Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary (Homily)
August 15, 2021 11:00 am · Sergio Muñoz Fita
Today we celebrate a feast of the Virgin Mary! In the Catholic Church there are four Marian dogmas that we must accept by faith: the primary one, from which all the graces that Mary received arise, is that of her divine maternity. She is truly the Mother of God! The second dogma, also declared in the first centuries in the history of the Church, is that of her perpetual virginity: our Mother was a virgin before, during and after Christ’s birth. The third dogma, defined by blessed Pius IX in 1854, is that of her Immaculate Conception: Mary was preserved from every stain of sin, also from the original sin that we all inherited from our first parents. The final dogma related to Mary is the one we celebrate today, the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary into heaven body and soul, solemnly declared by Venerable Pius XII in 1950.
In reality, these four truths about our Mother are interwoven and relate to one another. By a special privilege, and as a consequence of her vocation as Mother of the Son of God, our Lord Jesus Christ, Mary's virginal body was preserved from the corruption of the tomb and already enjoys the beatific vision of the Blessed Trinity in heaven. She is the image of the Church, for she attained the goal toward which, in her pilgrimage through this passing world, the people of God on earth are journeying.
I invite you to take note of two aspects of this most precious Solemnity. The first is this: Mary is for us a source of hope. The words of Elizabeth in today's Gospel express God's fidelity to his promises: "Blessed are you who believed that what was spoken to you by the Lord would be fulfilled.” This Sunday's feast is the guarantee that God does not fail, that he is faithful to his Word, that he is ready to fulfill even what seems inconceivable to us, so as not to disappoint the humble who put their trust in him. Mary already possesses in fullness what we hope to attain one day through the mercy of the Lord. As I have said on other occasions, what is future for us is already present for our Mother. We are not journeying toward an unattainable dream because in fact there is already one of us, the most beautiful woman, who now enjoys that which has also been promised to us if we are faithful. Today we celebrate the fulfillment of God’s promises in Mary.
The second idea is that of the intercessory power of our Mother. Our Lady is not oblivious to the troubles and sufferings of her children. As she was at Cana, Mary is our mediator in heaven. She is attentive to our needs in order to help us. Her Assumption does not distance her from us - quite the contrary! Her eyes contemplate us with compassion, her ears listen to us attentively, her hands bless and protect us, her Immaculate Heart loves us without ceasing.
Dear brothers and sisters, on this August 15th we raise our eyes to heaven. In that heavenly Jerusalem which is the dwelling place of all those who have loved God to the end, there shines a star in which we see the very light of Jesus. We thank the Most Holy Trinity for having preserved the purest body of our Mother. It is worthwhile to suffer the crosses of this life if the Lord grants us the joy of embracing our Mother at the end.
Let us honor Mary by treating our body as the temple of the Holy Spirit that it is for us, knowing that it is called to incorruptibility and glory like that of the Virgin. Let us live joyfully in the midst of the trials of this world strengthened by the only hope that does not disappoint, that which comes from God and which has already been fulfilled and realized in Mary. As we walk this earthly pilgrimage and live in this exile until we reach our true homeland in heaven, let us always keep our eyes fixed on the one who gave us Jesus, who helps us with her love and her prayer to live in union with Him and who awaits us with Him in the eternal joys of Paradise.
