There's a nasty habit some people have of analysing things to death:
"Do you love me?"
"Of course I love you."
"Do you love me a lot?"
"Of course a lot."
"How much do you love me?"
"Lots and lots."
"More than you love football?"
"Well, I'd need to think about that."
"You don't love me more than football?"
"I didn't say that. I said I needed to think."
"How can you not love me more than football?"
"Well, it's two different things, isn't it?"
"But there's me and there's football - aren't I more important?"
"Well, obviously...."
"You do! You love me more than football!"
"Yes, I do."
"Would you crawl over glass for me?"
"I suppose so."
"And walk over burning coals for me?"
"Is that the time? MK Dons kick off in half an hour..."
You get the idea.
Sometimes there are mysteries you don't want to poke around in, as a wise man once said to me. There are dogma you don't need to lay down too much, arguments you don't need to have, definitions that didn't really need defining. Stories that give a truth without needing too much elaboration.
Happy heavenly birthday, Mary, Mother of God. Pray for us sinners now, and at the hour of our death.
This is beautiful - thank you. I love the idea of mysteries you don't want to poke around in! I'd have loved to have quoted this in a sermon when I did such things. Perfect for today's Feast, and I wish you a happy and holy one!
ReplyDeleteYup; in principle I'd agree with that. What inclines me to think that Pius XII did a good thing was that, in all the swirlings of the last 50 years or so, I'm pretty sure that the notion of the Assumption might have been ditched altogether without the protection of Munificentissimus Deus. God's providence often works in odd ways. Another feature of the declaration is that, in point of fact, it is a very minimalistic definition. It merely says that at some time (unspecified) after her life was over, Mary's body was raised with her soul (I'm summarising) . That is simply what normal Christianity professes will happen to everyone. I believe in the resurrection of the dead and the life of the world to come, after all.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Pastor.
DeleteIs Mary blessed and full of grace? Of course she is. Is she available to pray for us sinners? Of course.
What specifically happened to her body at/after her death? Personally I won't and don't need to speculate. One day we shall all be raised like Him, and she will still be blessed for what she did and does.