death

Assumption_of_Mary_-_Cerasi_Chapel_-_Santa_Maria_del_Popolo_-_Rome_2015

Death Is Not The End

Feast Of The Assumption

Fr. Mark Gatto

Preached: August 15, 2021

Do Catholics worship Mary?  There are some fundamentalist Christians who will accuse us of worshipping Mary.  But, any good Catholic knows that we do not worship Mary.  We do honour and show devotion to Mary.  As the mother of Jesus, she was an instrument of God’s grace, a model to each of us in living as disciples of Jesus and living with a heart fully open to the Holy Spirit.  Already in the early New Testament time of the church, we see that the Christians offered devotion to Mary.

In Luke’s Gospel we just heard the great prayer of Mary that we call the Magnificat.  There is so much in this prayer that we discover about Mary, how she prayed, how she viewed life and humanity.  In the Magnificat Mary says about herself, “… all generations will call me blessed.”  Two thousand years later we continue to call Mary blessed, continue to honour her with special devotion and love.

All of the Dogmas and teachings about Mary teach us something about Jesus and about us as disciples of Jesus.  For this reason it is helpful to reflect and meditate on the Dogmas of the Church about Mary.  They shed light on the identity and mission of Jesus.  They also shed light on the call and life of the disciples of Jesus.

Today on August 15, the Church celebrates the Feast of the Assumption.  This is one of the oldest Feasts of Mary.  It was already a major Feast by the 5th Century.  This Dogma of the Assumption reveals the mission of Jesus who leads us beyond death into eternal life.  Through his death and resurrection Jesus is leading us into eternal glory in the heart of God.  The Assumption shows us the transition from this earthly life to the glory of heaven.  Jesus is the Saviour who leads the way, and Mary, the mother of Jesus already shares in the glory of heaven through her Son.  This teaches us about our destiny, where we are going.

In Paul’s letter to the Corinthians that we heard in our second reading today, Paul says, “the last enemy to be destroyed is death.”  Death is something frightening, an enemy to us human beings.  Deep inside us is a hunger for eternity, longing that our loves in this life will not come to an end.  We feel it painfully within when a loved one dies.   Jesus came to destroy death, in his death and resurrection, he has opened up the path to eternal life.  God’s plan is not for our destruction.  In the Catholic funeral prayers we express clearly that “death is not the end.”

As we age we begin to reflect on death and how we prepare for our death.  One of the keys that I have seen in people is the need for forgiveness.  We need to forgive those who have hurt us, we need to forgive ourselves for our own mistakes, we need to forgive life for having been unfair, we even need to forgive God sometimes.  Disciples of Jesus should not die bitter and angry.  Mary did not die bitter and angry.  She died in peace and light.  United in such a deep and intimate way with her Son, she followed into the glory of heaven.

We Catholics do not worship Mary, but we continue to call her blessed and show her devotion and love.  We reflect and meditate on the Dogmas about Mary because they reveal important truths about Jesus and about us as disciples of Jesus.  The Dogma of the Assumption offers a beautiful vision of our destiny.  That death is not the end and that this life leads to the glory of heaven.

Like Mary we need to prepare for our death by being united to Jesus.  One of the keys to this is the need for forgiveness in all areas of our life.  We are like Mary and faithful to the Feast of the Assumption when we prepare for our death so that we are able to die without being bitter or angry.

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The wise and the foolish virgin *oil on canvas *97 x 77 cm *1848

Remember You Must Die

The wise and the foolish virgin *oil on canvas *97 x 77 cm  *1848

32nd Sunday On Ordinary Time

Fr. Mark Gatto

Preached: November 8, 2020

One day there was a large crowd in the doctor’s waiting room.  One elderly man rose and approached the receptionist.  He said courteously, “Madam, my appointment was for ten o’clock and it is almost eleven now.  I cannot wait any longer.  Would you kindly give me an appointment for another day?”

One woman in the room leaned over to another and said, “He must be at least eighty years old.  What sort of urgent business can he have that he cannot afford to wait? The man overheard her.  He turned to the lady, bowed, and said, “I am eighty-seven years old, ma’am.  Which is precisely the reason why I cannot afford to waste a single minute of the precious time I have left.”

Memento Mori.  This is a Latin phrase which means, “Remember you must die.”  In the past, sometimes monks or others would put a skull on their desk as a memento mori, a reminder that they must die.  This was not meant to terrify or create panic or to create fear.  It was to keep them awake, to live this moment fully.  To keep their eyes focused on the Living God.

The parable in today’s Gospel that Jesus presents, you could call a memento mori.  Some of the bridesmaids did not fill up their oil lamps, they became drowsy while waiting for the bridegroom.  So, when he arrived late they were not ready and were left out.  Jesus concludes by saying, “Keep Awake for you do not know the hour or the day.”  In a sense Jesus is offering a memento mori, is saying, “Remember you must die.”

Are we awake?  Are we ready for the coming of God today?

During this Covid time, one effect has been many different conspiracy theories being spread, especially on social media with many of us stuck there.  Unfortunately these conspiracy theories and visions and predictions, leads to fear and are not helpful in genuinely living a gracious life of faith now.

This parable of Jesus was not about being ready for some great end time event, some apocalyptic event that was coming soon.  If that was what Jesus was teaching then this Gospel parable has been useless for the past two thousand years.  Jesus wants us to be awake today, not for some great end time event.  It is about living graciously in this moment, for God is coming to us in every moment, in every day.  Will you be ready, will you be awake to notice the grace of God in your life today?

The Sacraments are all meant to keep us awake for the coming of the Lord not just during this celebration or at some end time, but more importantly to keep us awake for the coming of the grace of God in our daily life.  Our prayer is also not about making God come to us or to be near God.  Our prayer is to keep us awake to notice the presence and grace of God at all times and in all places, always very near to us.

The Lord God will be present and bring grace:

  • while you are sitting at home with your spouse.
  • when you are driving your children to some activity.
  • when you are doing the simplest bit of housework.
  • when you are sharing a meal with friends.
  • when you are quietly at home on your own.

“Remember you must die.”  So be awake, be aware of the presence and grace of God now in this place, in this moment.

Being ready for our death pushes us to look at what needs healing in my life?  With whom do I need reconciliation?  What is distracting me from what matters most in life?

A disciple once turned to his spiritual master and asked, “Why learn something new one week before you die?”

The Master replied, “For exactly the same reason that you would learn something new fifty years before you die.”

Memento Mori:  “Remember you must die.”  So, be awake.  Be ready to recognize the presence and grace of the Living God coming into your life in each moment and in each place.

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