I approached the church in the small coastal village where I would be staying for a few days, and suddenly, a boy rushed toward me. It was Nick, my friend from a short flight a little over two years ago. We embraced like old friends. He is taller now, but otherwise the same. Behind him appeared an older woman; I sensed she was his grandmother.
– “Are you still in Jerusalem?” He asked, with the air of a grown-up boy.
– “Of course! I’m only here on vacation.”
– “Listen” he said without preamble, as if we were back on the plane. – “Is there also a tomb of the Virgin in Jerusalem?”
I burst out laughing.
– “It’s just that on the 15th, they celebrate in the village the…” -— he hesitated, searching for the word, and his grandmother helped him: “the Assumption of Mary” — “That’s it! My grandmother told me that she also is in heaven with Jesus, body and soul. Is that true? Is her tomb empty too? Do lots of people go to see it?”
Faced with the barrage of questions, I interrupted with a smile:
– “Nick! one at a time. Yes, the Virgin Mary is the Mother of Jesus: she carried Him in her womb, raised Him, always accompanied Him, and stood at the foot of the cross, steadfast, watching Him die. And Jesus asked John, one of His dearest friends, to care for her…”
Dormition Abbey – Hagia María, Jerusalem
He interrupted impatiently:
– “But did she die and rise like Jesus? Is there an empty tomb, and do people line up to see it?”
I smiled: “Yes, Nick, she is in heaven, body and soul, forever! But” — I didn’t let him interrupt again — “it is not known whether she died or not! Some say she fell asleep, and the angels took her to heaven; others claim she truly died, and on the third day, Thomas, one of the disciples who had been traveling, arrived and wanted to see her one last time; but when they entered the tomb, it was empty.”
– “But in the end, everyone says the same thing: that Jesus took her to heaven with Him, body and soul!” Nick’s grandmother affirmed.
– “That is so; in Jerusalem, there are two churches to celebrate this: that of the Dormition, run by German Benedictines, and that of the Tomb of the Virgin, near Gethsemane, run by the Orthodox,” I clarified, addressing his grandmother.
– “Good for Jesus!” Nick said, accompanying his words with a triumphant, athletic gesture. “If I had powers, I would do the same!”
Dormition Abbey – Hagia María, Jerusalem
– “But also,” I added, taking advantage of the brief pause, “it was a great gift to us; we have the assurance that we too will rise. In Mary lies our hope, because in her the Promise of salvation, made by God from the beginning of the world, has been fulfilled.”
– “That is why we pray to her,” his grandmother interjected again: “Pray for us, O Holy Mother of God, that we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.”
– “Listen,” Nick said to me, “are you staying longer? I have lots of questions…”
By Carmen Roriguez Eyre