A Homily for the Feast of the Assumption

​In view of the possible reintroduction of legislation threatening the sanctity of life here in France, our dear Bishop, Mgr Rey, has asked that today, the Patronal feast of France, be a particular day of prayer that innocent human life may everywhere respected from the moment of conception to the moment of natural death. May Our Lady of the Assumption intercede for France and for the world!
 
+  Gaudeamus omnes in Domino, the introit of this Holy Mass sings—and rightly, for in her Assumption body and soul into heaven at the end of her life on earth, the Blessed Virgin Mary has, by means of a singular privilege granted by Almighty God, shown us the path that is also to be ours if we persevere unto the end: unending life, body and soul, with God and all those who have been faithful to Him!
 
The Assumption of our Blessed Lady is not, however, an isolated event. It is the consummation of her earthly life, and just as her Assumption into heaven is a great encouragement and consolation, we must not think of it as a panacea that ‘covers all’, as it were, or as some form of promise of universal salvation whereby regardless of our own cooperation with God’s grace (or more to the point, of our frequent lack of cooperation with it) we think that by some miracle everything will be fine in the end.
 
No. To receive the unmerited gift of eternal life, body and soul, we must imitate the virtues of the Blessed Virgin Mary and persevere as she herself persevered.
 
We must be ready to say with her “I am the handmaid of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word,” (Lk 1:38) when God’s will is made known to us, no matter how unexpected or even terrifying it is, and how unready or unable we believe ourselves to be. So too, when we encounter the action of Almighty God, we must follow her example and ponder these things in our hearts (cf. Lk 2:19) allowing their reality to take root and grow in the fertile soil of silent contemplation quod fructum suum dabit in tempore suo as we sing at Prime on Monday—that they may bring forth their fruit in due season. (Ps. 1:3) Holy Mother Church, in placing before us Mary, the contemplative sister of Martha, in today’s Holy Gospel insists that we, too, do not neglect the “one thing necessary” (Lk 10:42) by giving time to the contemplation of the things of God, no matter what our particular vocation.
 
We must also be willing to intervene, even boldly, when we see a true need, as did Our Lady at the Wedding in Cana, and be prepared to instruct others to “Do whatever he tells you.” (Jn 2:5) And we must be ready to be astonished and perplexed and even worried at the designs of God, which so often transgress our expectations and plans, and again be willing to invest in pondering these things in our heart as did the Blessed Virgin after her young Son rebuked her for her natural anxiety at his being lost when all the while He was teaching in the Temple. (cf. Lk 2:41-51)
 
Ultimately, we must also be ready to suffer and to stand at the foot of the Cross, to allow the sword of sorrow to pierce our souls also, (cf. Lk 2:35) clinging always to the faith that even in the darkest moments—especially in them!—God is at work in us and for us, and that our perseverance in faith in Him shall not go unrewarded.
 
My brothers and sisters, the Blessed Virgin Mary is not some goddess who will wave a wand and absolve us of all effort, worry or responsibility. She is a wise and loving mother who shows us the path of trust, faith, suffering and perseverance that each of us must walk in this life if indeed we are to enjoy eternal life, body and soul, in heaven.
 
She is there to assist us with her intercession, to be sure, which is why the Church so strongly recommends that we have great devotion to her in the time-honoured ways that have grown up over the centuries. But she is not the mother of ‘short-cuts’ or of ‘spiritual discounts’. She is a mother who accompanies us with love and merciful prayer in each moment of our life, whose example continually leads us to her Son, ever reminding us that we are to do as He tells us.
 
As we go to His altar this morning let us ask Our Blessed Lady to intercede for us anew, that we may have an ever-greater faith and trust in her Son, that in persevering along the path she walked, we too may come to enjoy the heavenly glory she now enjoys. +