It would have made more sense for the Assumption to follow the Ascension. In Mandarin the same word is used to describe the both the events. They are recounted as Jesus and Mary rising up to heaven. In English, the word Ascension projects a portrait of Christ Himself possessing the power of going up whereas the Assumption suggests that Mary needed assistance as she was brought up to heaven. This subtle linguistic difference provides a better link between the Transfiguration and the Assumption because Christ’s emanation of dazzlingly white glory is the roadmap for the Assumption.
The Transfiguration celebrates both God and man. Firstly, on Mount Tabor, both Moses and Elijah appeared and spoke to Jesus. According to Benedict XVI, God had revealed Himself to both these illustrious prophets. Moses wanted to see God face to face but only managed to catch a glimpse of God’s back. Elijah could only feel God’s presence in the gentle breeze caressing his face. The full glory of God until now was beyond humanity’s grasp. It was kept hidden and Man could only spy God’s fleeting shadow until now. On Mount Tabor, God reveals Himself fully through the transfigured face and body of Jesus. As the fullness of the Father’s revelation it makes sense that the Voice thundered from the cloud to listen to Him.
Secondly, the razzmatazz surrounding Christ’s Transfiguration, apart from revealing His divinity, is also a celebration of human possibility. The detailed depiction of Christ’s bodily change highlights the prospect that each man, woman and child has in the same transformative journey. Now a novena away we have proof. Mary’s exalted position comes from being the perfect disciple of her Son, as described succinctly in the Vigil’s Gospel—still happier those who hear the word of God and keep it. As the disciple par excellence, she should be the first to experience the divinisation of the human body.
Assumed body and soul into heaven after her earthly life, Mary symbolises hope in the Resurrection and serves as a reminder of the promise of eternal life. If the Transfiguration is the celebration of God and Man, where Christ’s divinity was put on full display and then the Assumption is the evidence of Man’s destiny. It affirms what we can become because of our faith in Christ’s Resurrection.
We all attend Masses regularly and occasionally a funeral Mass. I wonder if this embolism, that is, the inserted anaphora [prayer] in Eucharistic Prayer III has ever struck you. Listen to it the next time you attend a funeral.
Grant that he (she) who was united with your Son in a death like His, may also be one with Him in His Resurrection, when from the earth He will raise up in the flesh those who have died, and transform our lowly body after the pattern of his own glorious body.
This anaphora is a description of the Transfiguration and also a blueprint for our future.
The fact is we all want a forever future. Maybe we should care less of longevity because the result may not be what we desire—the future is where our senses begin to dull as we sense our reaction time slowing down. For example, when we trip, if we were agile, we can quickly recover but when our senses are dulled, you can literally watch yourself fall and are helpless to respond. We will turn the corner of the future with brittle bones. Out of focus eyesight blurs all faces and features. Lotions and potions may just smooth out the wrinkles but can do nothing to reverse this ageing decline.
The answer to living forever is not solving the problem of death meaning that it is not found in delaying death. The future lies in a transformation of our earthly body. We may have focused too much on living forever not realising that “forever” is only possible when our bodies are transfigured and transcended to a higher destiny. As the Preface for this solemnity says, Mary’s Assumption into heaven is the beginning and the image of the Church’s coming to perfection. She is the sign of sure hope and comfort for pilgrims especially for those who desire to live forever. In this desire for eternity, let us turned to Mary and ask for her patronage because she represents the future where our humble body can also share Christ’s glory of Transfiguration.
