1 Cor 15: 20-27
In fact, however, Christ has been raised from the dead, as the first-fruits of all who have fallen asleep. As it was by one man that death came, so through one man has come the resurrection of the dead.
Just as all die in Adam, so in Christ all will be brought to life; but all of them in their proper order: Christ the first-fruits, and next, at his coming, those who belong to him. After that will come the end, when he will hand over the kingdom to God the Father, having abolished every principality, every ruling force and power. For he is to be king until he has made his enemies his footstool, and the last of the enemies to be done away with is death, for he has put all things under his feet.
We celebrate with joy today the Assumption of Mary to heaven.
The proclamation of this doctrine once again gives us the certainty that we, too, will be received into heaven with our bodies and souls, if we remain in the grace of God and thus participate in the bodily resurrection at the end of time.
The spiritual resurrection takes place before, when we leave the path of sin, receive the sacraments of the Church, and seek what is above, as St. Paul urges on us (cf Col 3:1). Then the divine life, which is everlasting, can already spread its light, and we will be, in a certain sense, “men of the future,” for the resurrection of God is prepared for all men; the Lord has promised his disciples to prepare the dwellings for them (cf Jn 14: 2).
Death is the last enemy of man. First, then, sin must be fought, the ever-lurking enemy of man, which can be resisted in Christ. Then we cooperate with the Holy Spirit, who also wants to heal and purify the effects of sin in us.
Now that spiritual death and the effects of sin are overcome in the forgiveness of guilt by our Lord, by our sincere repentance and the path of sanctification. On Easter night the Church calls us in the great song of Exultet at the beginning of the liturgy: “Death, where is your sting, hell, where is your victory?” (1 Cor 15:55)
The sting of death is taken, we can say the “poisoned sting”! Death, if he remains the enemy, will be detoxified! For the believer, death is no longer the ultimate consequence of the Fall; death does not end a meaningless existence, or becomes immersion in nothingness, the great unknown, but a homecoming to God for eternity!
All this shows us the wonderful feast of today! The Virgin is at home in God in eternity and cares that people – their children – find their way into the eternal home. A faithful mother on earth does not stop asking for the salvation of her children. That’s what the mother of the Lord, who wants to have us with God and with her, does that a great deal!
Many people rightly turn to the Mother of God and have great faith in her! Certainly, the Virgin Mary cares about needs of all kinds. But especially we should meet her as a spiritual mother, who takes us to the school of following her son, into the school of complete trust in God and His ways, in the school of hearing and the internalization of the Word of God. Let us think of passages of the New Testament.
The angel Gabriel finds a trusting virgin who willingly receives the message of God in love (see Lk. 1:26-28). Mary’s question as to how God will accomplish this miracle in her is characterized neither by mistrust nor by fear. It is the question of an open and surrendered heart asking for direction from God; the question comes from a pure heart.
She wants to take us into this school, that we learn to fully trust God’s guides. If we ask God how this is to happen, what we can not humanly imagine, then this question should come from an affirmation of the action of God and not be questioned. In order to grow into such openness to God, it takes the work on our hearts for which we receive all the help from Our Lady.
Let’s take another example to honor our mother! It is that scene when Mary anxiously searches for her twelve-year-old son with St. Joseph and finds him in the temple in conversation with the scribes in Jerusalem (compare Lk. 2:42-51). Jesus answers, if they did not know that he wanted to be with God, his Father. The Virgin Mary moved the words of Jesus in her heart.
If we trust in the Blessed Mother, then she will take us to such an inner school to learn to internalize the words of the Lord or circumstances given by Him, even if we do not immediately understand them! It is not the activity of the mind that primarily opens us to the words of the Lord, but the attentive hearing, to move it in the heart, and in this way to let the spirit work, which then also penetrates the mind.
Thank God that he has given us the Virgin Mary as Mother, that she accompanies us on our journey and offers us all help, so that we can safely reach where she lives in unimaginable glory. God has entrusted to her and invites us to do the same!
Harpa Dei accompanies the daily scriptural interpretation or spiritual teaching of Br. Elija, their spiritual father. These meditations can be heard on the following website www.en.elijamission.net
