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Jesus ascended into heaven; Mary was assumed into heaven; those who live for Jesus will be assumed into heaven. The laws of gravity, death, and sin seem to dominate our lives. We sin repeatedly and eventually are buried. However, this is not the end — as much as it looks like the end. "You can depend on this: If we have died with Him we shall also live with Him" (2 Tm 2:11). "The Lord Himself will come down from heaven at the word of command, at the sound of the archangel's voice and God's trumpet; and those who have died in Christ will rise first. Then we, the living, the survivors, will be caught up with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. Thenceforth we shall be with the Lord unceasingly" (1 Thes 4:16-17). In the doubt and disbelief of our secular humanistic culture, many people doubt if the Lord is actually going to defy gravity by taking us off planet Earth and assuming us into heaven. How do we know we have victory over sin and death? We don't appear very victorious. Mary is a sure sign of hope. What the Lord has done for Mary, the mother of the Church, He will do for us, the members of the Church. There is hope — a great and glorious hope. No matter how earth-bound, sin-bound, and death-bound we seem, we can give our lives to Jesus and fly away. We will not only fly like the eagle (see Is 40:31) but also like Mary. In Jesus, "we shall overcome one day." Mary has proven it. Believe! Hope! Fly! |
