St. Mary's Church Elizabeth, IL

8/10

"When this mortal body puts on immortality, then the saying will be fulfilled:

"Death has been swallowed up in victory.''' 1Cor. 15:54

Read 1 Corinthians, chapter 15, verses 12 to 23, and 50 to 57

    The Fourth glorious mystery, the Assumption of Mary, Expresses the Church's ancient believe that the mother of Christ was taken to heaven when her eartly life was finished.  Rather than experience bodily corruption and await the ressurection of the body.  Mary experienced the glorified life, body and soul, immediately after her death.  This mystery represents what awaits all of us who trust in God's power to give a new life to our mortal bodies.  As the mother of all Christ's disciples, Mary is the anticipation and supreme realization of our final glory.  She is the icon and model of what God will do to those who wait in faith, hope, and love.

In writing about the resurrection, Paul insists that the whole human person, created by God, will be given a new transformed bodily life through the resurrection of the dead.  By calling the risen Christ the "First fruit of those who have died," Paul indicates that Christ's resurrection is an anticipatory promise of the general ressurection of all believers (verses 20-23).  We live now in the interval between Christ's resurrection and the day of Christ's coming when the dead will be raised to life.  But because of Christ's resurrection, the future age has already burst into the present age.  The time of the forgiveness and victory over sin and death, foretold by the ancient prophets and sages of Isarael, has already come upon the earth.  What happened when Christ rose from the tomb has made the world a different kind of place, and has given us the possibility of becoming a different kind of people.

For Reflection:  What does the gloriefied life of Mary in heaven tell me about the dignity of our human nature and the power of God's grace?  What offers me the greatest confidence that God will raise me and those I love to eternal life on the last day?

Prayer Starter:  Lord Jesus Christ, you have destroyed the powers of death and given me confidence in the future,.  Without you, I am trapped in sin and destined for eternal death.  Because of you, death's fate is sealed and I can live on joyful hope.

Fr. Joachim