“We learn many things from the discreet way in which the Mother of God lived her life, but through her Dormition, the Church teaches us that, although she has departed, she has nevertheless not abandoned us

“And through these words, she also tells us to do what the Saviour Jesus Christ teaches us in the Gospel. Thus, the entire life of the Mother of God is defined by humility and by great concern for everything taking place around her, but she is not absent. She is always present in the midst of Christians.

“In giving birth, you preserved your virginity; in falling asleep, you did not forsake the world.

“Although the Mother of God was humble throughout her life, she was not absent. Just as the Ascension of the Lord did not mean, and did not remain, an absence from the midst of the Church, so too the passing of the Mother of God from this life into eternity did not result in an absence