jesus, descended into the tomb through the rock, and then, joining her Body that had been transfigured, clear and bright, Mary rose, accompanied by her Divine Son and the choir of the Blessed Spirits, towards the Heavenly Jerusalem. All that light was lost there, I no longer saw on Earth but the silent vault of the starry sky.

As St. Thomas did not arrive in time to say goodbye to the Mother and neither could he attend the Holy Burial; he had in his mind and heart, to arrive in time. But when he learned of the outcome from the other Apostles, he became sad and tearful and regretted not having arrived on time.

Inwardly, he had the vehement desire to see her for the last time and he let the others know it. Several days had already passed since the burial; everyone wanted to return to the Sepulcher and accede to Thomas’ request. They made a resolution and the next day, very early in the morning, they set out on the road to the Sepulcher of Our Blessed Mother.

Standing in front of the Sepulcher, they removed the seal-stone from the entrance and Oh! Wonder of Wonders, from the vault came a soft scent of fresh rose perfume. They all felt moved and perplexed when they smelled that perfume; they looked at each other silently asking, with their eyes and with signs in their hands, “Shall we go in?” and still looking at each other, they all nodded their heads and passed through the vault.

They entered the Holy Sepulcher towards the place where the coffin containing the Most Holy Body of the Virgin Mary was placed and the more enormous was the emotion and surprise among them when they saw that in the place there were only fresh, fragrant and odorous roses. They signified that the Lord had come to look for His Most Holy Mother to take her to His Heavenly Glory so that Her Body would not suffer corruption“.

In the contemplation of Anne Catherine Emmerick’s visions, the Assumption of the Virgin Mary is presented to us as a mystery of faith that transcends the natural. Through her detailed narrative, we witness the Virgin’s unconditional love for her Son and her longing to be united with Him in eternity.