This year the bishops of New Zealand have transferred the Feast of the Assumption, which is the patronal feast of this country, to Sunday so that all Catholics will have the maximum opportunity to encounter this mystery of the Church. Why would the bishops make such a big deal of this feast? Some people would criticise it as being non-Scriptural or that it detracts from the celebration of the Resurrection which is proper to every Sunday. I think that the bishops are right in holding this great feast, made a doctrine in 1950 by Pope Pius XII, in front of our eyes. Jesus, the Word made flesh, is risen. We can understand that of him and yet we are tempted to distance ourselves from him and make of him an exception. The resurrection of the body surely can't apply to us mere mortals! Yet, St Paul tells us: " ... for as all die in Adam, so all will be made alive in Christ. But each in his own order: Christ the first fruits, then as his coming those who belong to Christ." (1 Cor. 22-23) Where the head is the body will surely follow. Through baptism we are made members of that Body. Our Lady, human like us, however takes precedence. She enjoyed, immediately upon her death, the priviledge experiencing the ressurection in full. In this she, through her obedience and perfect charity, is the pathfinder for us in hope. We can pray that through imitation of her virtues and with the help of her intercession we too will ultimately enjoy in body and spirit the fulness of peace and joy in the resurrection.
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