Homily – The Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary (2004)
– Fr. Timothy W. Castor
Today we rejoice with the Blessed Virgin Mary as we recall her glorious Assumption into heaven—that moment when our Lady’s life on earth reached its completion, and, by a special grace of God, she was taken up, body and soul, into God’s presence to reign forever with her divine Son, Christ Jesus, and to intercede for us. In the year 1950, Pope Pius XII proclaimed this truth to be a dogma of the faith. That means that, in order to have a complete and saving knowledge of Our Lord Jesus Christ, one must believe in the Assumption of his Blessed Mother, the Virgin Mary.
Now, if you’re like me, you might wonder what this has to do with our personal salvation. What does this have in common with doctrines such as the belief that Jesus is the second Person of the most Holy Trinity, that he became man, that he suffered and died for our sins, and that he rose again from the dead to give us new life. These are all dogmas of our faith because they pertain directly to ourselves and what God has done for us. But the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary—beautiful as it is—seems to apply only to the Blessed Virgin Mary. It was a wonderful privilege she enjoyed, but, to put it bluntly: "what’s in it for me?"
That was my question some years ago before I became a Catholic and was considering the claims of the Church. As I prayed and pondered over this question it gradually occurred to me that, in fact, the Dogma of the Assumption really does pertain to our salvation. It presents a wonderful message of hope for each one of us who believe. Why? The answer lies in the reading which we heard from the first letter of St. Paul to the Corinthians. Listen once again to the Apostle’s words: "Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. For just as in Adam all died, so too in Christ shall all be brought to life, Christ the firstfruits; then, at his coming, those who belong to Christ." Contained in the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, is the promise and glorious hope of our own resurrection. As Saint Paul says earlier in this same letter, "If Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins. ... If for this life only we have hoped in Christ, we are of all men most to be pitied."
And here is where the Assumption comes in. If Christ is the firstfruits, then our blessed Mother is, as it were, the second fruits. Our Lord’s resurrection and ascension is the guarantee of eternal life in heaven for those who die in his friendship. Our Lady’s Assumption into heaven is the confirmation of that guarantee and makes our hope all the more firm and sure.
This is why belief in the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary is not only essential for our salvation, but a tremendous source of joy, consolation and encouragement. Today we not only congratulate Mary and rejoice with her – as we echo her words of praise, "My soul magnifies the Lord, my spirit rejoices in God my savior" – but we give thanks to God for what awaits each one of us if we remain faithful, persevering in the truth he has taught us and obeying his commandments. Mary, the humble maiden of Nazareth, was exalted to the throne room of heaven because of her obedience and because she received into her being the bodily presence of God the Son. We, too, receive God’s Son into our being each time we approach Holy Communion. It is a presence just as real as the presence of Jesus in Mary’s womb though, of course, under a different mode.
In our Holy Father’s recent encyclical called The Church of the Eucharist, he writes this:
At the Annunciation Mary conceived the Son of God in the physical reality of his body and blood, thus anticipating within herself what to some degree happens sacramentally in every believer who receives, under the signs of bread and wine, the Lord’s body and blood…. When, at the Visitation, she bore in her womb the Word made flesh, she became in some way a "tabernacle"—the first "tabernacle" in history—in which the Son of God, still invisible to our human gaze, allowed himself to be adored by Elizabeth, radiating his light as it were through the eyes and the voice of Mary.
Because Mary was a living Tabernacle of God most high, her body could not suffer corruption. And so, at the Assumption, this beautiful "living tabernacle" was taken into heaven to be with her Son and Lord for all eternity. For the same reason we cherish the blessed hope that our bodies, having been tabernacles as well of Christ’s presence in the Holy Eucharist, will sleep in death for only a short time, and then be raised incorruptible, reunited with our souls, to live for ever, happy in the presence of God, of his Holy Mother, and of all the angels and saints.
Let us then be firm in our faith, unwavering in hope, and obedient to Jesus Christ and to his Holy Church to the very end of our lives. And in this way, what was promised by Jesus and confirmed by Mary, will become our inheritance as well.
© 2004, The Rev. Timothy W. Castor