“Lord, go up to the place of your rest, you and the ark of your holiness”: No “escape hatch” from life or “Eat, Pray, Love” evasion. Rather, Glory

... faithfully upward with Mary in Christ for our place in the Kingdom of Heaven.

Is life like a plane full of obnoxious and ungrateful passengers from whom we must escape by pulling the emergency door and sliding down the inflatable chute in an irresponsible crash landing with two beers in hand? No, this response does not end our problems but simply creates more as we face the consequences of a rash and ill-considered impulse. Are our life and family problems dealt with best by “eating, praying and loving” our way through exotic locations around the world, in order to sample other people’s lives as though we can “shop” for answers? When the vacation is over we still have to go home and work to pay our debts and take care of our families.

Through Mary, the Mother of God whom our Lord has given to us with His dying words on the Cross, we see an answer to this and other questions about our lives, our problems and sorrows, and the way through the world and all it holds to the place of promise where all our dreams are more than fulfilled. Mary’s glorious assumption, body and soul into heaven, is God’s reward for her faithful love through the sorrows, disappointments, tragedies and sins of this world.

For the full text of the homily for the Solemnity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, please visit Meeting Christ in the Liturgy by clicking here.