Praise be Jesus and Mary.
Today, as you all know, we celebrate the Assumption, the Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary into Heaven.
It's beautiful to reflect on the words from the bull,
when Pope Pius XII would give us the solemn definition,
talking about her passing from this life into the next.
He uses a very interesting word, because one of the things that goes back,
and forth, which we're still allowed to have our own pious belief,
and we're free to, as you might say, believe as you like,
as your pious devotion persuades you.
The Franciscan position, by the way, I'll save for last.
But at any rate, we have Our Lady's, what sometimes people hear as Our Lady's Dormition.
And the other argument, which I saved for last, is of course that Our Lady died.
So there are these two positions.
And the Pope doesn't actually...
In the bull of definition, everyone thought, like, this is it.
He's going to actually tell us whether she died or not.
And he says, at the end of her earthly life,
she is taken up into heavenly glory, body and soul.
She doesn't actually answer that particular question.
But all are agreed that after her Dormition, or after her death,
depending on how your devotion moves you,
and you're free to believe as you like,
because there isn't a solemn definition,
there isn't a solemn definition as to whether Our Lady just passed from this life into the next,
or whether she actually died.
By the way, the Franciscan position is partly because we hold that she wanted to be more like Christ.
Christ died, so she died.
But there is good argument for also the Dormition,
because one would say, it's one thing to say that she died as an imitation of her son,
to be more perfect, to more perfectly resemble her son,
that he was separated.
His soul was separated from body.
He actually died, so would she,
so as to more resemble him also in eternity,
that she suffered as he suffered.
But others could argue, too, that that suffering,
her death, if you will, was when Christ died on the cross.
Because she, it's often interpreted that she felt all the sufferings and pains of our Lord
during his agony and all through his passion.
So she would have also experienced the death agony through her son.
As the argument goes, you can believe as you like.
You're free.
The church hasn't made any formal decisions.
But we're all agreed, both sides of those arguments,
both agree that after Our Lady finished her earthly life,
she entered into everlasting glory.
Also, another interesting thought in this conception is the fact that Our Lady shares
in our Lord's glory also as the first fruits of our redemption.
And particularly what I mean by that is, in other words,
she doesn't wait until, we're all waiting.
She doesn't wait for the final resurrection
so that both soul and body are already enjoying eternal bliss.
Whereas we, when we die, well, the body will not immediately enjoy,
as we all know, as we're all taught,
we won't immediately enjoy, at least the body won't,
enjoy the bliss of heaven.
That is for later, after the final resurrection,
when body and soul is again reunited.
The teaching, however, is, of course, that, you know,
the primary joy is already experienced by the soul.
But this is also the same thing.
I remember when I was thinking as a boy,
the Lord would have to enlighten me because I just,
I don't quite understand this.
And I just, I remember pondering over it.
And one day it was just this laying in my bed,
and all of a sudden I just kind of understood it.
I don't understand how it all happened,
but I might just say, you know, it's one of those things.
You don't understand if you pray in time, if you're humble.
It's not like you're questioning it.
It's just trying to understand it.
And if you wait upon the Lord, eventually he does enlighten us
and help our understanding.
And as I was pondering as my youth, it's like, well,
I used to think, well, when I die, I want the same body.
I don't want something different.
You know, it's like, and this is actually the teaching of the church.
The body is the same, but it's glorified.
It's perfected.
And so you say, you go finally one more time to the real doctor.
And when you come home, as it were,
the body is in perfect shape.
There's nothing wrong with it anymore.
Finally, the doctor got it right.
The real doctor, which of course, I mean, our Lord Jesus Christ.
And in part for us in this life, our sufferings,
the imperfections that we have, that we suffer, mental, physical,
whatever they may be, the weaknesses of the concupiscence
that we have to put up with in our struggle in this life.
We know that these are a preparation, provided we cooperate,
that we struggle, we put up the good fight.
Well, as we carry our cross, following the example of our lady,
this is another reason why she shares a particular glory of our Lord,
that she immediately shares in his glory already in heaven, body and soul.
And this is because of her intimate sharing in the sufferings of Christ.
As Christ rose after his death, body and soul being reunited,
and then rose to heaven, so she too would deserve,
it seems fitting that having been so intimately united,
his suffering, been right there at the foot of the cross.
And from her whole life, every suffering he endured,
she suffered with him.
So she should enjoy this privilege also,
to rise after her earthly life is finished,
that she too should rise to everlasting glory with her son,
not having to wait for the final resurrection,
the first fruits of our redemption.
Already, God, as it were, through her,
giving us, as it were, fulfilling that promise,
that we can depend, that if we die in God's grace,
and the soul already goes to heaven,
that we can share in that hope that the body and soul will one day be reunited.
It's one of the exhortations sometimes you have to give to Brother Ass.
If you don't know what I mean, that's Brother Body.
St. Francis' word for the body was Brother Ass.
Sometimes you have to exhort Brother Ass when he's a little bit uppity
and give him protection.
If you're disturbed and disturbed and giving you a hard time,
you have to exhort Brother Ass and say,
well, listen, you may find these sufferings difficult,
but if you find these difficult,
bear in mind, Brother Ass,
what you will have to suffer if you don't accept it now.
You will suffer for all eternity and far worse than this.
It can be a lot worse in the next life,
because in the next life, once body and soul are reunited,
they cannot be separated again.
No power will ever separate the body and the soul.
Again, as it can now in this life.
We can only suffer so much pain,
and you can even say, we can only suffer so much pain,
we can only also suffer so much joy.
Whether it be an overabundance of pain or joy,
the soul is either going to be driven from the body because of the pain,
or it's going to fly to God because of the joy.
The saints tell us this when they experience this.
You'll hear sometimes the saints talk about the joys
that they experience in their unity with God,
and if it weren't for a miracle,
they say, oftentimes the joy that they experience
would cause them to die,
because the soul wants to leave the body to fly
and be reunited to our Lord.
In fact, if you don't believe me, you can read Padre Pio.
He saw his suffering was primarily a suffering
of being separated from his beloved,
that is, our Lord Jesus Christ.
And that separation caused him untold agony.
He could not describe it,
except to continue to say repeatedly,
and some of you have already heard this,
like a broken record,
but I'm sorry, he does sound like a broken record.
I am suffering more than I ever suffered before,
Padre Pio would repeatedly say to his spiritual director.
And it's like, yeah, so what else is new?
Let's talk about something else.
Tell me something I didn't already know.
It's like, Father, you don't understand,
but he can't describe it in any more words.
You know, when we're suffering, and to say,
well, I'm suffering more today than I did yesterday,
well, I mean, you said it, but...
So instead of an eight, now it's a nine.
Yesterday it was a nine, now it's a ten.
Ten being the max on the scale,
and after ten comes eleven.
You say, wait a minute, I thought you said ten was the max.
Not in God's providence, it isn't.
He can make the body able to suffer even more.
But insofar as it does that in this life,
this is our hope.
This is our joy,
that as Our Lady sets the example,
we recognize how she intimately shared
in the life of Christ and his sufferings.
We can see from her glory
how she shared in the life of Christ.
How she shares in the glory of Christ.
This is the fulfillment of our hope.
God has already begun to fulfill that promise
of the unity of body and soul,
once again, happen.
And it'll happen for all of us,
regardless of whether we're destined for heaven or hell,
as we all know.
In fact, that's another thing, you know,
not to forget as we contemplate the joyful mystery,
you might even say, not only joyful,
but really a glorious mystery,
of Our Lady going to heaven.
But we also have to, in part,
think a little bit about the country.
I remember when I read St. Bonaventure on this,
I was really stunned.
We kind of know this,
but we don't actually put it all together.
But it's a good reminder.
You know, we oftentimes see people that we love die.
And how many times we hear these words,
I'm so glad they're at peace now.
You know, there's no more suffering.
You know, it's all done.
It's all over.
Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah.
And it's like, aren't you,
are you a selfish blankety, blank, blank, blank, blank, blank?
Thinking only of yourself.
In other words, you don't have to see them suffering anymore.
It's what you're really saying.
And you're glad that you don't have to see them suffering anymore.
Well, aren't you awful nice thinking of yourself?
And making it sound like you're thinking of them.
That they're no longer suffering anymore.
That's a good question.
Are they not suffering?
You sure?
Positive?
Positive?
Sure.
We all like to think that they're not suffering.
It's consoling to think that loved ones aren't suffering.
It's very consoling.
Even just thinking about it myself.
It's consoling.
I'm happy to think that.
But it's not enough.
Because it may not be true.
And so far as we have a hope,
however small it may be,
that they may be in purgatory,
we should pray that their sufferings really do come to an end.
That they can enter in the eternal bliss.
Can you imagine how sorry the man felt?
Padre Pio told,
he came up to one of his brothers in religion,
and he says,
Oh, I've got good news for you today.
Kind of a good news, you might say.
Your father just entered into heaven today.
But my father died 30 years ago.
Oh, really?
I hope you were praying for him.
I hope you didn't think he was already in heaven.
Left him abandoned for 30 years in purgatory,
not thinking of him.
Not even a prayer to help.
Aren't you nice?
We don't know.
We don't have the vision of the saints,
or the knowledge of the saints,
or the knowledge of God,
to know who is in heaven or who isn't.
And we should simply pray.
St. Bonaventure indicates,
as I was starting to say,
those who die,
if they're destined for hell,
as they are otherwise might be destined for heaven,
those who die in this life,
we know their suffering ends between here and purgatory.
Those who are going to hell,
their sufferings in hell actually already begin here,
partly by the sufferings they're enduring.
And so when you say,
Oh, I'm so glad they're not suffering anymore.
Well, they're probably suffering in hell.
Not probably.
If they've gone to hell,
that's where they're suffering.
But when they rise,
that very sickness that you were so contented
that they're no longer suffering,
they'll have that again.
Because the body is actually perfected,
if you want to use that word,
for suffering.
It's not over.
It'll last for all eternity.
This is one of the reasons
why we want to exhort Brother S.
If you can't bear these pains
and offer them for love of God,
bear in mind,
if you really want them to come to an end,
then,
then unite them to the cross of our Lord
so that it might really come to an end one day
and that you can share
in everlasting joy and bliss,
body and soul,
not just the body being comforted and consoled,
but body and soul both rejoicing for all eternity
and not only in the glory of our Lord,
but in the glory of our Lady
and all the angels and saints
and the glory of God.
May our Lady encourage us in this day
that we might rejoice with her and her glory,
recognizing the great joy she shares with her Son,
all the privileges that she shares
because of her unity in carrying the cross,
and may we take courage knowing that,
like her,
if we stand beside that cross with her,
we'll not only share in the glory of our Lord,
but also in the glory of our Lady,
our Mother,
and our Queen.
Praise be Jesus and Mary.
Amen.
Amen.
Amen.
Amen.
Amen.
Amen.
Amen.
Amen.
Amen.
Amen.
Amen.
Amen.
Amen.
Amen.
Amen.
Amen.