Homily Assumption Vigil 2007

It was in 1950 that Pope Pius XII
solemnly defined the teaching of the Assumption of Mary…
that Mary was assumed…body and soul…into heaven.

Although the Assumption was not officially defined as a doctrine of the Church
until recently…
the Church has believed in it since her earliest centuries.

Tradition tell us that St. Thomas was absent when Mary died,
and, as He doubted the resurrection and wanted to see Jesus’ wounds…
so he wanted to see Mary’s body for himself.

So the Apostles took him to Mary’s tomb.
There they found the tomb empty.

As Mary is assumed…body and soul…into heavenly glory…
she drops down her veil to Saint Thomas…
as a sign that she has passed into her eternal reward.

The Assumption has been celebrated by Catholics
of both the Roman and Eastern rites
since at least the sixth century.

The Church has always believed that Mary’s body was taken up to heaven
and never was allowed to be corrupted.
God, in his wisdom, chose Mary from eternity to be the mother of Jesus.

Because of the singular role she would play in the plan of salvation…
she was immaculately conceived…
preserved from all stain of original sin…
to be the perfect vessel which would bear the savior.

And so it was fitting that she was freed from the corruption of death,
which is the effect of sin.

The Eastern Catholic Church celebrates today the “Dormition of Mary”…
for they have always believed that Mary did not even experience death…
but simply “fell asleep” as was taken up into heaven by her Son.

However we believe it to have happened…
we have faith that Mary has been taken up into heaven…
where she now lives with her Son.

Blessed truly is the Holy and Immaculate Virgin Mother of God!

Blessed truly is the womb that bore Christ our Savior…
and blessed truly the breasts that nursed Him!

Blessed is she who now lives forever with God!


[PAUSE]
Because Mary has been assumed into heaven…
she is united to Jesus…her son and her God…
and already shares in the fruits of His Resurrection.

In the order of grace she is our Mother too…
the loving helper and advocate of all who believe in her Son.

We place our faith in the reality that Mary is at the side of Jesus…
interceding for us
and giving us hope that we can attain heavenly glory ourselves.

The Feast of the Assumption…of the Dormition…is a sign of hope for the world!

Yet, if we hope to go where she has gone…
we must live as she lived!

As Jesus responds to the woman who praises His mother in today’s Gospel…
“Rather, blessed are those who hear the world of God and keep it!”

Blessed shall we be…
if we have truly heard the Word of God and kept it with fidelity.

God reveals Himself to us both through the Holy Scriptures…
and through the Tradition of the Church.


From both these sources we draw our spiritual nourishment…
and the true faith on which we center our lives.

The Bible is not a book among many others
that is meant to sit on a shelf and collect dust.

It is to be read and its wisdom absorbed.

We read a significant amount of the Holy Scriptures in the celebration of Mass…
and it is also very good for us to take time at home to read the Bible.

We can begin with the Gospels of the Psalms…
and just read a few verses or one chapter each day…
taking time to reflect on how God’s word speaks to our own hearts…
and challenges us to change our lives for the better.

At the same time, the teachings of the Church…
through which God also reveals Himself to us…
are also not to be ignored as archaic texts
or the imaginings of a distant pope.

Instead, the teaching of the Church is the teaching of Christ…
meant to give direction and purpose to our lives.

So we should always be in contact with what is happening in the Church
and take time to read documents released by the Vatican…
which are always available online.
The Catechism should be found in each of our homes…
and also should not gather dust…but be read and treasured…
for it contains the teaching Christ desires to share with us.

Blessed truly shall we be if we hear the Word of God…
and treasure it…and observe it…and allow ourselves to be formed by it!

[PAUSE]
As we come now to receive the Body and Blood
of the same Jesus whom she once held in her loving arms…
may we strive to love Him as she did.

May we live as she lived…
and be found always reading and putting into action the word of God…
that we may at last attain to the glory she now enjoys!

Holy Mary, pray for us!