Catechesis With Pope Benedict Xvi

Pope Benedict XVI: "Since the first centuries of Christianity, this feast has always been deeply felt by the Christian people; as is well known, it celebrates the glorification, also bodily, of that creature whom God chose as Mother and whom Jesus on the Cross gave as Mother to all humanity. The Assumption evokes a mystery that interests each one of us because, as the Second Vatican Council affirms, Mary "shines here below as sign of sure hope and consolation for the people of God who are on the pathway" (Lumen Gentium, 68). However, we are so caught up in the events of each day as to sometimes forget this consoling spiritual reality, which constitutes an important truth of faith. How then can we make this luminous sign of hope be perceived more and more by all of us and by today's society? There are those today who live as if they would never have to die or as is everything must end with death; others, holding that man is the unique architect of his own destiny, behave as if God did not exist, sometimes even