flying lessons
"He has deposed the mighty from their thrones and raised the lowly to high places." —Luke 1:52
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. Console one another with this message" (1 Thes 4:16-18).
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 look 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 (Is 40:31) but also like Mary. In Jesus, "we shall overcome one day." Mary has proven it. Believe! Hope! Fly!
Prayer: Father, give me "a birth unto hope" (1 Pt 1:3).
Promise: "Just as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will come to life again, but each one in proper order: Christ the First Fruits and then, at His coming, all those who belong to Him." —1 Cor 15:22-23
Praise: O, Mary assumed into heaven, pray for us who have recourse to you! Thank You, Jesus, for giving us Your mother.
Nihil Obstat: Reverend Robert L. Hagedorn, February 1, 1997
Imprimatur: †Most Reverend Carl K. Moeddel, Vicar General and Auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati, February 4, 1997