Fr. Timothy Radcliffe asks: “Why do we celebrate the Assumption of Mary? Nothing in the New Testament supports this doctrine, and the classical representations of Mary shooting upward like a rocket do not help. But East and West Christians have celebrated this feast for over 1,500 years.” The Holy Spirit has been poured upon the faithful, so we have an instinct for the truths of faith. It must say something fundamental about Christ and especially his ascension. Paul says that Jesus ascended “that he might fill all things.” Christ is not departing to be with a distant God but becoming one with his Father, who is present everywhere, at the core of our existence. We lose Jesus as a person among us to gain him in a new intimacy, penetrating our very being. The ascension can never be a victory just for Jesus. He draws near to us all. And this conquest is first shared, naturally, with his mother. All the texts for today’s feast are about victory. This victory is over every form of alienation and separation, not just of distance but of sin, misunderstanding, and, above all, death. Nothing now can come between us and God. May this sharing in Christ’s victory by Mary give us all the confidence to reach out to those from whom we have become estranged, whether by neglect or misunderstanding, or failure.