The "B.I.B.L.E., yes that's the book for me, I stand upon the word of God the B.I.B.L.E". Children's songs. As a Protestant, I grew up singing this one. You may have as well. So, obviously on a journey to Catholicism, one must stop and ask about the Assumption or any Catholic doctrine, "Where's that in the Bible?"
Biblical Precedent
For starters, Elijah and Enoch were both assumed into heaven (2 Kings 2:1-12, Hebrews 11:5). Thus, we have historic Biblical precedent for this particular miraculous phenomena. We also have no place in scripture that says, "Enoch and Elijah were the only ones assumed into heaven"--no where to be found. In turn, we can say at this point that the Assumption of Mary is (1) not against Christian sensibilities, (2) is an instance of an historical event, and (3) has a typology in Scripture. Not a real slam dunk case against it, right?
You can imagine that all of this would make a Protestant become a little uncertain. They might have to say that "I still don't see it in the Bible" or "that's fine if you believe it, but I don't think it's necessary." But, if it's true, and Jesus is the Truth, the necessity of assent is correlative to the seriousness or commitment of the inquirer. You or I may care less about the orinthological implications of a study of a Red-footed Falcon, but if we were bird lovers we would care. The Mother of Christ's journey to her eternal beatitude for a Christ lover should barely seem obscure, and if this truth is attainable, we should long to know it since Jesus is The Truth (Psalms 42:1) and the truth sets us free (John 8:32).
Are there any allusions to Mary's Assumption in the Bible? First, Scripture is abundantly clear that we should hold fast as Christians not only to the written word but the oral traditions of the Apostles (2 Thess 2:15, 1 Cor 11:2, 2 Tim 1:13-14, 2 Tim 2:2, 1 Jn 2:24, 1 Jn 4:6). To abnegate this responsibility is to cease to act Biblically and to nullify the word of God by the man-made modern tradition of rejecting Apostolic tradition. Second, Psalm 132:7-8 has traditionally been interpreted by Catholics as a prophecy about Mary's Assumption. In the passage, Mary as the Arc of the New Covenant is brought back to heaven by God.
Apocalyptic Message of Hope?
As we consider the actual historical date of the Assumption, we notice that it may have likely coincided with great persecution and then a time of brief relief. In Revelation 12 we notice something like this being wrought by God for "The Woman". In Revelation 12:13, the dragon "pursued the woman who had given birth to the male child". She is then given "two wings of the great eagle, so that she could fly to her place in the desert" (v.14) and "Then the dragon became angry with the woman and went off to wage war against the rest of her offspring, those who keep God's commandments (works) and bear witness to Jesus (faith)" (v.17).
If John is writing this after the Assumption, writing it in the apocryphal language of his day to "codify" the events of the Church in common mythological language that would be easily understood by his audience, and writing it to give hope to those under persecution, it is hard to imagine what other interpretation of this passage makes sense. Could John be motioning to those under persecution that the Virgin is now in heaven and that their prayers for her protection have been answered? Would the Holy Mother's bodily Assumption into heaven bring great relief to those who were watching their fellow believer's bodies being mutilated and tortured?
Moreover as we converge upon the multiplicity of probabilities, considering the historical, philosophical, theological, and liturgical movement in time that brings one to a belief in the Assumption of Mary, it is in that paradigm of probabilities that this passage is rendered the most intelligible. However, it is not enough as an article of faith for it to be the most intelligible from the data. Rather, the Church is the "ground and pillar of truth." As such, it was in the solemn pronouncement of the dogma by Pope St. Pius XII that the Church was bound to believe it. May it also bring us great hope in our time of trial as we see the body persecuted by the cult of hedonism and debauchery. May we see in the Blessed Virgin, the true end of the our bodies: union with God.
Even more, may the dogma of the Assumption of Mary stand as a sign of contradiction in a world constantly throwing off God and that we, too, will "mount up with wings like eagles" like our Blessed Mother as we "hope in the Lord" (Is 40:31).
