Bead Nineteen Falling Asleep and Awaking in Heaven
Peter and John had also worked together very fruitfully over the years and wherever John went, Mary went with him, as he constantly cared for and watched over her. She was able to sustain the followers of her son with her love and devotion. Her calm and deeply spiritual presence was their greatest consolation and brought comfort and strength to them all.
As she approached her seventieth year, more and more persecution made it necessary for them to escape from Palestine. She and John travelled by sea to Turkey to join the Christian community at Ephesus. After a long and difficult journey, John searched around for a quiet and secure place to set up a home for them both where Mary would be safe and comfortable.
It was here that he began to record his countless memories and reflections on the life he and all the companions of Jesus had shared with their beloved leader and the experiences they had had since those early days of their meeting by the river Jordan. He found a beautiful spot a few miles away from the city, secluded and peaceful, and there, they shared a contented life.
One evening, having wished John goodnight, Mary went to her room for the night but, on the following morning, there was no sign of her anywhere. John instinctively knew that God had taken her, body and soul, to be in heaven with her beloved son, with Joseph and her parents, Anne and Joachim, with Elizabeth and Zechariah and with everyone she had ever known and loved.
John went into the town to share the news with the community. Despite their own sense of loss, everyone was overjoyed to know that Mary had been rewarded and blessed by God for every sorrow she had ever experienced.
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