O GOD, who hast taken to thyself the blessed Virgin Mary, mother of thine only Son; Grant that we who have been redeemed by his blood may share with her the glory of thine eternal kingdom, through the same Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Ghost, ever one God, world without end. Amen
The Memorial of Mary's ‘falling asleep' dates from the end of the sixth century, but was influenced by legendary narratives of the end of Mary's life already widely in circulation. In the West, the most influential of them is the 'Transitus Mariae'. Belief in Mary's assumption is rooted in the promise of the resurrection of the dead and the recognition of Mary's dignity as Theotókos and ‘Ever Virgin', coupled with the conviction that she who had borne Life should be associated to her Son's victory over death, and with the glorification of his Body, the Church.
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