mary's assumption

We have heard often in the gospels about life’s great paradoxes exemplified by the life, and not only the life, but also by the teachings of Jesus himself. In the world, the poor are called the less fortunate. In the gospel they are called blessed. In the world, you have to be an adult to do what you want. In the gospel you have to be a little child in order to enter the kingdom. In the world you have to slap back if he slaps you first. In the gospel you have to turn the other cheek. In the world the queen is queen because she gives the order, she speaks and all listen, she commands and all obey. In the gospel the queen is queen because instead of giving orders she followed faithfully, instead of speaking she listened intently, instead of commanding, she obeyed diligently. In the gospel the seed must die in order to bear fruit; to love life is to lose it, to hate life is to preserve it; whoever serves as a servant shall be the greatest and the most honored.


The gospel is full of paradoxes and so is life. They may seem illogical and incoherent at first hearing but on second thought they are very much true. For purposes of relevance we have only to look back and see for ourselves our life as a people. How can it happen that the death of one man can resurrect the whole nation earning for itself the world over the moniker people power? How can a self-professed housewife defeat the political machinery of a dictator and restore democracy to a grateful nation?
In a more personal level isn’t it true from experience that when we were weak, it was also then that we were strong? In our most vulnerable moments we realized how strong we were; in our greatest fears we uncovered our hidden courage; in our seeming ignorance we discovered innate wisdom and creativity; when what we thought was the worst came out as the best. Indeed the paradox of St. Paul: it is in weakness that power reaches perfection . . . when we are weak, it is then that we are strong; it is only when we are truly emptied that we can be fully filled.
Today we are reminded of another paradox in life. It is called the paradox of blessedness. Mary is the exemplar. She was granted the blessedness of being the Mother of God and her song today reverberates the joy of such a privilege. And yet the same blessedness that gives joy will be a sword that will pierce her heart as she sees her son hanging, suffering and dying on the cross. To be chosen by God means at one and the same time a crown of joy and a cross of sorrow.
I have attended a profession of nuns once. With the privilege of the habit that they were made to wear, they were also given a crown of thorns, a symbolic way of depicting the call of the chosen ones to live the paradox of blessedness which means that those chosen by God at one and the same time receive a crown of joy and a cross of sorrow. This is the paradox of blessedness, the Blessedness of Mary, the paradox of those who are chosen - joy and sorrow, privilege and responsibility, burden and joy, and only then at the very end can we receive glory. Learning to embrace the two, learning to embrace not just one but the two is the secret Mary’s Assumption, the glory that is to come.
Today we are called to live such life. How? Let me count the ways.
To be a nun especially a rare Carmelite nun is a privilege – you will have respect, you will be held high, you are so rare you don’t even have to ride a jeep! But the paradox of blessedness does not only give you these perks for with these are also the difficulties of the privilege – endless boring routines, deafening silence, endless prayers, rules and regulations at every turn, and not to forget living with people you find difficult to live with and that is for the rest of your life. And to top it all, you have to live with endless sermons like this.
To have a good community life is a privilege – You have people to help you and stand by you in your time of need, you have friends, you have compassionate superiors, and extern sisters to do the errands for you. But the paradox of blessedness does not only give you these perks in community life for with these are also the difficulties of the privilege – listening to what you don’t like to hear about yourself, being pushed to the hilt, being led to things you would not want to go or do, doing extra work, carrying extra load. And above all learning to live with persons you don’t like.
To wear the Carmelite habit is a privilege – you will be more attractive even though in reality you are not, you will seat among the privilege - people will make way for you in crowded places; from afar people will recognize you and call on you, you don’t even have to wait; you will receive gifts; your brothers and sisters are very proud of you. But the paradox of blessedness does not only give you these perks, for with these are also the difficulties of the privilege – staying here for the rest of your life, having to bear problems which are not your own, more expectations, vows which sometimes leaves one a little bit regretful.
The point of all these is this: Mary’s privilege is a privilege of the blessed – there are the perks, there are the responsibilities; there is joy, there is sorrow; there is fun, there is hard work; there is a crown, there is a cross. Learning to embrace the two, learning to embrace not just one but the two is the secret Mary’s assumption.
Let this be clear – you cannot embrace one but two - living the paradox of blessedness, and this is what I call the secret of the Ássumption, the glory that is to come.