All Is Not Lost
Assumption of The Blessed Virgin Mary
Revelation 11:19a; 12:1–6a, 10ab / Psalm 45:10bc / 1 Corinthians 15:20–27 / Luke 1:39–56
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Reflecting on the Word
By Dr. Karla J. Bellinger
Summer in the northern hemisphere feels like a funny time of year to think about the dying. The created world overflows with vigor. Tomatoes are ripe. Corn is in full ear. Yet here in vibrant mid August, the Church asks us to ponder Mary’s assumption, to probe and ponder the end of earthly life.
I remember one August when my son first saw a dead snake on a dirt road. It was lying still. It didn’t move. His four-year-old eyes brimmed with tears as he asked, “Is it gone? Is it lost?”
We wonder, too. What happens after death? Will we be gone? Will we be lost?
What happened to Mary? Did she die and her resurrected body was taken into heaven, like the Son of God? Was she swept into a chariot without dying, like Elijah? Theologians don’t agree about what her “assumption” looked like. Yet the Theotokos didn’t become a floating spirit, just as Jesus’ resurrected body didn’t become a ghost. The woman created as Mary of Nazareth, body and soul, was taken into heaven. She is not lost. She is alive.
The Good News of this feast is that those who die are not lost. What makes you, you; what makes me, me—that will not fade away. Matter matters. Though we don’t know how it works, we will have the same completion that the Virgin Mary has: we, body and soul, will not be lost.
Our grand finale is to be with God. You and I will stand before the power of the Most High and be overshadowed with glory. Together with the angels and the saints, we will overflow with intoxicating happiness within the tenderness of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. This is our confidence: ultimately, we will be home. We will not be lost. We will be found.
Consider/Discuss
Everlasting life—is this just a nice idea? Is heaven just a delusion for simple and backward people? Some would distrust anything that cannot be detected by our five senses. Many, even other Christians, scoff at today’s feast. Heaven is real; we believe that and yet we do not believe. What difference would it make to our lives if we regain a robust sense of a blessed eternity? It is beyond our imagining that all of the universe, all matter, will one day be drawn into God. St. Paul says that all creation groans while awaiting the final deliverance from death. The feast of the Assumption gives us a foretaste of that redemption. What does it mean for your human dignity and mine, that all created matter will one day be drawn to God?
Living and Praying with the Word
God of the Universe, you give us tastes of heaven on earth. Yet we have no idea of the abundance that you have in store for us. Your face shines upon us even now. One day your light will radiate upon us in everlasting brilliance. On this August day, plant deep within us an enthusiastic vision of the immensity and promise of your glory. Holy One Most High, let your exhilaration radiate from within us so strongly that we cannot hold it in. Mary, Mother of God, pray for us on this day, your day.