Tuesday, August 9, 2011

Monday, 8-15-2011 – Homily for the Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary – Luke 1: 39-56


        As we celebrate the solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary into Heaven today, I think it is interesting to look at the history of this important day in our Church.  Devotions, prayers, and celebrations around the welcome of Mary into heaven go back to the early fourth century.  By the fifth century, the Assumption appears in the liturgical books in Jerusalem, and by the seventh century, its recognition spread throughout the whole Latin world.  However, it was not until November 1, 1950 that Pope Pius XII officially declared this as a doctrine and infallible belief of our faith, asserting “that when the course of her earthly life was finished, Mary was taken up, body and soul, into the glory of heaven.”  And even though the pope has the power himself to declare an infallible doctrine of our faith, he consulted the bishops all over the world and theologians of the major Catholic seminaries and universities and asked them if this was what they and their community believed as Catholics.  Pope Pius XII put into our official doctrine what the Catholic faithful believed about the Blessed Mother for centuries about her assumption into heaven.
         I think that the comments that Pope Pius XII made regarding the declaration of this doctrine of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary are very profound and speak loudly to us in our own day.  These same values are reflected in the Magnificat that we hear in today's Gospel reading.  The doctrine of the Assumption was declared in 1950: in the fifty years that preceded it, the world had seen untold millions of lives lost in the genocide in Armenia, World War I, the Russian Revolution, the Holocaust, and World War II. In addition, this time period had seen the invention of weapons of mass destruction, such as the atomic bomb.   Pope Pius specifically referred to these moments in history, to the destruction of human life, and to the loss of reverence and respect for the God-given identity of every human being.  Pope Pius XII declared in very clear language: “I intend that the celebration of the Assumption of Mary might make clear the sacredness and high destiny of every single human person.”  Look at where we are today, more than half a century after Pope Pius' declaration: violence and murders take place in our communities at alarming rates, terrorists and suicide bombers kill innocent lives, and our state of Mississippi very proudly implements the death penalty on prisoners and still sanctions legalized abortion.  We still need the message of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary so desperately in our lives.  By honoring the destiny of a poor young girl from Nazareth, we might remember to honor and respect one another, and all our brothers and sisters on earth. 
         On the solemnity of the Assumption, we celebrate that Mary was taken up into heaven as a whole person, body and soul.  Properly understood, the Assumption, along with the other doctrines and devotions to the Blessed Virgin of our Catholic faith, always brings us more deeply into the mystery of her son, our Lord Jesus Christ.  As the Magnificat that Mary sings foreshadows Jesus' ministry and teachings, giving us a glimpse into his proclamation of God's kingdom, Mary, our Mother, always leads us to the Son.  As we celebrate this holy day, let us turn our eyes toward heaven during today's Eucharistic celebration.  There, Jesus and Mary await us in the company of the saints, as they make up, for all eternity, the Mystical Body of Christ.  Let us pray for the intercessions of Mary, our Blessed Mother, in order that through her, we might receive within us the Body and Blood of her Son for the glory of God.  

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