Evening of 8/14/2015 – Vigil for the Assumption of Mary – Luke 11:27-28

     As the woman shouts to Jesus from the crowd, “Blessed is the womb that bore you…”, perhaps we recall some of the words that Mary proclaims in her Magnificat: “All generations will call me blessed.”  Today, we celebrate the Vigil for the Assumption of Mary, a solemnity in our Holy Catholic Church. The Assumption of Mary is normally a holy day of obligation, but because it falls on a Saturday this year, it is not a holy day of obligation for us.  Still, I think it is an important day for us to celebrate in our faith, which is why we are celebrating the Vigil mass for the Assumption today.  Mary has accompanied the faithful since the days of Jesus.  She continues to accompany us today in so many ways.  Yet, in response to what the woman in the crowd proclaims, Jesus points out that it is union with God that is important and central in our lives.

      What exactly do we celebrate today on the Assumption of Mary?  We believe that the Blessed Mother was assumed into heaven at the end of her earthly life – assumed both body and soul.  Mary’s assumption is different than Jesus’ ascension into heaven because it is passive; it is by the power of Almighty God that Mary was assumed into heaven.  The Assumption of Mary was a long-held belief amongst the faithful, but it was not until 1950 that Pope Pius XII declared the Assumption of Mary to be a Dogma of our Catholic faith, that it is a true and necessary part of our Catholic beliefs about Mary. Like all we believe about Mary, the Assumption illustrates to us the truth about Christ’s promise of eternal life and the resurrection of the faithful.  Like all things about Mary, our belief in her Assumption points us to greater love for her Son and a greater closeness to our faith.

      Mary, the Mother of our Lord, the Mother of our Holy Church, is always their to help bring wholeness and healing and health into our lives.  In this way, it is wonderful that today we also happen to be celebrating the Sacrament of the Anointing of the Sick in our mass.  As we honor Mary today, let us feel her motherly love for us in the Sacraments we are receiving today.