HOMILY FOR THE SOLEMNITY OF THE ASSUMPTION OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY
Rev. Fr. Ezekoka Peter Onyekachi
Revelation 11:19; 12:1-6, 10 1 Cor 15:20-26 Luke 1:39-56
The Solemnity of the Assumption celebrates the taking-up into heaven of the body and soul of the Blessed Virgin Mary at the point of her death. In the Apostolic Constitution Munificentissimus Deus dated 1st November 1950, Pope Ven. Pius XII defined what had long been held by the people of God to be true. St John Damascene wrote that “It was fitting that she, who had kept her virginity in childbirth, should keep her own body free from all corruption even after death. It was fitting that she, who had carried the Creator as a child at her breast, should dwell in the divine tabernacles … it was fitting that God’s Mother should possess what belongs to her Son, and that she should be honoured by every creature as the Mother and the Handmaid of God.” St Germanus of Constantinople composed the following hymn: “Your name is Our Lady. You alone are Mother of God and raised high over all the earth. O Spouse of God, we celebrate you with faith, we honour you with longing, we venerate you with awe; at every moment we exalt you and reverently proclaim you blessed.”
The first reading today, taken from Revelation, concerns two signs. The first sign appeared in the sky, a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars. The woman is the Theotokos (the “God-bearer”) and the unborn child is God Incarnate, the Lord Jesus. Can you remember what story in the Scriptures is directly related to this one? It’s the story about Joseph – he of the coat of many colours – who dreamt that the sun, moon and eleven stars were bowing down to him (Gen 37:9-11). In the story, the sun represented his father Jacob (also called Israel), the moon represented his mother Rachel, and the eleven stars represented his 11 brothers. The dream foretold how Jacob’s family and the future nation of Israel would be saved from disaster through Joseph. The episode in Genesis mirrors today’s episode in Revelation. How come? Because, by Our Lady’s gracious ‘fiat’ – “let it be done to me according to thy word” - to become the Mother of the Saviour (Lk 1:38), the children of God begotten by faith were-and-are saved from sin and restored to fellowship with God.
In the Magnificat (Lk 1:46-55; cf. Jud ch.13), the canticle of praise that follows Our Lady’s ‘fiat’, she declares that “all generations shall call me blessed” (Lk 1:48). In the intervening verses, Our Lady has gone to visit her elderly cousin Elizabeth who is six months pregnant with the precursor, the forerunner, of the Divine Child. As soon as Mary, the Ark of the Covenant bearing God within her, enters the house, Elizabeth announces the advent of the Incarnate Lord to the world by articulating, “Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb” (Lk 1:41ff). As the Mother of God, Mary is nearer to the triune God than any of His creatures or angels. She occupies the highest place of honour amongst all creatures and is therefore the Queen of Heaven. As Queen of Heaven, she is at the right hand of her Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, to intercede for us poor sinners. She, the Mediatrix of all graces, is a channel of grace for us.
There are no relics or mementoes of Mary. She was not divine, but she was singularly favoured. She perfectly manifested what God intended mankind to be. Mary provides us with the gold-standard example of faith, and she gives us the hope of ultimate triumph over sin and death. She did not see clearly all that was in store for her by God, but she put her trust in Him. She would, like her Son Jesus, be rebuffed and frustrated by a lot of things, but she trusted, obeyed and kept on going. She paid a heavy price for her perfection because she suffered more than others. The last words of her Son from the cross were “Behold your Mother” - a sign, an indication, of what He wants us to do. He wants us to look to Mary for help, because she has the power of intercession to lead us into glory where our souls and bodies will be reunited.
Finally, the Solemnity of the Assumption reminds us of the dignity and destiny of the human body, and why we must take care of it because it is God-given. Death was not part of God’s plan. By sin, death came into the world. The world at the time Our Lady was born was (as it is today) a moral sore. Our culture is afraid to talk of death and dying, preferring to use the euphemism of “passing away”. The grace of the Assumption recalls us to the innate dignity of the human body because of Who created it and gifted us with it. Conceived without Original sin, our blessed Mother was not allowed to see corruption but was taken up body and soul into heaven. Like hers, our bodies are sacred. We bear Our Lord in our bodies after receiving Holy Communion. Mary, spouse of the Holy Spirit, bore Jesus in her womb for nine months. Conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit, Jesus received His human body and blood from her, and she carried His DNA in her blood for the rest of her life on earth. Jesus raised Himself from the dead, and He raised Mary into heaven at the point of her death.
May the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Mother of God and our Mother, continue to intercede for us throughout the struggles of this earthly life. Amen. God bless you.
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