August 15: Solemnity of the Assumption

Engraving by Laurent de La Hire, 1606-1656

The Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary – also known as the Dormition – commemorates the end of Mary’s life and her journey into heaven. It’s been formally celebrated since the early Middle Ages, with folk stories surrounding Mary’s death being told in ancient apocryphal texts centuries before that, dating back to even the 2nd century.

In a tale from the Golden Legend – a collection of hagiographies by Jacobus de Voragine, very popular in the late Medieval period – the apostles gathered at Mary’s deathbed, but St. Thomas was late. He doubted her Assumption, and then her girdle fell to him from heaven.

Another story goes that when Thomas arrived and entered Mary’s tomb, he found only her burial sheet and a fragrant array of flowers and herbs.

This summertime solemnity, celebrating Mary’s assumption into heaven, bears an age-old tradition of blessing flowers, herbs, and the August harvest. It invites us to celebrate this abundance through the lens of Mary, the fragrant Theotokos (“God-Bearer”), who bore the gift that awoke us to abundance.