There is nothing more specifically Christian than a keen interest in the body. I know that we often say that our religion is about saving our soul – and this is true. But each Sunday we proclaim our faith in the resurrection of the body, or the resurrection of the dead, depending on which version of the Creed we use. This is the same: the body, which is the companion and servant of our soul, will be raised again at the end. It will become partaker of the life in heaven. Medieval theologians teach us that it will be adapted to this loftier form of life. It will become glorious: subtler, swifter, suppler. It will keep all the advantages of our present body without any of its inconveniences. We shall experience ourselves as one, soul and body in perfect accord. We shall be fully harmonised in ourselves and with the new creation around us. Moreover, we shall see God. Our whole being will be filled with His life, His beauty, and His glory.
Just imagine how we shall sing! I must admit that when I am struggling in choir or when I hear struggling voices around me, I feel a great consolation in thinking that one day, all will be harmony and serene praise of God. It will be something like Mary’s Magnificat. The canticle of this young pregnant woman is the most beautiful hymn of praise which ever passed through human lips. The Gospel gives us the words. The Church in her liturgy gives us the music. It remains up to us to perceive, with the help of the Holy Spirit, the sound of this unique voice. It filled the valleys of the hill country of Judah and the heart of Elizabeth one day. It echoes continually in the liturgies of all places and all times. It culminates in the voice of praise of Our Lady entering heaven today.
A risen body is a singing body because resurrection leads to praise. We have been created, a soul in a body, in order that one day we might be invited, soul and body, to share in God’s life. God’s vision will at the same time lead us into a deep silence of adoration and into a powerful song of praise. We shall be praise of our Father in all our soul and all our body. We shall be “praise of the glory of God”.
The book of Revelation is interspersed with canticles of praise celebrating God and His Lamb, and their work of creation and redemption. When the woman escapes the red dragon and goes to the place prepared for her and her child, a loud voice of praise resonates in heaven, “saying, ‘Now the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of his Christ has come.’” Mary’s glorification by the assumption of her whole being, soul and body, into heaven, turns to the praise of God and His Christ. Jesus Himself, raised from the dead by His Father, raises up His Mother Mary. He who is “the resurrection and the life” is the author of Mary’s Assumption. He raises her up with God’s power and a son’s kindness. In His kingdom, no one else can be the queen. She is our humanity reigning with Jesus and praising Him in His kingdom.
Today with Mary we are drawn to heaven – to the fullness of life in Christ. A Christian is someone who thinks of heaven, who works, suffers and prays with an eye fixed on heaven. All that we do in our soul and in our body is called to be assumed by God, lifted up to God, and transformed into praise of God’s glory. This is why we sing on our way heavenwards. Our song of praise expresses our identity. It speaks of the fatherland where we belong. It nourishes our desire for God and supports our journey towards the heavenly Jerusalem. Our song builds the city of glory, the Body of Christ, which will resonate for ever with Mary’s voice of praise: “My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my saviour”.