Apocalypse 11:19; 12:1-6,10 / 1 Cor 15:20-26 / Luke 1:39-56
Every living person this earth has a name and that person is identified by this name.
The person also responds to this name, and so it can be said that the person and the name are one.
But something strange happens upon death.
As death separates the soul from the body, so too the name is separated from the body.
With death, it seems that the body of the deceased becomes a nameless entity.
So we will hear it said that the body is resting at this or that place.
Or that the body is to be buried or cremated.
So it seems that upon death, the body of a person loses the identity that was his when he was alive.
Maybe it is just a way of speaking. But that may also imply that the body of a person has become just a material casing and there is no life in it.
Just like what happens to egg shells after the chickens are hatched from it.
But the feast of the Assumption tells us that even after death, the body has a meaning, a spiritual meaning.
Mary was raised, body and soul into heaven. She is the first human being to receive the reward that Jesus gained by His Resurrection and Ascension.
The fact that God raised Mary body and soul into heaven means that even at death, the body (or the mortal remains) is still identified with the person and has a spiritual meaning to it.
Hence, the body of the deceased is given a proper burial and treated with respect because we profess in our Creed that at the resurrection on the last day, God will raise up our bodies or mortal remains and join in our souls to share in the risen glory of Christ.
This reiterates the fact that what is created cannot be destroyed and what came into existence will continue to exist into eternity.
That should remind us to take care of our bodies and that whatever acts of charity or sacrifice we offer with our bodies have a spiritual value.
Mary offered her body and soul to do the will of God and she consented to be the Mother of God.
May we too offer our body and soul to God and to do His work here on earth so that like Mary, we too will be raised up body and soul into heaven.