Pope Pius
XII ~ MUNIFICENTISSIMUS DEUS
DEFINING THE
DOGMA OF THE ASSUMPTION
November 1,
1950
39. We must
remember especially that, since the second century, the Virgin Mary has been
designated by the holy Fathers as the new Eve, who, although subject to the new
Adam, is most intimately associated with him in that struggle against the
infernal foe which, as foretold in the protoevangelium, would finally result in
that most complete victory over the sin and death which are always mentioned
together in the writings of the Apostle of the Gentiles. Consequently, just as
the glorious resurrection of Christ was an essential part and the final sign of
this victory, so that struggle which was common to the Blessed Virgin and her
divine Son should be brought to a close by the glorification of her virginal
body, for the same Apostle says: "When this mortal thing hath put on
immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written: Death is
swallowed up in victory."
40. Hence
the revered Mother of God, from all eternity joined in a hidden way with Jesus
Christ in one and the same decree of predestination, immaculate in her
conception, a most perfect virgin in her divine motherhood, the noble associate
of the divine Redeemer who has won a complete triumph over sin and its
consequences, finally obtained, as the supreme culmination of her privileges,
that she should be preserved free from the corruption of the tomb and that,
like her own Son, having overcome death, she might be taken up body and soul to
the glory of heaven where, as Queen, she sits in splendor at the right hand of
her Son, the immortal King of the Ages.
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