Friday, August 15, 2014

Homily: Assumption 2014 - Mary and the Devil


In the first pages of the book of Genesis we read of the temptation and fall of our first parents—their original sin—the first time that human beings rebelled against the will of God.  The devil, was successful in convincing Eve that her happiness was found not in obeying God, but in disobeying Him. 

What history would have looked like had our first parents not sinned and lost paradise, we can only imagine.  But, from the beginning we see the powers of darkness working to oppose the plans of God—a great battle between the powers of sin and the power of grace continuing to our own day until the end of time.

As a result of their sin, death and suffering and toil entered the world, yet immediately following the fall, God announced a message of hope, what theologians call the Protogospel, the first announcement that man will be redeemed.  God says in Genesis: “I will put enmity between you and the Woman, between your offspring and hers.  He will crush your head while you will strike at his heel”

Yes, the children of Eve will be cursed by the perpetual harassment of the devil and his minions; the enemy continues to tempt us to rebel against God just as he rebelled, just as he led our first parents to rebel.  But, in the end, the enemy will be crushed by the offspring of the woman.  

Saint John Paul II wrote about the ProtoGospel of Genesis in an encyclical called Redemptoris Mater, the Mother of the Redeemer.  He wrote, “In the salvific design of the Most Holy Trinity, the mystery of the Incarnation constitutes the superabundant fulfillment of the promise made by God to man after original sin, after that first sin whose effects oppress the whole earthly history of man. And so, there comes into the world a Son, ‘the seed of the woman’ who will crush the evil of sin in its very origins: ‘he will crush the head of the serpent.’ As we see from the words of the Protogospel, the victory of the woman's Son will not take place without a hard struggle, a struggle that is to extend through the whole of human history. The ‘enmity,’ foretold at the beginning, is confirmed in the Apocalypse, the book of the final events of the Church and the world.  

Mary, Mother of the Incarnate Word, is placed at the very center of that enmity, that struggle which accompanies the history of humanity on earth and the history of salvation itself.  In this history Mary remains a sign of sure hope”

At the end of her earthly life, Mary’s body was taken directly into heaven.   Earthly remains are normally buried—earth to earth, ashes to ashes, dust to dust.  Yet Mary, her body and soul, unstained by sin, was assumed, taken into, brought into the heavenly realm by God.  Where she has gone, we too hope to go.  The Assumption is like the light at the end of a dark tunnel, or a lighthouse guiding into safe harbor.  That’s why the pope calls Mary a sign of sure hope. 

The feast we celebrate today, the assumption of the Blessed Virgin is infuriating to the devil.  It is proof that the enemy has lost.  Death and corruption don’t get the final say.  Sin doesn’t get the final say.  Jesus Christ’s victory shines and radiates in the blessed Virgin Mary.

Satan, on account of pride, was cast out from heaven, and Mary, a creature, on account of her humble submission to God in all things is brought body and soul to heaven.

St. Louis Marie de Montfort:   “What Lucifer lost by pride Mary won by humility.  What Eve ruined and lost by disobedience Mary saved by obedience.  By obeying the serpent, Eve ruined her children as well as herself and delivered them up to him. Mary, by her perfect fidelity to God, saved her children with herself and consecrated them to his divine majesty."

Where Mary at Cana told us, “do whatever he tells you”.  The enemy continues to speak to our hearts, “do whatever you want”. Mary stood faithful at the foot of the cross, the enemy tells us that the cross is too hard for us, and to run away from it.  Mary shows us the importance of prayer, the enemy tells us that prayer is a waste of time.  Mary rejoices in her lowliness, the enemy tells us we can’t be happy unless we are in charge and get our own way.

She continues to pray for us from her place in heaven.  She is our most powerful intercessor to whom we can turn in any difficulty.  She prays to expose the tactics of the enemy in corrupting our souls, and prays to obtain the grace that we can be faithful in times of temptation. 

Vibrant Marian devotion is part of vibrant Christian discipleship and brings us great protection from evil and assistance in performing the works of charity.  The praying of the rosary, the angelus, the memorare, wearing of the scapular and marian medals, beginning and ending the day with prayers to Mary, showing our love for Mary deepens our love for Jesus Christ. 

And like St. John Paul II said, she is at the center of the spiritual battle.

Again to quote St. Louis Marie de Montfort: “Thus the most fearful enemy that God has set up against the devil is Mary, his holy Mother.  From the time of the earthly paradise, although she existed then only in his mind, he gave her such a hatred for his accursed enemy, such ingenuity in exposing the wickedness of the ancient serpent and such power to defeat, overthrow and crush this proud rebel, that Satan fears her not only more than angels and men but in a certain sense more than God himself.  This does not mean that the anger, hatred and power of God are not infinitely greater than the Blessed Virgin's since her attributes are limited.  It simply means that Satan, being so proud, suffers infinitely more in being vanquished and punished by a lowly and humble servant of God, for her humility humiliates him more than the power of God.”


In the darkness and storms of life, in the spiritual battle to remain faithful to God against the hosts of temptation, Mary’s example and prayers will never fail to show us the way to follow Christ.  May her prays set our hearts aflame with the fire of love for Christ and his Church for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

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