Homily: August 15 - Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary - Past, Present, and Future

When we gather for mass on the special feast days, Christmas, Easter, or during Lent, and Advent, or on the feast days of the saints, the prayers of the Mass contain special insights into what we are celebrating.  So we do well to listen very carefully when the priest chants or prays the opening prayer, also known as the collect, because it collects all of the intentions we have brought to the mass as individuals, the prayer over the gifts often connects the particular feast to the Eucharistic sacrifice, the prayer after communion before the final blessing, often directs us to go out into the world to live what we have celebrated. 

Today, on the feast of Mary’s Assumption, the preface prayer to the Eucharistic prayer expresses the rich themes of this solemnity.  Listen to this wonderful prayer, addressed to God, which I will offer from the altar:

“Today the Virgin Mother of God was assumed into heaven as the beginning and image of your Church’s coming to perfection and a sign of sure hope and comfort to your pilgrim people; rightly you would not allow her to see the corruption of the tomb since from her own body she marvelously brought forth your incarnate Son, the Author of all life.”

There is a lot going on there, but three themes in particular. 

1)      Mary was assumed into heaven

2)      Her assumption brings us comfort and hope

3)      Her perfection is a sign of our perfection to come

These three theme point to the Past, present, and future.

Mary’s Assumption, an event 2000 years ago in the past, gives us, and the Church for all ages, comfort and hope in the present, and shows us, what we hope to become in the future.

What do we mean when we say she was Assumed into heaven?  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 incorrupt body and soul, unstained by sin, was assumed, taken into, brought into the heavenly realm by God. 

There is even historical proof for this.  The early Church had a profound respect and devotion to the earthly remains of the saints.  And It was the practice of the early Church to gather at the places where the relics of the saints where buried; yet, no community every claimed to have the relics of the Mother of Our Lord because she had been taken directly to heaven.

So, why does this give us hope and comfort? 

The Assumption is like the light at the end of a dark tunnel, or a lighthouse guiding into safe harbor.  Where she has gone, we hope to go too. 

And we do say hope, we hope for heaven, because heaven is not a guarantee.  Faithfulness to God’s commandments and the teachings of the Church is so important.  And just as Mary was faithful, every day of her life, so to, faithfulness and obedience to God are imperative to our journey towards heaven.

So the assumption is so comforting to us because we can have real hope amidst all of the difficulties and darkness and temptations of life, real hope that faithfulness leads to heavenly reward.

The passage from the book of Revelation presents a vision of the struggle between the woman and the dragon.  Living the Christian faith, faithfulness to God in the present involves struggle.  We are really struggling against the forces of evil, we struggle against our evil tendencies to remain faithful to God.  Mary knew this struggle.  But she remained faithful to God in the face of that great struggle.

So too, Mary’s life involved terrible suffering and unfathomable challenges.  She at the cross as her Son suffered crucifixion and death.  She knew loss, she knew the hardship of journeying to Nazareth during her pregnancy and fleeing to Egypt when king herod sought the death of the Christ child.  Yet she remained faithful to God, she obeyed God in all things, and we celebrate today, how the faithful are rewarded.  But we call to mind how we can receive Mary’s help, for from heaven she is the most powerful of intercessors.  The saints teach us over and over again to pray the rosary every day for the conversion of the world for the conversion of hearts, to know Mary’s powerful aid in our terrible struggle against the powers of evil and the great sorrows of life.

Finally, her perfection and heavenly destination is a sign of our perfection to come in heaven.  Oftentimes we think of heaven as being a purely spiritual realm.  But Mary’s Assumption reminds us that heaven involves a bodily reality.  Our eternal destiny is not to be merely a spirit in God’s presence, but to be made perfect body and soul in God’s presence.

Where at Easter we celebrate Christ’s Bodily Resurrection and Victory over Death, today’s feast celebrates that victory applied to God’s most obedient creature, Mary, to show us what is in store for the faithful Christian.

Today as we renew our faith in Christ's power to do amazing things, by contemplating the great miracle of the Assumption. Let's ask the blessed Mother to obtain for us all the grace we need to be faithful and obedient to all the Lord asks of us, like her, that we may radiate his goodness and greatness for the Glory of God and salvation of souls.