# August 15, Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary - A Promise and Sign of Hope

Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/catholic-daily-reflections-334651/august-15-solemnity-of-the-assumption-of-the-blessed-virgin-mary-a-promise-and-sign-of-hope
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Podcast: [Catholic Daily Reflections](https://stenobird.com/podcast/catholic-daily-reflections-334651)
Published: 2026-08-14T09:00:22+00:00
Episode link: https://www.spreaker.com/episode/august-15-solemnity-of-the-assumption-of-the-blessed-virgin-mary-a-promise-and-sign-of-hope--72639381
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Duration seconds: 479

## Resource

Read Online A Promise and Sign of Hope “My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord; my spirit rejoices in God my Savior for he has looked with favor on his lowly servant. From this day all generations will call me blessed: the Almighty has done great things for me and holy is his Name.” Luke 1:46–49 Today we celebrate one of the great solemnities on the Church’s liturgical calendar: the Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Belief in her bodily assumption first took root in the early Church among those who witnessed this glorious event. Though we do not have written firsthand accounts of the Assumption, a variety of traditions have stood the test of time. According to a tradition handed down by Saint John Damascene in the fifth century, all of the Apostles except Thomas were miraculously gathered in Jerusalem at the time of Mary’s Dormition, or falling asleep. After reverently placing her body in a tomb near the Garden of Gethsemane, they later opened it at Thomas’s request, who had arrived late and wished to venerate her body. To their astonishment, the tomb was empty. This led the Apostles to conclude, through divine revelation, that the Blessed Virgin had been assumed body and soul into Heaven. That empty tomb is still honored today in the cave near Gethsemane and remains a popular place of pilgrimage. This early tradition laid the foundation for the Church’s growing conviction through the centuries that Mary’s Assumption was not merely a pious belief but a divinely revealed truth. In 1950, this truth was solemnly defined as dogma by Pope Pius XII in Munificentissimus Deus . Why was the Blessed Virgin Mary taken body and soul into Heaven at the completion of her earthly life? Because, by a singular grace, when she was conceived in the womb of her…

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