In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, Amen.

My Lord and my God, I firmly believe that you are here,

that you see me, that you hear me.

I adore you with profound reverence.

I beg your pardon for my sins and the grace to make this time of prayer fruitful. My immaculate mother, St. Joseph,

my Father and Lord, my guardian angel, intercede for me. For today the Virgin Mother

of God was assumed into heaven as the beginning and image of your churches coming to perfection, and the sign of sure hope and comfort to your pilgrim people.

Rightly, you would not allow her to see the corruption of the tomb, since from her own body she marvelously brought forth your incarnate son, the author of all life.

Thus reads the preface of today's Mass in this day of the assumption of Mary, of our own mother, who is in heaven, body and soul.

This dogma that we profess with a Catholic and firm faith was proclaimed by Pius XI on

November 1, 1950.

In this preface, it is beautifully summarized.

The Virgin Mother of God was assumed into heaven as the beginning

and image of the church. She is the first one to be redeemed in Christ. And she was redeemed

in the merits of Christ in a way that was exceptional because she did not have original sin and all because

of the mission that our Lord had in store for her from, as St. Paul says, even before

the foundation of the world, to be holy, to be pure in his sight and his love.

The dogma declares that professes that she is there in heaven with our Lord, with God, Father,

Son, and Holy Spirit, in body and soul.

As Pius XIus 12 said, after having completed the course of her earthly life,

many artists have depicted this mystery, especially in medieval times.

They depicted in two scenes. The first scene is when Mary

...