Commenting on the Bodily Assumption of Mary, Ludwig Ott wrote that:
In the East, at least since the
sixth century, and at Rome, at any rate, since the end of the seventh century
(Sergius 1, 687–701) the Church celebrated the Feast of the Sleeping of Mary
(Dormitio, κοίμησις). The
object of the Feast was originally the death of Mary, but very soon the thought
appeared of the incorruptibility of her body and of its assumption into Heaven.
The original title Dormitio (Sleeping) was changed into assumptio
(Sacramentarium Gregorianum). (Ludwig Ott, Fundamentals of Catholic Dogma [trans.
Patrick Lynch; St. Louis: B. Herder Book Company, 1957], 210)
Intrigued, I decided to find the relevant source in the sacramentary:
[Item ipso die Vig. S. Mariae.
Sanctae Mariae semper virginis
Suscipe Dne. sacrificium placationis
*Adiuvant nos q. Dne. haec
mysteria]
xviii Kal. Sept. Assumptio S.
Mariae.
Concede nobis q. o. D. ad b.
Mariae
Veneranda nobis Dne. huius est
Intercessio q. Dne. beatae Mariae
VD. Nos te in tuis
*Caelesti munere satiati (?) o. D. tua nos
*O. s. D. qui terrenis corporibus
(H. A. Wilson, The
Gelasian Sacramentary: Liber Sacramentorum Romanae Ecclesiae [Oxford:
Clarendon Press, 1894], 353)
[Also on the same day, the Vigil of Saint Mary.]
Of Saint Mary, ever-virgin.
Receive, O Lord, the sacrifice of propitiation.
May these mysteries help us, we beseech thee, O Lord.
The 18th day before the Kalends of September — The
Assumption of Saint Mary.
Grant to us, we beseech thee, O Lord, through blessed
Mary.
Venerable to us, O Lord, is the intercession — we beseech thee, O Lord, of
blessed Mary.
V[erse]. D[ominus]. — We [place] you in your…
Filled by a heavenly gift, O Lord, make us thine.
O S. D., who in earthly bodies…
