The Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary ~ 15 August 2017
August20,2017
Gospel: Luke 1:39-56
Mary set out and traveled to the hill country in haste to a town of Judah, where she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. When Elizabeth heard Mary's greeting, the infant leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth, filled with the Holy Spirit, cried out in a loud voice and said, "Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb. And how does this happen to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? For at the moment the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the infant in my womb leaped for joy. Blessed are you who believed that what was spoken to you by the Lord would be fulfilled."
And Mary said:
"My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord;
my spirit rejoices in God my Savior
for he has looked with favor on his lowly servant.
From this day all generations will call me blessed:
the Almighty has done great things for me
and holy is his Name.
He has mercy on those who fear him
in every generation.
He has shown the strength of his arm,
and has scattered the proud in their conceit.
He has cast down the mighty from their thrones,
and has lifted up the lowly.
He has filled the hungry with good things,
and the rich he has sent away empty.
He has come to the help of his servant Israel
for he has remembered his promise of mercy,
the promise he made to our fathers,
to Abraham and his children forever."
Mary remained with her about three months and then returned to her home.
Homily
The Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary is the oldest feast that we have in our Church dedicated to Mary. It’s been celebrated for at least sixteen hundred years, with the Council of Chalcedon referring to it in the year 451.
The Assumption of Mary shows us that God, who had planned the very first moment of Mary’s life with such extraordinary care, also planned the very last moment of her life just as carefully. At the first moment of her conception in the womb of her mother, St Anne, and by a special privilege of God, Mary was kept free from all stain of sin. We celebrate this great event on December 8, the Immaculate Conception. And then at the last moment of her life, by another special privilege, she was preserved from the corruption of the grave, which we celebrate today.
In the Immaculate Conception the emphasis is on the soul, whereas in the Assumption the emphasis is on the body. Both are important, because both body and soul were made for each other. For all God’s faithful children, death is only a temporary separation of the two, because the body and the soul will be reunited one day at the Resurrection of the Dead, as we clearly see in today in our mother Mary.
The central lesson we learn from the Assumption of Mary is this: While here on earth, the whole person, body and soul, participates in the battle of life, while in the glory of heaven, the whole person, body and soul, will participate in the victory of life. Before you go to bed tonight, make sure that you ask your beautiful Mother to obtain for you the grace you need to enter more fully into this great mystery of our faith, and then offer her a Hail Mary.