The Fourth Glorious Mystery of the Holy Rosary is the Assumption of Mary. St. John Damascene said, “What, then, shall we call this mystery of yours? Death? Your blessed soul is naturally parted from your blissful and undefiled body, and the body is delivered to the grave, yet it does not remain in death, nor is it the prey of corruption. The body of her, whose virginity remained unspotted in child-birth, was preserved in its incorruption, and was taken to a better, diviner place, where death is not, but eternal life. Therefore I will not call your sacred transformation death, but rest or going home, and it is more truly a going home. Putting off corporeal things, you dwell now in a happier state. How could Limbo open its gates to her? How could corruption touch the life-giving body? These are things quite foreign to the soul and body of God’s Mother. Death trembled before her. In approaching her Son, death had learnt experience from His sufferings and had grown wiser. The gloomy descent to hell was not for her, but a joyous, easy, and sweet passage to heaven.”
According to saints and mystics, after the Ascension of Jesus, Our Lady’s soul was consumed by intense longing for heaven. She received the Holy Eucharist from St. John the Apostle and meditated frequently on the passion of Christ.
Blessed Anne Catherine Emmerich described her vision of the soul of the Blessed Virgin departing the body: “To my great joy I saw that Mary’s soul, as it entered Heaven, was followed by a great number of souls released from Purgatory; and again today, on the anniversary, I saw many poor souls entering Heaven, amongst them some whom I knew. I was given the comforting assurance that every year, on the day of Our Lady’s death, many souls of those who have venerated her receive this reward. When I once more looked down to earth, I saw the Blessed Virgin’s body lying on the couch. It was shining, her face was radiant, her eyes were closed and her arms crossed on her breast. The Apostles, disciples, and women knelt round it praying. As I saw all this there was a beautiful ringing in the air and a movement throughout the whole of nature like the one I had perceived on Christmas night. The Blessed Virgin died at the ninth hour [3 p.m.], the same time as Our Lord.”
Emmerich also described the Assumption: “During this holy night I saw a broad shaft of light come down from Heaven to the rock, and I saw descending in it a triple-ringed glory of angels and spirits surrounding the appearance of Our Lord and of the shining soul of Mary. The appearance of Our Lord, whose wound-marks were streaming with light, moved down in front of her soul. As this vision, becoming ever clearer, streamed down upon the rock, I saw a shining path opened and leading up to the heavenly Jerusalem. I saw Mary’s soul, united to her transfigured body, rising out of the tomb far brighter and clearer, and ascending into the heavenly Jerusalem with Our Lord and with the whole glory.”
Each year, Holy Mother Church celebrates the Solemnity of the Assumption on August 15. Dr. Pius Parsch wrote, “Now toward the end of the summer season, at a time when fruits are ripe in the gardens and fields, the Church celebrates the most glorious ‘harvest festival’ in the Communion of Saints. Mary, the supremely blessed one among women, Mary, the most precious fruit which has ripened in the fields of God’s kingdom, is today taken into the granary of heaven.”
聖母回家
玫瑰經，榮福五端的第四端是聖母蒙召升天。聖若望、達瑪森說：『之後，我們要稱這是你的奧蹟嗎？死亡？你的聖靈魂自然地要離開你幸福的，未曾沾污的身體，身體被送到墳墓裡去，但它並不停留於死亡或成為腐朽的獵物。她的身體—-其童貞在生子時保持無瑕—-維持在不腐朽的狀態並提升到更好，更神聖的境界，那裡沒有死亡，只有生命。所以我不稱你神聖的轉化為死亡，但卻是休憩和回家，這是真實的回家。放下這一切物質的事宜，你現今處於一個更快樂的環境。靈薄獄怎可為她打開閘門？腐朽怎可個碰及她賦給生命的身體？這些都是些與天主之母靈魂、內身不相宜的事物。死亡在她面前顫抖。在接近她兒子時，死亡經驗過祂的苦難，學得聰明一點。憂鬱的下降陰間不是她，只有愉快，輕鬆和甜蜜的通往天堂去。』
根據聖人和神視者，在耶穌升天後，聖母的靈魂熱切渴望天堂。她由聖若望宗徒領受耶穌聖體和經常默想基督的苦難。
真福Anne Catherine Emmerich形容她所見聖童貞女的靈魂離開她的肉體說：『在我的喜樂中，我看見瑪利亞的靈魂，當她進入天堂的時候很多的靈魂，從煉獄裡釋放出來跟隨著她；再一次，今天在這週年日，我看見很多可憐的靈魂進入天國，在他們中，有些是我認識的。我被給與一個安慰的保證，在每年這一天，聖母離世日，很多恭敬她的靈魂能夠得到這份賞報。當我再一次下望於世界，我看見聖童貞女的身體躺在長榻上。它在發光，她面龎散發光芒，閉上雙眼，雙手交疊在胸膛。…聖童貞女在，第九時辰死亡[下午三時]，和我主的時間相同。』
Emmerich 也形容聖母升天說：『在那神聖的一夜，我看見一道廣闊的光從天堂照射到這石上，我看見一位有三環光榮的天使和神體們降落石上，環繞著我主和散發著光芒聖母的靈魂。我主出現時，他的傷口發射著光線，走在聖母靈魂前面。當這神視愈覺清晰時，照到石上的光線上，我看見一道發光的路徑打開並引向到天上的耶路撒冷。我看見聖母的靈魂與她轉化了的身體結合，從墳墓中升起，更為光耀，清楚，跟我主和全部的光榮一起升到天上耶路撒泠。』
每年慈母教會慶祝聖母升天瞻禮在八月十五日。Pius Parsch博士寫：『現在接近夏季的完結，在果實在田野花園中成熟的時候，教會慶祝最光榮的諸聖相通「收成節日」。瑪利亞，女人中最有福的，瑪利亞，在天主國田中成熟的最珍貴果實，今天收到天國的倉庫中。』
