The dogma of the Assumption affirms that Mary's body was glorified after her death. (John Paul II, 2 July 1997, http://w2.vatican.va/content/john-paul-ii/en/audiences/1997/documents/hf_jp-ii_aud_02071997.html)
(John Paul II, 25 June 1997, http://w2.vatican.va/content/john-paul-ii/en/audiences/1997/documents/hf_jp-ii_aud_25061997.html)
Some theologians have in fact maintained that the Blessed Virgin did not die and was immediately raised from earthly life to heavenly glory. However, this opinion was unknown until the 17th century, whereas a common tradition actually exists which sees Mary's death as her entry into heavenly glory.
2. Could Mary of Nazareth have experienced the drama of death in her own flesh? Reflecting on Mary's destiny and her relationship with her divine Son, it seems legitimate to answer in the affirmative: since Christ died, it would be difficult to maintain the contrary for his Mother.
The Fathers of the Church, who had no doubts in this regard, reasoned along these lines. One need only quote St Jacob of Sarug (d. 521), who wrote that when the time came for Mary "to walk on the way of all generations", the way, that is, of death, "the group of the Twelve Apostles" gathered to bury "the virginal body of the Blessed One" (Discourse on the burial of the Holy Mother of God, 87-99 in C. Vona, Lateranum 19 [1953], 188). St Modestus of Jerusalem (d. 634), after a lengthy discussion of "the most blessed dormition of the most glorious Mother of God", ends his eulogy by exalting the miraculous intervention of Christ who "raised her from the tomb", to take her up with him in glory (Enc. in dormitionem Deiparae semperque Virginis Mariae, nn. 7 and 14: PG 86 bis, 3293; 3311). St John Damascene (d. 704) for his part asks: "Why is it that she who in giving birth surpassed all the limits of nature should now bend to its laws, and her immaculate body be subjected to death?". And he answers: "To be clothed in immortality, it is of course necessary that the mortal part be shed, since even the master of nature did not refuse the experience of death. Indeed, he died according to the flesh and by dying destroyed death; on corruption he bestowed incorruption and made death the source of resurrection" (Panegyric on the Dormition of the Mother of God, n. 10: SC 80, 107).
===
John Paul II
August 15, 2000
1. Mary, Mother of God, your death was entirely free from whatever might make death bitter: attachment to the world, remorse for sins and the uncertainty of salvation. Rather, your death was accompanied by three graces that made it precious and full of joy. You died as you had lived, entirely detached from the things of the world, you died in the most perfect peace and in the certainty of eternal glory.
Your Son, though He was Life itself, did not exempt Himself from death. So, as daughter of Adam you submitted to the sentence passed in the garden of Eden. You died of no infirmity. Little by little the links between your body and soul were dissolved by the resistless force of love. Intense love for the Infinite God withdrew your soul from this earthly life, and caused you death.
Mary, My Mother, though your body was separated from your soul in death, your soul was reunited in your incorrupt body, and you were taken up into heaven by angels. The bodies of even the just are corrupted after death, and only on the last day will they be joined, each to its own glorious soul. But God has willed that you should be exempted from this general rule because, by an entirely singular privilege, you completely overcame sin by your Immaculate Conception. Corruption is a consequence of sin, but you were sinless. You did not have to wait until the end of time for the resurrection of your body. As the body of your Divine Son was preserved from the corruption of the grave, so you, from whom He took flesh, were also free from the power of earthly decay. Your body, which was the living tabernacle of the Eternal God and the temple of the Adorable Trinity, was not meant to crumble into dust.
2. Mary, Mother of God, I believe that it is a divinely revealed dogma that you, Immaculate Mother of God, having completed the course of your earthly life, were assumed body and soul into heavenly glory. Jesus ascended to Heaven by His own power as Lord and Creator, accompanied by angels who paid Him homage. You were taken to Heaven by the power of God, accompanied and upheld by the angels, raised aloft by grace, not by nature. Jesus ascended to Heaven before you not only that He might prepare a throne for you in that Kingdom, but also that He might Himself accompany you with all the blessed spirits and thus render your entry into Heaven more glorious and worthy of His Mother. At the Annunciation you received Jesus on earth; it was proper that He should receive you in Heaven. Having deigned to come down to you, He wished to raise you up to Himself in order that you might enter into glory.
Mary, My Mother, the day of your Assumption was the great day of your triumph. After the triumph of your Divine Son on the day of His Ascension, there never was, and there never will be, a triumph like that which you enjoyed on this day. When He had finished the work of our Redemption by His labors, suffering and death, the Eternal Word, clothed in our nature, entered into His glory and was seated on the right hand of the Eternal Father. He became Sovereign Master of the universe and Supreme Judge of the living and the dead. In your triumph, as the Mother of the same Word Incarnate, having perfectly followed out the great designs of God upon you, having acquired immense merits by the practice of all the virtues, and having reached the highest holiness, you were assumed body and soul, into Heaven. Angels came to escort you. You were borne aloft to the palace of your Beloved.
You passed amid the different choirs of the blessed, above all the heavenly spirits, and approached the throne of light prepared for you. Your loving Son welcomed you with joy. What songs of gladness by the elect as you were crowned by the Blessed Trinity and made Queen of heaven, advocate of the human race and dispenser of the graces of the Redemption!
3. Mary, Mother of God, you reign in splendor for all eternity with your Divine Son. Your kingdom, like His, is a kingdom of imperishable glory, because yours is a throne of clemency, mercy and pardon. All your trials and sufferings are now transformed into jewels that decorate your triumphal throne in Heaven. In God there are no disappointments, no false promises. Eternity is real; Heaven is eternal happiness, the final reward for loyalty to God. Through you my own goal becomes more real, more attainable, for the lessons of your life are the doors to eternal peace and happiness.
I can only faintly imagine with what tenderness the Eternal Father received you, His loving daughter the Divine Son, His chosen Mother; and the Holy Spirit, His immaculate Bride. The Father crowned you by making you a sharer in His power, the Son by making you partaker of His wisdom; the Holy Spirit, by making you partaker of His love. The three Divine Persons declared you Queen of heaven and earth and assigned to you a place at the right hand of Jesus. You received from the Adorable Trinity the crown and sceptre, which made you Queen of all the angels and saints and the all-powerful Mediatrix between God and men. You became the treasurer of God's graces, the channel through which He dispenses His gifts upon earth.
Your Assumption was for you not only the crowning of a holy life, but also a cause of joy and triumph for the human race. Just as the patriarchs in Limbo had beheld your birth as the breaking of that dawn which announced to them their near deliverance, so, too, your Assumption, together with the Ascension of Jesus, became for mortal man a sure pledge of resurrection and immortality.
Mary, My Mother, I wish to recall this triumph and to share in your greatness and glory.
If the honor of parents descends upon their children, what glory and joy for all of us, your children, to see you raised to such heights of glory! Confidence fills my soul, for you were raised to this glory not for your own advantage only, but for that of your children also, in order to make us feel the effects of your powerful protection and intercession. One of your greatest delights is to lavish these treasures upon your faithful children. With your arms outstretched—those arms in which the Eternal God delighted to rest when He became our Brother—plead our cause. Pray to Him for us, your children, that in our exile we may resemble you, His most devoted follower, and at last may glorify Him in union with you forever.
The Assumption, the Dormition and John Paul II
The identity of the priest
Dear Brothers: you who have borne "the burden of the day and the heat" (Mt 20:12), who have put your hand to the plough and do not turn back (cf. Lk 9:62), and perhaps even more those of you who are doubtful of the meaning of your vocation or of the value of your service: think of the places where people anxiously await a Priest, and where for many years; feeling the lack of such a Priest, they do not cease to hope for his presence. And sometimes it happens that they meet in an abandoned shrine, and place on the altar a stole which they still keep, and recite all the prayers of the Eucharistic liturgy; and then, at the moment that corresponds to the transubstantiation a deep silence comes down upon them, a silence sometimes broken by a sob… so ardently do they desire to hear the words that only the lips of a Priest can efficaciously utter. So much do they desire Eucharistic Communion, in which they can share only through the ministry of a priest, just as they also so eagerly wait to hear the divine words of pardon: Ego te absolvo a peccatis tuis! So deeply do they feel the absence of a Priest among them!... Such places are not lacking in the world. So if one of you doubts the meaning of his priesthood, if he thinks it is "socially" fruitless or useless, reflect on this!
(John Paul II, Letter to Priests, Holy Thursday, 1979)
John Paul II on the Shroud of Turin
"The Shroud is a challenge to our intelligence. It first of all requires of every person, particularly the researcher, that he humbly grasp the profound message it sends to his reason and his life. The mysterious fascination of the Shroud forces questions to be raised about the sacred Linen and the historical life of Jesus. Since it is not a matter of faith, the Church has no specific competence to pronounce on these questions. She entrusts to scientists the task of continuing to investigate, so that satisfactory answers may be found to the questions connected with this Sheet, which, according to tradition, wrapped the body of our Redeemer after he had been taken down from the cross. The Church urges that the Shroud be studied without pre-established positions that take for granted results that are not such; she invites them to act with interior freedom and attentive respect for both scientific methodology and the sensibilities of believers. "For the believer, what counts above all is that the Shroud is a mirror of the Gospel. In fact, if we reflect on the sacred Linen, we cannot escape the idea that the image it presents has such a profound relationship with what the Gospels tell of Jesus' passion and death, that every sensitive person feels inwardly touched and moved at beholding it. Whoever approaches it is also aware that the Shroud does not hold people's hearts to itself, but turns them to him, at whose service the Father's loving providence has put it. Therefore, it is right to foster an awareness of the precious value of this image, which everyone sees and no one at present can explain. For every thoughtful person it is a reason for deep reflection, which can even involve one's life. The Shroud is thus a truly unique sign that points to Jesus, the true Word of the Father, and invites us to pattern our lives on the life of the One who gave himself for us." --Pope John Paul II on a pastoral visit to Turin in 1998
Youth and families
"I have always been convinced that without prayer, we can never succeed in bringing children up well. As a bishop I encouraged families and parish communities to develop in young children a desire to encounter God in private prayer. In this spirit I recently wrote: 'To pray the rosary for children, and even more, with children, ... is a spiritual aid which should not be underestimated.' (Apostolic Letter Rosarium Virginis Mariae, 42)
"The pastoral care of children must obviously be continued as they enter adolescence. Frequent confession and spiritual direction help young people to discern their vocation in live and protect them from losing their way as they enter adulthood."
(John Paul II, Rise, Let Us Be On Our Way, pp 103-104)
Vale la pena!
"No bishop should fail to challenge young people with the great ideal of the priesthood. A young heart can understand the reckless love that is needed for total self-giving. There is no greater love than Love with a capital 'L'. On 3 May 2003, in Madrid, during my last pilgrimage to Spain, I confided in the young people: 'I was ordained a priest at the age of twenty-six. Fifty-six years have passed since then. Looking back, and remembering those years of my life, I can assure you that it is worth dedicating yourselves to the cause of Christ, and for the love of Him, dedicating yourselves to the service of others. It is worth giving your lives for the Gospel and for your brothers and sisters!' The young people understood the message and echoed my words by chanting over and over again: 'It's worth it! It's worth it!'"
(John Paul II, Rise, Let Us Be On Our Way, pp 126-127)
Sacraments
"Together with preaching the word, the administration of the sacraments is a bishop's primary duty, to which all his other responsibilities are subordinate. ...
"This pertains not only to celebrating the Eucharist and administering the sacrament of Confirmation, but also to baptising children and those adults who have been prepared.... Nor should we underestimate the importance of personally hearing confessions and visiting the sick to administer the sacrament of Anointing.... Another important duty for a bishop, which he shares with his pastors, is solicitude for the sanctity of marriage; when it is possible, he should celebrate marriages personally."
(John Paul II, Rise, Let Us Be On Our Way, pp 70-71)
"I have always had good relations with religious orders and worked well with them. ... The religious orders never caused me any problems, and my relations with all of them were good. They were a great help to me in my mission as a bishop. My thoughts also turn to the great reserves of spiritual energy found in the contemplative orders. ... [They] never cease to serve the universal Church through their self-giving, silence, and fervent prayer.
"Every bishop can find great support in them. I experienced this many times when, faced with a difficult problem, I would ask certain contemplative orders for the support of their prayers. I felt the power of their intercession and I would thank those sisters gathered in their Upper Rooms of prayer for helping me to overcome situations that, humanly speaking, seemed hopeless."
(John Paul II, Rise, Let Us Be On Our Way, pp 119-121)
Contemplata aliis tradere
"I have often wondered about such poor anaemic, extenuated words, so thoroughly emptied of their substance that contemporary thought is reduced to stuffing them in order to preserve some semblance of life: by what miracle could they suddenly recover their freshness and muscularity? Here is the reply: before being uttered the words must be prayed.
"'I come back to contemplation. Although I do not live according to a contemplative rule, I can see very well that this ground of prayer in which each day is rooted comprises many profoundly contemplative elements and moments of great importance for my ministry and above all for the proclamation of God's Word. The ancient principle, Contemplata aliis tradere (hand on to others the fruits of prayer), is still topical and life-enhancing. It concerns in the first place the one who 'hands on', the preacher or servant of the Word: he is entitled to communicate--uniquely and exclusively--only contemplata, thoughts passed through prayer.'"
(André Frossard (on John Paul II's spirit of prayer), Be Not Afraid! p 33-34)
Mother Teresa and prayer
"The witness of Mother Teresa's life reminds us all that the Church's evangelising mission is achieved through charity and is nourished through prayer and attentive listening to the Word of God. This missionary style is eloquently expressed by the image of Blessed Teresa clasping the hand of a child while fingering her rosary beads with her other hand. Contemplation and action, evangelisation and respect for the human person: Mother Teresa proclaims the Gospel through her life of total dedication to the poor and total dedication to prayer."
(John Paul II, Homily, Beatification of Blessed Teresa of Calcutta, 19 October 2003).
Listening to God's word first
"I have always been convinced that if I am to satisfy the people's hunger for the Word of God, I must follow the example of Mary and first listen to it myself and ponder it in my heart (Luke 2:19). I have also come to realise that a bishop must be able to listen to the people to whom he preaches the Good News. Amid today's flood of words, images, and sounds, it is important that a bishop not be thrown off course. He must listen attentively to God and to those around him, convinced that we are all united in the one mystery of God's saving Word."
(John Paul II, Rise, Let Us Be On Our Way, p 43)
Storming heaven
After being chosen Archbishop, he [Karol Wojtyla] said in one of his first sermons: "Today, our work is made more difficult; our hands are tied; doors are not opened to us; we must storm heaven violently to gain it for ourselves and for the souls entrusted to our care."
(O'Connor, pp 154-155)
What lay people can do
"The laity can accomplish their proper vocation in the world and attain holiness not only through their active involvement in helping the poor and needy, but also by imbuing society with a Christian spirit as they carry out their professional duties and offer an example of Christian family life. Here I am thinking not only of leaders in public life but also of the many people who can transform their daily life into prayer, placing Christ at the centre of their activity. He will draw them all to Himself and satisfy their hunger and thirst for righteousness (cf Matt 5:6)
(John Paul II, Rise, Let Us Be On Our Way)
"'If my past and present life can be described as 'active' , let us not forget that the 'act' par excellence of each day is the Holy Mass, which constitutes the most perfect synthesis of prayer and the heart of our meeting with God in Christ. Over thirty years' experience of priestly life has taught me that to reach this summit, to arrive at this synthesis and this fullness, one must approach it through prayer and emerge from it towards the prayer of the whole day, knowing perfectly well that this day will be filled to overflowing with activities and engagements of every sort. Everyone knows that the priest's day is liturgical, not only thanks to the Mass but also through the liturgy of the hours, which confers on the day its special rhythm. On the whole, work takes most of the time, but all activities should be rooted in prayer as though in a spiritual soil. The depth of this soil must not be too thin: inner experience teaches us how to form it, day after day, so that it is sufficient.'"
(John Paul II, in André Frossard, Be Not Afraid! p 33)
Final blessing from JP2
"None of us can ever forget how in that last Easter Sunday of his life, the Holy Father, marked by suffering, came once more to the window of the Apostolic Palace and one last time gave his blessing urbi et orbi. We can be sure that our beloved Pope is standing today at the window of the Father’s house, that he sees us and blesses us. Yes, bless us, Holy Father. We entrust your dear soul to the Mother of God, your Mother, who guided you each day and who will guide you now to the eternal glory of her Son, our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen."
(Card. Joseph Ratzinger, Homily, Funeral for Pope John Paul II)
The Good Shepherd looks after every single sheep
"'The good shepherd knows his sheep and they know him'(John 10:14). A bishop should try to ensure that as many as possible of those who, together with him, make up the local Church can come to know him personally. He for his part will seek to be close to them, to know about their lives--what gives joy to their hearts and what saddens them. Such mutual acquaintaince cannot be built through occasional meetings. It comes from a genuine interest in what is happening in their lives regardless of age, social status, or nationality, whether they are close at hand or far away. ...
"Every human being is an individual person and therefore I cannot program a priori a certain type of relationship that could be applied to everyone, but I must, so to speak, learn it anew in every case. ...
"Every person is a chapter to himself. I always acted with this conviction ...
"Interest in others begins with the bishop's prayer life: his conversations with Christ, who entrusts 'His own' to him. Prayer prepares him for encounter with others. ... I simply pray for everyone every day. As soon as I meet people, I pray for them, and this helps me in all my relationships. ... I welcome everyone as a person sent to me and entrusted to me by Christ.
"I don't like the word 'crowd', which seems to anonymous; I prefer the word 'multitude', in Greek 'plethos' (cf Mark 3:7, Lk 6:17, Acts 2:6, Acts 14:1 and elsewhere). ... That's how it was in Manila, where there were millions of young people. Yet in a case like that it would have been wrong to speak of an anonymous crowd."
(John Paul II, Rise, Let Us Be On Our Way, pp 65-67)
Image of the Shepherd
[John Paul II, commenting on the logo of the CCC--the Good Shepherd] "It is an image that speaks of the Shepherd's concern for every sheep--a concern filled with the patience needed to reach every individual in a truly personal way. It also includes the gift of tongues, that is the gift of speaking in a language understood by all the faithful. We should pray to the Holy Spirit for this gift."
St Joseph and Fatherhood
"There is no doubt that the episcopate is an office, but a bishop must resist with all his strength any tendency to become a mere official. He must never forget that he is a father. As I said earlier, Cardinal Sapieha was so greatly loved because he was a father to his priests. When I wonder who could serve as a help and a model for all those called to fatherhood--whether in the family or in the priesthood, or even more so in the episcopate--it is Saint Joseph who comes to mind. ...
"We know that Jesus addressed God with the word 'Abba'--a loving, familiar word that would have been used by children in first-century Palestine when speaking to their fathers. Most probably Jesus, like other children, used this same word when speaking to St Joseph. ...
"... For his part, Saint Joseph offered the child growing up beside him the support of a healthy masculinity, a clear understanding of human problems, and courage. ...
"For Saint Joseph, life with Jesus was a continuous discovery of his own vocation as a father. He became a son in the flesh. Isn't this, perhaps, an example of the type of fatherhood that is proposed to us, priests and bishops, as a model? Everything I did in the course of my ministry I saw as an expression of this kind of fatherhood--baptising, hearing confessions, celebrating the Eucharist, preaching , admonishing, encouraging."
(John Paul II, Rise, Let Us Be On Our Way, pp 137, 139-140)
Shepherd lays down his life for his sheep
"A bishop must guide and lead. The faithful will listen to him and love him to the degree that he imitates Christ, the Good Shepherd, who 'did not come to be served but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many' (Matt 20:28). To serve! How I treasure those words! A priesthood of service--what an astounding title...
"Sometimes you hear people defending the idea that a bishop's authority should be understood as precedence: they say the sheep are to follow behind the shepherd, not the shepherd behind the sheep. One can agree with this, but only in the sense that the shepherd leads by giving his life for his sheep; he should be first in sacrifice and in dedication."
(John Paul II, Rise, Let Us Be On Our Way, p 49)