Some of the beautiful Sacred Tradition and associated theology that make up the oral tradition elements of the Word of God handed down to us through divine revelation
Although the Eastern Liturgical tradition has their focal point on Her Dormition in sacred art and prayer it is technically incorrect to insinuate this view is the established Catholic view (See the Novus Moticus link below for reference to this subject)
Dormition gives suggestion of veneration of an empty above ground sarcophagus.The truth of the matter is that the Church does not define everything all the time – The Church has never defined as to whether she was taken up alive or dead
The early orthodox of the west maintained she was taken up ALIVE Many great homilies and teaching testimonies of the Priests and Friar theologians of the Franciscan Friars of the Immaculata have given great witnesses to same.
The key understanding is that we are FREE as Catholics to hold either to be their devotional understanding both cannot be true – Truth is absolute however and of course one or the other, we will learn, is what happened
We see in early western art the visible spectacle of our Queen being taken up by heavenly powers with wide open eyes – open arms and raptured in a state of prayer
Elijah an old covenant prophet, as most are familiar with , was taken up alive – Body , Soul AND Chariot – How can we believe that our God would not do the same for his Mother – – Conceived without sin and a predestined perfect human being ?!
And this is why we know that we still have recourse to Her as an intercessor to our God
Matt.22 “`I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’? He is not God of the dead, but of the living.”
Mark.12 “He is not God of the dead, but of the living…”
Luke.20 | Now he is not God of the dead, but of the living; for all live to him.”
See some great collections of Sacred Tradition below
Celebrating Our Lady of Glory on the Assumption On Tradition Family And Property
http://www.tfp.org/tfp-home/about-our-lady/celebrating-our-lady-of-glory-on-the-assumption.html
Assumption of Our Lady, Assumption of Mary, Assumption of the Virgin Mary, Plinio Correa de Oliveira commentary on the Saint of the Day, August 15 – – – On TIA
http://www.traditioninaction.org/SOD/j086sdAssumption8-15.htm
The Assumption | The Vortex
http://www.churchmilitant.com/video/episode/vortex-the-assumption
The Feast of the Assumption 2016- On Novus Motus Liturgicus
http://www.newliturgicalmovement.org/2016/08/the-feast-of-assumption-2016.html#.V7H0RaJmqPc
The Body Beautiful and the Assumption of Mary – Crisis Magazine
http://www.crisismagazine.com/2016/body-beautiful-assumption-mary
The nice things about the Church having not declared which way she was taken up, alive or dead, while you wait to find out the final conclusion it will not, the Church tells us , affect our salvation for being wrong as to which one we chose to believe
Other acceptable traditions is that she lived some say for three years and others for fifteen years after Christ’s Ascension. Two factions claim her home of departure , one Jerusalem and the other Ephesus – Although Jerusalem could have been a guest home where she sometimes pilgrimaged to, it is more likely that her continuing apostolate was in Ephesus – which was closer to the Mother of John the Baptist family who came from the hermitages of the Essenes along the Dead Sea and we find within the writings of community of the Dead See Scrolls their continuing chants and vigil for the coming of the Son of Man and to which the liberal Jews considered them a sect , very similar to the way the mainstream Church today considers orthodox Catholics
Early 2nd century liturgical books have same types of veneration and prayer
Several in the east have traditions where she was assumed 3 days after the Ascension of Christ with old festal observances on the 15th and 18th of August and others have 40 days
What is certain is that there were recorded generations of the Assumption veneration very early on and in conjunction with her January 1st nativity
Her birth was the earliest of the Feasts that had good formal records in Rome – as seen here on New Advent
http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/02006b.htm
Cardinal Burke Calls For a 54 Day Novena For The Nation To Begin on This The Feast Of The Assumption to National Rosary Rally in DC on Oct 7th
Assumption painted by Guido Reni in 1617
