We have a God who deals in the impossible.

This is huge, life-changing, and has everything to do with Christmas.

I think we’re so used to the story of “Christmas” that we can easily forget to spend time just letting ourselves be amazed by the story.

For Example:

The Blessed Mother is a virgin. In every sense of the word. This is not figurative; it’s not one of those words that means something else. Mary was and still is a virgin. And that’s that. (CCC 496 – 501)

But she becomes pregnant when an angel shows up in her house and says, “Hi, you’re a really well behaved teenager because God preserved you from sin and now you’re going to carry the creator the universe in your womb . . . but don’t worry about the town being scandalized because you’re only engaged – the Holy Spirit will take care of it.” (I paraphrased)

What would your reaction be? I’m pretty sure I would be so scared I would cry. Profusely – that means a lot.

God does the impossible.

As if That Weren’t Enough.

Then the angel tells Mary that her cousin Elizabeth is expecting a child. Oh that’s cool, right? Not that unusual. My cousin just had a baby too – her name is Emma Jane and she’s so cute!

But back to the story: The angel says, ” . . . in her old age” about Elizabeth. That means that Elizabeth and her husband Zechariah had given up hope of having a baby long ago.

Two miraculous children all within 10 verses of the Gospel of Luke. Whoa. And this isn’t just a story. This isn’t made up. It’s not your “Grimm fairytale.”

So now what? Well let me tell you “now what.” Here’s the exciting part. (As if Jesus being born an infant isn’t exciting enough!) Are you ready for this? . . . God hasn’t changed. And He never will.

What’s Your “Impossible”?

Now don’t worry – I can guarantee He’s not going to re-create the stories of Mary and Elizabeth in your life. But you know what He is going to do? He’s going to work in whatever impossible situation you have in your life, if it’s His will and His perfect timing.

That person who you think you can never, ever, ever forgive. You will – with God’s help. Or being patient with your little sibling – now that seems impossible doesn’t it? (I have one too.) How about resisting the temptation to have sex or to go to a party – God will help you with that. Or maybe it’s just getting through high school. God is there for you. God deals in impossible causes, turn to Him.

I’m praying for you this last week of Advent. There is nothing in your life that God can’t work in. There is no situation too hopeless. I sincerely hope you can look at the story of Christmas in this light and see that God desires to enter into your life and do amazing things.

He’s done that in my life time and time again when I give everything over to Him in prayer. I am astounded by how He works . . . as a tiny baby and still today.

“For with God nothing is impossible.” Luke 1:34

I’ll never forget when I learned Jesus wasn’t really born on December 25th. It shocked me. I felt cheated – like somehow my adolescent life had just lost some of its innocence. Thank God, I thought, Santa was still real – that would have really shattered my holiday season.

As you may already know, Christians didn’t always celebrate Jesus’ Birthday in December. For about the first 300 years after the Resurrection, the early Church celebrated Jesus’ birth as part of the feast of the Epiphany (which we now celebrate a week or two later – usually on or around January 6th). The word ‘epiphany’ means the manifestation, or publicly making known of something. The feast of the Epiphany celebrates the manifestation of the Baby Jesus as Messiah and King when the Magi worshipped Him (Mt. 2:1-12). There is an amazing history to the evolution of Advent, Christmas, and Epiphany – far too great to go into here. But let’s dig a little deeper.

So Many False gods, So Little Time

Scholars debate on specifics of why the Church began honoring Christmas on December 25th. Some believe it was to counteract the five-day harvest festival of Saturnalia, which honored the false Roman god Saturn (the god of agriculture) just a few days before the winter solstice. This is actually tied more into the season of Advent, however, than Christmas specifically.

Most smarty-pants scholars agree that the reason the date of December 25 was ascribed and chosen (in the 4th century) as the day to celebrate Christ’s birth was to counteract the pagan Roman feast of the Sol Invictus: the “Birthday of the Sun,” celebrated by Gentiles throughout the Roman Empire on the same day. It was believed to have been started by a group of people who worshipped Mithra, a Persian false god who developed quite a following during the days of early Christianity (330-336 A.D.). It was in that time that the Church was busy defending its truth against heresies like “Docetism,” which denied the human nature of Jesus.

Early Christians had great respect for symbolism and absolutely would have used it to counteract things like pagan worship festivals. You can understand why they’d want people to turn their attention from the light of false “sun gods” and to the Son, “the Light of the World” (John 8:12).

How’s The Weather?

We don’t have to get all “astronomical” or “meteorological” here, but beginning with the fall equinox, nights become longer and days shorter – as you probably notice where you live. The winter solstice marks the longest night of the year. After the solstice, the days begin to get longer – the darkness will slowly be overcome by the light. By extension, since many placed December 24th as the solstice, December 25th was viewed as the “birth” of the sun.

You see where this is going, right?

So When Was Jesus Born Exactly?

There were even great efforts over the centuries to prove that Jesus was indeed born on December 25th. They stemmed from the belief that Zechariah was in the Holy of Holies (Luke 1:5-13) on the Day of Atonement, which usually falls right around September 22nd-25th… the fall equinox. That would mean that his son, John the Baptist, would have been born around June 24th (summer solstice), based on the truths gleaned from that same passage. Since we know that Elizabeth was six months pregnant (Luke 1:36) when Mary was visited by the angel Gabriel, that would mean that Jesus was conceived around March 25 (spring equinox) and born about 9 months later very close to winter solstice – right around December 25th.

Sounds cool, huh? Sounds like it could work? While it’s unlikely based on historical evidence, we should always remember the next line out of the angel’s mouth after the news of Elizabeth’s pregnancy: “All things are possible with God (Luke 1:3).”

Our God does not suffer from a lack of creativity. Look at the flamingo, the platypus, the volcano, or the rainbow. How beautifully ironic would it be if in God’s plan Christ actually was born on December 25th, and everyone “scholar” who knows better were actually wrong. We can never forget what God tells us in Isaiah 55:8-9 (look it up, memorize it and live by it).

For more reading, on the original Christmas story (no matter what time of year it happened) check out Luke 1:5-2:52 and Matthew 1:18-2:23. Also, try the Catechism of the Catholic Church – CCC #525-526.

Juan Diego was from Mexico; but not the Mexico you and I know. He was from a Mexico that was mostly still Aztec and worshipped false gods. These false gods demanded human sacrifice, so their “priests” said. It’s estimated that between 20,000 and 250,000 people – mostly children – were sacrificed to the gods every year.

Juan, however, was swimming against the tide. He was Catholic, and one of only a few. He was a poor man and was taking care of his dying uncle, minding his own business… when low and behold, the Blessed Virgin Mary appeared to him! She told him that she wanted a Church to be built and he was to tell the Bishop. Easy mission right? Not when the Bishop won’t believe you, and wants proof that you’re seeing apparitions from Heaven.

Juan’s uncle suddenly got more ill, and while Juan was rushing to get a doctor he purposefully avoided the hill where Mary appeared to him. She appeared anyway and told him his uncle would be cured. Mary also miraculously showed him where to pick roses (even though it was December) to take to the Bishop. Juan followed her instructions, and when he opened his cloak to show the Bishop the roses there was a beautiful picture of Our Lady on the inside, just as she had appeared to him. The Bishop was stunned at this miracle and had the church built.

What’s so awesome about this story is that Juan Diego was obedient and faithful even when things weren’t going well in his life. Because of his trials his virtue shone even brighter. Six million Mexicans converted to Catholicism because of the miraculous image of Our Lady, who pointed them toward the true God, her Son. This huge conversion began in 1531, a time when the Protestant reformation was going on in Europe and millions were leaving the faith.

Crazy Cool Facts about the Tilma!

The Miraculous image on the tilma

A tilma is a very coarse, woven covering worn by field workers. It is thin, made of poor sacking material (sort of vegetable fibre) and consists of two strips, each about 70 inches long by 18 inches wide, held together by very weak stitching.

Over the centuries people have wondered at the beauty of the image. Hundreds have tried to duplicate it with waters, paints and oils and none have come close to doing the image justice, or capturing its beauty. The colors have been compared and tests have shown that the flower like tints and abundant gold colors “cannot be duplicated.” Tests have revealed that there are NO brush strokes and that the image could not be the work of a painter.

Artists note that the proportions of the woman are perfect for a maiden in her early teenage years, that the figure (Mary) is pregnant with child, her hands are folded in prayer as a sign of holiness and piety, and that her knee is bent as a sign of penitence and honor to God.
There were several various “commissions” where people inquired as to the ‘validity’ or ‘truth’ of the story, and the miraculous origin of the tilma. Sworn evidence, wills and contemporaries of Juan Diego and those involved with the miracle offer substantial proof that the events of December 1531, and the subsequent events over the past several centuries, are inexplicable…especially the lifespan of the poorly made tilma that usually would have given out in less than five years. But the tilma has lasted, without preservation, for an unfathomable 470 years!

The Name Guadalupe means what?

It is believed that the name “Guadalupe” came about because of the translation from Nahuatl to Spanish, of the words used by the Virgin during the apparition. It is believed that Our Lady used the Aztec Nahuatl word of “coatlaxopeuh” which is pronounced “quatlasupe” and sounds remarkably like the Spanish word Guadalupe. Coa meaning serpent, tla being the noun ending which can be interpreted as “the”, while xopeuh means to crush or stamp out.

So Our Lady must have called herself the one “who crushes the serpent.”

What effects did the apparitions and tilma have?

At the time, the Aztecs offered annually at least 20,000 men, women and children in human sacrifice to their gods. In 1487, just in a single 4 day long ceremony for the dedication of a new temple in Tenochtitlan, some 80,000 captives were killed in human sacrifice. But following the Apparitions of our Blessed Mother and the miracle of the blessed tilma in 1531, over 9 million Aztecs converted to Christianity in little over a decade.

More Miraculous Facts about the tilma:

• The tilma, a poor quality cactus-cloth, which should have deteriorated in 20 years but shows no sign of decay 470 years later and still defies all scientific explanations of its origin.
• Photo imaging demonstrates that the eyes of the Blessed Virgin apparently even reflect what was in front of her in 1531!
• There is reason to believe that at Tepeyac Mary came in her glorified body, and her actual physical hands rearranged the roses in Juan Diego’s tilma, which makes this apparition very special.
• In 1921, a bomb (hidden in a vase of flowers) placed beneath the image exploded, causing severe damage to the Church and altar…but nothing happened to the tilma
• In 1945, Pope Pius XII stated that the Virgin of Guadalupe is the “Queen of Mexico and Empress of the Americas” and that she had been painted “by brushes that were not of this world.”
• In 1962, Dr. Charles Wahlig, O.D. announced the finding of “two images” reflected in the eyes of the Virgin while studying an enlargement (25 times the size) of the original tilma
• In 1979, using the most sophisticated digitization and image processing techniques, Dr. Jose Aste-Tonsmann announces the finding of at least four human figures, reflected in both eyes of the Virgin.
• An incredible list of miracles, cures and interventions are attributed to Her. Yearly, an estimated 10 million visit her Basilica, making her Mexico City home the most popular Marian shrine in the world, and the most visited Catholic church in the world next to the Vatican.

Other Interesting Facts:
In 1999, Pope John Paul II declared the date of December the 12th as a Liturgical Holy Day for the whole continent. During the same visit Pope John Paul II entrusted the cause of life to her loving protection, and placed under her motherly care the innocent lives of children, especially those who are in danger of not being born.

She is the Patroness of the Unborn and The Americas and her feast day is celebrated on December 12^th.

Our Lady of Guadalupe, help us to remain faithful to your Son, even through our struggles. Renew in us a greater respect for life, especially for unborn children. Draw us constantly closer to your loving heart, where you comfort and care for us. Amen.

Why does the Catholic Church – in the middle of Advent, while preparing for Christmas – throw in yet another holy day?

Why pause to honor Mary while we’re prepping to party with Jesus? What is the Immaculate Conception . . . and why is it a big deal?

God was hoping you would ask.

The Immaculate Conception

First, we need to be clear here. The Immaculate Conception is not about the conception of Jesus in Mary’s womb. It’s about the conception of Mary in her mother’s womb years before. While Mary was conceived in the normal, human way through her parents (Joachim and Anne), the Immaculate Conception speaks to the fact that Mary was conceived without the stain of original sin. Immaculate means “without stain.”

Why would God preserve Mary from Original Sin?

The quick answer: Because God is God, and He can do anything He wants.

The better answer: The Blessed Virgin Mary was conceived without original sin in order to preserve her as the perfect vessel through which our Lord would become flesh to the world. This does not mean, however, that Mary was not in need of a Savior. Jesus redeemed Mary, too, but in a unique way.

You and I are conceived with the stain of original sin (unleashed in Eden by our ancestors Adam and Eve), and we need Baptism to wash away that stain and cleanse our souls.

The difference is that when Mary was conceived, God intervened and chose to prevent Mary’s soul from bearing that stain.

Now, this is where some Christians point to Romans 3:23, which clearly states:

“. . . all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, they are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus . . . ”

And as I mentioned earlier, Mary, herself, proclaims God as her “Savior” (Luke 1:47). The Catholic Church absolutely agrees with this fact and teaches (in Lumen Gentium, 53 – 56) exactly how Mary “was redeemed by the merits of her Son” (CCC 492).

One could say that Mary’s redemption was proactive – while Christ’s sacrifice removes our sin, it preserved Mary from it.

I know – this is deep stuff.

Picture it like this: you’re walking down a path in the forest and you fall into a deep, dark pit. That pit represents original sin. Someone reaches in to pull you out – they are now your “savior.” In Mary’s case, before she fell into the pit, God intervened and lifted her over it. He preserved her from the pain (and the stain). This was also a form of saving her – just in a different way.

Even the saints wrestled to get their heads around this truth. St. Augustine, for example, believed it and proclaimed it. St. Thomas Aquinas struggled with it . . . fearing that it implied that Mary didn’t need a Savior. Over time, however, his continued prayer and humility gave way to a deeper understanding of this truth and its Scriptural roots.

More than a Woman

Remember what the angel said when he greeted Mary in the Gospel of Luke, “Rejoice, O highly favored daughter!” (Luke 1:28). The better, more accurate translation reads, “Rejoice, you who are full of grace!” (from the Greek phrase kecharitomene).

Without getting too deep into Greek here, it’s important to note that the term indicates that Mary was “graced” already (not by the angel’s visit) and that she still was presently. The Greek speaks to her character and quality, not her “luck.” This was not an announcement that Mary had randomly won some divine lottery. She had been set apart – chosen and preserved – from the beginning of time.

This means that God prepared Mary to be clean (sinless) so that she could give birth to the Son of God. This doesn’t mean that she was never tempted. She was. But the Church says that she was filled with the love of the Holy Spirit and that there was no room for sin to take over. That’s a lot of love.

If you want to read more about this teaching, check out the Catechism of the Catholic Church paragraphs 721 – 726.

Did the Church just make this up?

Because this doctrine of the Immaculate Conception wasn’t officially defined until 1854, some think that means that the Catholic Church just made it up. What people have to remember, however, is that this doesn’t mean it wasn’t believed or taught prior to that. It was.

You see, the Church is pretty busy defending truth and offering a billion souls the Sacraments. She doesn’t usually stop to “officially define” an understood doctrine unless there is some controversy or need for clarification. Sometimes, too, though, the Church officially declares a long-understood truth because it helps the faithful to grow even more deeply in understanding and devotion (which is the case here). The Pope saw the need for Mary’s intercession even more greatly in the modernizing Church and he wanted to encourage deeper prayer and devotion to her intercession.

Ask yourself

“Wouldn’t God, in His infinite wisdom, want the body and womb that carried Christ to be a perfect and pure dwelling place?“

“Why wouldn’t God want to set apart the woman who would give birth to His only Son?”

“Wouldn’t the same God who rose a star in the sky as a heavenly birth announcement to earth (Matthew 2:2), who emptied Himself and took on flesh (Philippians 2:7) and who conquered death and rose from the dead (Acts 2:24, Romans 6:9) be willing to go above and beyond in this way, too?”

Wouldn’t God want Mary to be a stainless vessel and a model of perfect discipleship to carry and raise His only Son, Jesus?

Sounds like the perfect plan from our perfect God who is perfect Love (Matthew 5:48, 1 John 4:18)

The cheers exploded! There was singing and dancing. The outdoor arena was packed with 50,000 teens and the energy was tangible in the air because of their excitement. No, we weren’t at a Lady Gaga concert. We came for the greatest “Lady”—Our Lady, the Blessed Mother. It was the 22nd annual Medjugorje Youth Festival, and I was there to experience the pilgrimage of a lifetime!

After more than 24 hours of travel, a herd of foreigners, long lines in customs, a bad stench of BO, and three hours of driving through the winding streets of Bosnia; I finally reached the hills of Medjugorie.

There were no Wal-Mart’s, stoplights, or fast food restaurants in sight. With majestic mountains to my left and the clear blue Adriatic Sea to my right, and rocky terrain surrounding me, I entered a different world then the flat corn fields of Indiana. I could’ve easily felt lost there for 12 days. But I came to on this pilgrimage to find something … well someone – the Blessed Mother.

The Story of Medjugorje

On June 24, 1981, Our Lady appeared to six youth on a hill in a small village in Bosnia-Hercegovina called Medjugorje. And over the last thirty years, the Blessed Virgin Mary has been appearing and giving messages to the world. You may have heard of other famous apparition sights such as Lourdes or Fatima. But what makes this apparition sight unique is that the visionaries claim the visions are still continuing today.

Her Message

How often does your mom repeat the same things over and over to you? Like, “Do your homework!” Or “Clean your room!” Well, Our heavenly mother is repeating the same message to us – “Turn to my son!”

Our Lady doesn’t tell us anything new to our Catholic faith. Her message is of peace and love. She is calling us, with urgency, to her son Jesus. She has come to wake us up from, what one of the visionary calls, a “spiritual coma.” Many Catholics and Christians have fallen away from their faith. Like a loving mother, Mary comes to wake us up and bring us into what she calls “the school of love and prayer.”

Consistent pillars in Our Lady’s messages are the following:

• Prayer (Rosary) with the heart
• Conversion
• Peace
• Love
• The Eucharist (Mass)
• Monthly Confession
• Fasting

My Experience

Can I just say … I love being Catholic! Here I was in a small village in the middle of nowhere Bosnia, waving through the air were flags from Sweden, Ireland, Japan, Canada and hundreds more. Throughout the festival we prayed the rosary, attended daily mass, adoration, confessions, testimonies, and heard live music in all different languages.

“This is what it means to be Catholic.” I thought. Catholic means “Universal.” What I experienced during the youth festival was the Universal Church – a living faith. Mass was translated in over 18 languages, and it didn’t matter the ethnicity, culture, or what flag we waved through the air. We were Catholic, and we were here to respond to our Lady’s call.

I had the opportunity to walk barefoot up Apparition Hill, the place where Mary first appeared. The mountain is covered with big, jagged rocks and the hike to the top is more than my average work out on the elliptical. Did it hurt? Yes, it did. But as I prayed the mysteries of the rosary and huffed up the hill, I took all the intentions of my family and friends with me. And honestly, this was my favorite part of the trip! Each time I would step on a painful pebble I would offer it up my sick parents, Life Teen, my friend, and all the teens I minister to. It was powerful!

Lost and Found

Along with cheesy Mary statues, painful heat, and rocky hills, from the world’s eye, this small village seems lost. In the midst of soccer practice, Facebook, and Entertainment News, why should anyone pay attention to six visionaries in the hill country of Bosnia?

But that’s how God works! Like the small, hidden stable in Bethlehem for example. He comes in the most unexpected ways to small, lost places … so that we can be found.

The miracle of Medjugorje is not in the apparitions. It’s in the long lines to the confessional that last til the early hours of the morning. It’s the countless rosaries being prayed. It’s the praise and worship, tears and 50,000 youth on their knees for adoration.

No, I didn’t get to see any apparition or vision. No lightning or twirling sun.

I found something much greater during that pilgrimage. I found the love of a mother, peace, and a conviction to prayer. In my busy life, I often make excuses to not pray the rosary more. I mean, Facebook and American Idol can take up a lot of time! But if our heavenly Mother thinks it’s important enough to come down to earth and tell us, with great urgency, to pray – I think we should listen. Because she loves us … and she loves her son.

“If you knew how much I love you, you’d cry for Joy” – Our Lady, Medjugoje

For more information on Medjugorje or on Our Ladies monthly messages go to http://www.medjugorje.hr

Church’s Official Position on Medjugorje: The church has not officially confirmed or denied the apparitions in Medjugorje. In conformity to the decree of Pope Urban VIII, and the directives of the Vatican Council II, Life Teen, Inc in regards to Medjugorje© , declares that we do not have the intention to precede the judgment of the Roman Catholic Church in regards to the validity of the supernatural character of facts and messages related to the reported events in Medjugorje. This judgment belongs to the authority of the Church, to whom we submit ourselves fully. Words used in any of Life Teen’s blogs and/or in Medjugorje© literature, publications or on our website – such as “apparitions,” “miracles,” “messages,” “visionaries,” and similar – have the value of human witness and personal faith.

How many “true” friends?
How many Facebook friends?
How many friends in my whole lifetime?

Actually, it’s far more than any of those numbers. In truth you have more friends than you can count. The saints in heaven are the best friends you could ask for – and they’re pulling for you.

What We Believe

Just to make it very clear up front, Catholics and Protestants believe firmly in the command that we are to pray to God constantly, and without reservation. We agree on that.

The Catholic Church does not and has never encouraged folks to take their attention or prayer off of or away from Jesus.

When I, Mark, pray to Christ for you, as your friend, it’s called secondary mediation. I am doing the same thing that the saints do for me when I ask them to pray with me to Jesus … to join their prayers to mine, en route to Christ. Since they’re closer to Him than I am, it actually makes even more sense for them to pray for me, than for my earthly friends to pray for me.

Let me explain more …

Different types of prayer

It’s important to explain that there are different types of prayer. Prayer to God includes worship. Prayer with Mary and the saints includes honor, but not worship.

Mediation

Many people are confused about what “mediation” really is and quote something like 1 Timothy 2:5 – speaking about how Christ is the only Mediator between man and God (which the Catholic Church agrees with, by the way).

But mediation in a more general sense is any one of us praying for or with each other. This is what St. Paul encourages in the four verses immediately preceding that verse about Christ as the one mediator (1 Timothy 2:1-4).

Prayers on our behalf to Christ by either saints living in Heaven, or friends living on earth would be called a secondary mediation.

St. Paul talks about this throughout his epistles, like in Romans 15:30-32, Colossians 1:4, 9-10 and 2 Corinthians 1:10 … (want a couple more? Try Romans 10:1, and 2 Timothy 1:3).

Saints alive!

The saints in Heaven are alive and are perpetually in prayer. They are absolutely living in Heaven, just as you and I live, but to an even fuller extent, because they are back home with God. He is “the God of the living, not of the dead” (Mark 12:26-27).

Since they are far closer to God than we are (2 Corinthians 3:18), as sinful humans walking the earth, their prayers are more powerful.

The saints in heaven are free of all sin, which is what hinders our prayers (Matthew 17:20, 1 John 3:22, Psalms 66:18) and they are in total, perfect union with God.

We are still united with our saintly brothers and sisters (1 Corinthians 12:21-27, Romans 12:5, Ephesians 4:4, Colossians 3:15), as “death cannot separate us from Christ” (Romans 8:35-39).

Deserving of honor

As Christians we’re supposed to honor those worthy of it (Romans 12:10, 1 Peter 2:17) … and the saints are absolutely worthy of it! To give honor is not the same as “adoration” which is only appropriate to give to God. It’s less a matter of praying to Mary and the saints as it is praying with or through them, to Christ.

After all, the Mother of our Lord prophesied that “all generations will call me blessed” (Luke 1:48). No other faith on earth fulfills this prophecy with the degree of faithfulness that the Catholic Church does. We honor Mary and the saints not because they desire it, but because they deserve it.

Obedience is Godly

Lastly, we are commanded to “honor father and mother” (Exodus 20:12). In honoring Mary – who was given to us as our spiritual Mother (John 19:26-27) – we follow in Christ’s footsteps and fulfill God’s command.

Mary is the new Eve, perfectly obedient and mother to all the living. Christ proves this by calling Mary “woman” at Cana (John 2) and upon the cross (John 19). This was not a sign of disrespect (since Jesus is sinless – Hebrews 4:16) but, rather, to demonstrate that Mary fulfills the prophecy in Genesis 3:15.

Best Friends Forever

Do you see how the saints really are your friends? They’re praying harder for your salvation than any soul on earth. Pretty cool, huh?

If you want to learn more about the communion of saints and the “goings-on” of prayer in heaven, check out Hebrews 12:1, 12:18-19 and 12:22-24 and Revelation 5:8, 14 and then Revelation 6:10 and 8:3-4.

Mother Mary, through your humble intercession lead us even closer to your Son, Jesus Christ. May all the saints and angels, pray for us!

About twelve years ago a teen named Billy asked me this question, “Why do you Catholics believe that Mary ascended into heaven, when it’s not even in the Bible?”

He said “you Catholics” because he went to a local Bible Church but had been coming to a Life Teen Summer Bible Study with some of his Catholic friends.

“Well, first…” I replied, “Mary did not ascend into heaven; the Blessed Virgin Mary was assumed into heaven. Jesus ascended by His own power. Mary was taken up into heaven by God.” That little difference is a big difference, so I wanted to be sure he understood it.

Billy then replied, “Okay, fine…but it’s still not in the Bible. The Church made it up.”

This is where the conversation got really interesting.

Did Mary die?

Maybe Mary didn’t die. Maybe she’s living in Brazil … next door to Elvis. Some people point to the fact that only Elijah and Enoch are mentioned as being carried off to heaven in Scripture, and since Mary is not, then “it must not be true.”

Have you ever noticed that although the Acts of the Apostles is an incredibly detailed accurate account of Sts. Peter and Paul, we do not read of their deaths on the pages of Scripture? Everything we know of their deaths comes from early oral tradition. In fact, the Bible doesn’t say what happened to most of the disciples. The Bible is silent in this area. Many Evangelicals accept the witness of Church history that Saint Peter was crucified upside-down in Rome, that Paul was beheaded, etc.— even though Scripture does not record these events.

We know, from oral tradition, that Mary was taken into the care of St. John (the writer of the fourth gospel and the Book of Revelation) and went to live with him in Ephesus (where he was a Bishop). We know that she was sought out for her counsel and wisdom and that she was exalted and honored throughout the community. Early Church tradition upholds these facts as true, as do historic and non-canonical writings.

What is different, though, is that we know where the bones of Sts. Peter and Paul and other disciples like Mary Magdalene are because the early Christians took care of them. There is no record of where the bones of Mary lay. It seems a little odd that if there had been a body no one would have given her a proper burial or that her tomb would not have become a landmark, does it not?

How do we know Mary is in heaven?

Well, if the woman who God specifically chose to bring His Son into the world and raise Him is not in heaven … none of us have a shot.

Seriously, though, is there Scriptural backing for this teaching about the Assumption? Absolutely!

While it does not explicitly state, “Mary assumed into heaven” in the Bible, stop and take a look at the verses from Revelation, written by John, of visions that were seen:

“Then God’s temple in heaven was opened, and the ark of his covenant could be seen in the temple. There were flashes of lightning, rumblings, and peals of thunder, an earthquake, and a violent hailstorm. A great sign appeared in the sky, a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars. She was with child and wailed aloud in pain as she labored to give birth. She gave birth to a son, a male child, destined to rule all the nations with an iron rod… Then I heard a loud voice in heaven say: “Now have salvation and power come, and the kingdom of our God and the authority of his Anointed…” – Revelation 11:19, 12:1-6, 10

This revelation is referring to Mary, in heaven. Mary is often referred to as the new “Ark of the Covenant.”

Indiana Jones went searching for the Ark of the Old Covenant which contained the Ten Commandments (Law), a pot of manna (heavenly bread) and the staff of Aaron (symbol of Priesthood). You can read about the Ark – but not Indiana Jones – in Hebrews 9:4. The Ark was kept free from all defect and corruption, made from the finest most pure materials to God’s exact specifications.

As the Ark of the New Covenant, Mary carried Christ who is the Law, the Bread of Life, and the Royal High Priest. Her Immaculate Conception and her state as ever-Virgin kept her free from defect and sin, preserving her throughout her life, until her death where she was immediately assumed to preserve her from any bodily corruption on earth. Notice, too, in this passage from Revelation that we see the Ark (which is missing on earth) in heaven immediately preceding our vision of this woman crowned in stars and holding a baby.

Don’t forget – to whom did God give this vision (Revelation)? He imparted it to St. John, the one who was entrusted with caring for Our Mother, Mary (John 19:25-27) for the remainder of her days on earth prior to her assumption.

In 1950, Pope Pius XII defined the doctrine of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary for the universal Church. The teaching was not new – only now formally clarified. He affirmed that at the end of her time on earth, Mary experienced immediately the resurrection of the body that is promised to all faithful followers of Jesus.

Basically, since Mary was preserved from original sin by the unique gift of Christ’s grace, she was able to experience the immediate perfect union with her Son in heaven, never knowing, tasting or suffering from bodily corruption or decay (due to death) in any way.

Remember, as Christians we believe in the Resurrection of the Body. As the Papal encyclical Lumen Gentium (68) asserts, Mary’s assumption and heavenly presence preceded and foreshadows our own future glory (1 Corinthians 15). You might want to check out how the Catechism of the Catholic Church explains it, too (CCC 966).

One of the things that sets us apart as Catholics from other Christian denominations is that we have a rich understanding of Mary and a tradition of giving her the honor she deserves. She can teach us a lot through her example of virtue and her special role within the Church. Pray with Mary and she will lead you into a far deeper relationship with Her Son than you could ever achieve by your own direction.

I’m reminded of that conversation with the teen every year around this Feast Day, only I no longer call that teen, Billy, my friend … now I also call him, Father Bill. He went looking for Mary and found her … in the Catholic Church.

Hail Mary!

His friends did not believe in the death and resurrection of our blessed Lord.

First of all, when the women went to the grave, they did not go to greet the risen Savior. They brought spices to anoint a dead body. Their problem was in moving back the stone. In front of this subterranean grave there was places a great millstone, with a hole in the center through which a pole would be put to roll away the stone. That is why they asked, “Who shall roll us back the stone in order that we may anoint the dead body?”

When they told the disciples, Peter and John, that the tomb was empty and the Lord had risen, Peter said, “Woman’s tale.” So they did not believe. The disciples at Emmaus that Sunday afternoon did not believe. Peter and Andrew and James and John went back to the fishing business. They did not believe.

It took considerable convincing, the appearances of our blessed Lord, and, above all, the descent of the Holy Spirit on Pentecost to confirm the resurrection.