Homily for Assumption Year A 2014
1 Rv 11:19a; 12:1-6a, 10ab; Ps 45:10, 11, 12, 16; 1 Cor 15:20-27; Lk 1:39-56
Introduction
I have had the privilege of being around several elderly
priests, who have many interesting stories to share from their long experience
of life. What is interesting, however,
is that when they tell stories about their parents, it is usually the mother
about whom they talk often. Seventy and
eighty years later they say: “Mom did this for me, Mom taught me this, Mom was
like this and so on.”
There is something special in the relationship between a
child and its mother, especially between a boy and his mother, quite different from
the relationship with his father. For most sons, there is nothing they cannot
do for their mother.
That same relationship exists between Jesus and his mother
Mary. And surely, there is nothing Jesus
could not do for his Mother.
Scripture and Theology
Mary acknowledges this, when as we heard in the gospel she cries
out: “The Almighty has done great things
for me.” This line just as the great
song it comes from which we call the Magnificat, is Mary’s response to
Elizabeth saing to her: “Blessed are you
among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb.” But Mary attributes this compliment, these
blessings, not to her own work, but to the Almighty, who has done great things
for her.
The Church agrees with both Elizabeth and Mary, that the
Almighty has done great things for Mary.
And so we Catholics celebrate various Marian feasts to mark the great things
that the Lord did for his mother Mary.
Three of these great things stand out in a special way, and are
celebrated with Holy Days of Obligation, just as important as Sundays, when we
are required to come to Mass.
1.
On December 8th, the Solemnity of the
Immaculate Conception, we celebrate Mary being conceived without original sin. We thank God for making her pure from sin from
the very beginning of her life, throughout her life and at the end of her life.
2.
On January 1st, the Solemnity of Mary
Mother of God, we celebrate another great thing the Almighty did for Mary. We thank god for making her the Mother of the
second person of the Trinity, God the Son.
3.
And today, August 15th, the Solemnity
of the Assumption, we celebrate yet another great thing that the Lord did for
Mary. We thank God for taking her up to
heaven, body and soul where she is glorified with her Son.
Now if you noticed in the gospel, when Mary sings the
Magnificat and glorifies the Lord for his goodness to her, the focus is not
just on her. Yes, Mary is grateful and
honoured that the Lord “has looked with
favor on his lowly servant; [and] from this day all generations will call me
blessed.” But Mary is also grateful
for the things the Lord has done for his people Israel.
·
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.
And Mary is grateful that the Lord has given her the
privilege of playing a part in all these things, by being the mother of the
Son, Jesus, who will bring about all these things: mercy, redemption, lifting
up the lowly. And so if Mary is grateful
for the many things God has done for her, she is even more grateful for the
many things the Lord has done for his people, especially bringing them his
mercy and saving them from death.
As Paul told the Corinthians in today’s second reading,
Christ’s death has conquered death forever.
And in the words of John, God has promised all who believe in him, that
as a result, we shall be with him and the angels for all eternity, being like
him and seeing him as he is. Mary, not
only plays a great part in bringing about these things, in the Magnificat, she
is grateful to God for bringing them about.
Christian Life
My friends, today’s feast, should help us on our Christian
journey in two main ways:
First, let us be reassured that the third great thing the
Almighty did for Mary, taking her into heaven body and soul, that great thing
he has promised to do for us as well.
What Jesus did for his mother Mary, he also does for us his brothers and
sisters. The Lord said: “Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood
has eternal life, and I will raise him on the last day.” The Assumption should remind us of this good
and great thing the Almighty has done for us too, by redeeming us from our sins
and now opening the doors of heaven, not just to our souls, but also to our
bodies. We are headed heavenward; let
heaven be the address we enter into the GPS of our lives; and then we shall be
guided, turn by turn, sometimes recalculating or rerouting when we have made
the wrong turn by sin, sometimes taking detours when we need to avoid the
traffic jams of temptation, but always directing us to our goal of being
assumed like Mary into heaven.
The second message for us to take from today’s feast is one
of gratitude, like Mary. Can we look back and appreciate the great things the
Lord has done for us personally, like our family, friends, job etc, and the
great things the Lord has done for us as the Body of Christ? Let the Magnificat song, be the model for our
personal prayer. Before asking God for
favours, let us first thank him for the ones he has already given us, like Mary
does in the Magnificat!
·
Perhaps at the end of the day before we go to
bed, we can take a moment to recount the small graces and blessings which the
Almighty has done for us; that lovely visit with friends, the good news from
the doctor, the harmony in the family.
·
Perhaps every few months and especially at the
end of the year, we remember the many blessings the Lord has given us.
·
But most importantly, like Mary we thank the
Lord for the really great and important things has done for all of us, like
salvation, mercy, the keys to heaven.
Although these are not immediate things, they are all that really
matters in the final analysis.
Conclusion
My friends,
Mary is both our intercessor and mother.
What mother does not want to share her blessings with the children! Let us look forward to the day when we too
can share the Assumption with her. In the meantime, let us ask her to remember
us as we continue our journey on earth and to intercede for us with her Son
that we may remain faithful to our call as faithful disciples, knowing God’s
will at all times.
And then
when each of us shows up at the Almighty’s door, he will recognize us saying,
“you look like one of Mary’s children; come on in! Come, join the company of your Blessed mother
and be with her, for all eternity.”
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