August 15, 2021
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There are two homilies posted for this weekend, one for the Vigil Mass and one for the Sunday Mass.
Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary (Vigil Mass)“Mary’s Glory…Beyond Imagining”
Msgr. Thomas Gervasio
In 1950, Ven. Pope Pius XII defined as an article of faith what the Church believed for centuries, that “Mary…after the completion of her earthly life, was assumed body and soul into the glory of heaven.” The Church long understood that God would not allow Mary’s body to experience the corruption of the grave since she was preserved from all stain of sin and carried in her womb the Eternal Son of the Father.
Today’s first reading and Psalm speak of the Ark of Covenant. The Ark was the case that contained the tablets of the Ten Commandments, a golden jar of manna, and Aaron’s staff, symbol of the Jewish priesthood. The sacred Ark was captured by the Philistines and the reading describes its recovery and its return to Jerusalem.
We hear of this today since the Church sees Mary as the New Ark of the Covenant for, she bore in her own body, the Son of God—the fulfillment of the Law, the Bread of Life, and the Eternal High Priest. The wood of the Ark was regarded as incorruptible, and the Church sees this as an illusion to the incorruptibility of Mary’s body. The Ark was also decorated with precious materials and its interior was lined with gold. These are symbolic of Mary’s extraordinary virtues.
But what does this privilege and glory of Mary mean for us? Simply put, the glory that was anticipated in Mary will one day be our glory. Her destiny is our destiny. As Mary was assumed Body and Soul into heaven, so too shall we be. For now, at death, our soul, once purified, goes to heaven but our body will lie in a tomb. But on the last day, when the trumpet shall sound, our body will be joined to our soul.
When I spoke on this some years ago, an elderly woman told me after Mass, “Father, if this old body has to rise, I’m hoping for a new and improved model!” So am I! I want my hair back, my slender figure to return, and knees that work. I want an upgrade from the standard model to the luxury edition. God promises us it will happen! St. Paul says, “He will take these lowly bodies of ours and transform them to be like his own glorified body. [Phil 3:21] He also says: “Just as we have borne the likeness of the earthly man, so shall we bear the likeness of the man from heaven.” [1 Cor 15:49] Today’s feast places this destiny, this end before us. Today’s feast is a summons to fix our eyes on heaven, the only goal of life that really matters.
The late Cardinal, James Hickey wrote, “Perhaps one of the gravest problems facing the Church today is the tendency to allow the heavenly City to slip from our consciences.” Today Our Lady reminds us that we have to move from being earthly to being heavenly. At the Olympics Opening Ceremony in Tokyo last month, they sang John Lennon’s Imagine. The lyrics certainly expressed the desire for unity among all people, but they also asked people to “imagine” something more:“Imagine there’s no heaven…its easy if you try. No hell below us, above us, only sky. Imagine all the people living for today. Imagine there’s no countries, it isn’t hard to do, nothing to kill or die for, and no religion too.”
Today the glorious Virgin Mary asks us not to imagine, but to know there is a heaven for which we are created. Today she reminds us that we should live not only for today or this earth alone but for what awaits us if we are but faithful to the tenets of our religion.
St. Basil the Great said, “The splendor that can be attained on earth is temporary and limited, while that of heaven lasts forever… when the corruptible becomes incorruptible and the mortal, immortal.”
May Our Lady, assumed into heaven, make us worthy of that splendor.
Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary (Day Masses)
The Woman of Revelation—Our Hope and Destiny
Msgr. Thomas Gervasio
In 1950, Ven. Pope Pius XII defined as an article of faith what the Church believed for centuries, that “Mary…after the completion of her earthly life, was assumed body and soul into the glory of heaven.” The Church long understood that God would not allow Mary’s body to experience the corruption of the grave since she was preserved from all stain of sin and carried in her womb the Eternal Son of the Father.
Today’s first reading presents the image of a terrifying dragon. For St. John, the dragon represents the Accuser, the Adversary, Satan, as well as the mighty power of the Roman Empire that was persecuting the Church. Yet, since the Scriptures transcend historical periods, we can also see the dragon representing the dangerous influences of our age: materialism and secularism as well as the sway that the devil exerts today. The dragon symbolizes the current mentality that faith in God is absurd, that the Commandments are a vestige of a past age and that the only thing that counts is “living for today.”
But the reading includes another figure—a woman. The Church has always seen her as the figure of Mary. She is clothed with the sun, which is to say, clothed with God, full of grace. Her crown of twelve stars represents the twelve tribes of Israel and the new Israel, the Church, founded on the twelve apostles
The moon is also part of this picture. It is the symbol of mortality and death. But the moon is under her feet, a reminder that Mary, assumed into heaven, leaves death behind. Death is conquered by the death and resurrection of her Son. While the dragon seeks to devour her child but cannot. Christus vincit! Christus regnat! Christus imperat! [Christ conquers! Christ reigns! Christ rules!] Mary, the Woman of Revelation, the Mother of the Redeemer will take her glorious place in heaven.
Today we celebrate that the glory anticipated in Mary will one day be our glory. Her destiny is our destiny. As Mary was assumed Body and Soul into heaven, so too shall we be. For now, at death, our soul, once purified, goes to heaven but our body will lie in a tomb. But on the last day, when the trumpet shall sound, our body will be joined to our soul.
Years ago, an elderly woman told me: “Father, if this old body has to rise, I’m hoping for a new and improved model!” So am I! I want my hair back, my slender figure to return, and knees that work. I want an upgrade from the standard model to the luxury edition.
God promises us it will happen! St. Paul says, “He will take these lowly bodies of ours and transform them to be like his own glorified body. [Phil 3:21] He also says: “Just as we have borne the likeness of the earthly man, so shall we bear the likeness of the man from heaven.” [1 Cor 15:49] Today’s feast places this destiny, this end before us. Today’s feast is a summons to fix our eyes on heaven, the only goal in life that really matters.
Cardinal James Hickey wrote, “Perhaps one of the gravest problems facing the Church today is the tendency to all the heavenly City to slip from our consciences.” This was reflected at the Olympics Opening Ceremony in Tokyo last month when they sang John Lennon’s Imagine. The lyrics certainly expressed the desire for unity among all people, but they also asked people to “imagine” something more:“Imagine there’s no heaven…its easy if you try. No hell below us, above us, only sky. Imagine all the people living for today. Imagine there’s no countries, it isn’t hard to do, nothing to kill or die for, and no religion too.”
Today the glorious Our Lady asks us not to imagine, but to know there is a heaven for which we are created…that we should live not only for today alone but for what awaits us if we are but faithful to the tenets of our religion.
St. Basil the Great said, “The splendor that can be attained on earth is temporary and limited, while that of heaven lasts forever,…when the corruptible becomes incorruptible and the mortal, immortal.”
May Our Lady, assumed into heaven, make us worthy of that splendor.