Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today we celebrate the Solemnity of the Assumption of the

Blessed Virgin Mary. Or if I am to use other words, today we celebrate what the gospel calls
the great things that the Almighty has done for Mary, in bringing her to share in a unique way
in the risen life of Jesus. What does the Assumption mean? The Assumption refers to the
moment when Mary, the Holy Mother of God was taken up body and soul into Heaven. It
marks the end of her existence in this world as she went to be reunited with her beloved Son,
Our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ in Heaven.

The Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary is one of four important dogmas of our faith
concerning Mary, namely; 1) The Dogma of the Divine Motherhood of Mary, 2) The Dogma of
the Perpetual Virginity of Mary, 3) The Dogma of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed
Virgin Mary, and 4) The Dogma of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

It was on November 1, 1950, when Pope Pius XII defined the Assumption of Mary as a dogma
of faith as he declared that, “The immaculate Mother of God, the ever Virgin Mary,
having completed the course of her earthly life, was assumed body and soul to
heavenly glory.”

Now scripture does not give an account of Mary‟s Assumption into heaven. However, the role
of Mary in God‟s plan of salvation and Mary‟s close association with all the mysteries of Jesus‟
life, help us to appreciate this great mystery of Mary‟s Assumption into heaven.

Mary had a unique relationship with Jesus throughout her earthly life. She carried Jesus in her
womb for nine months. Having given birth to Jesus, she cared for and looked after him in the
way that any mother cares for her child. She lived under the same roof as him for the first
thirty years of his life. She was there throughout his public ministry, even if in the background.
She was there at the foot of the cross. She was there with the disciples when the Holy Spirit
came down upon them all at the first Pentecost. Just as Mary had a unique relationship with
Jesus during her earthly life, the church believes that she now has a unique relationship with
the risen Lord in heaven. She has come to share fully in his risen life.

Mary‟s relationship with Jesus in this life wasn‟t so unique as to leave her remote from us. Yes,
she was the mother of Jesus, but she was also a disciple of Jesus, and we are all called to be
the Lord‟s disciples. Her life shows us what it means to be the Lord‟s disciple. Today‟s gospel
reading is Luke‟s account of Mary‟s visit to Elizabeth. Just before this gospel reading, we have
Luke‟s account of the annunciation to Mary. The angel Gabriel declared to Mary that God had
chosen her to be the mother of his Son. After struggling to come to terms with what was being
asked of her, Mary eventually declared, „Here I am, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me
according to your word‟. Luke portrays Mary here as a woman of faith, who surrenders to
God‟s will for her life, God‟s purpose for her life. It is this faith which Elizabeth recognizes in
today‟s gospel reading, „Blessed is she who believed that the promise made her by the Lord
would be fulfilled‟. Mary believed and surrendered to God‟s word as spoken to her by Gabriel.
She allowed God‟s word to shape her whole life. Later in Luke‟s gospel, Jesus will say „my
mother and brothers are those who hear the word of God and do it‟. Mary was above all a
woman who heard God‟s word and did it. This is the essence of faith. Through baptism, we are
all called to such faith, and Jesus declares that those who, like Mary, hear the word of God and
keep it, will become his brothers and sisters.

Today‟s gospel reading gives us an insight into how Mary expressed her faith. In his letter to
the Galatians, Saint Paul declares, „the only thing that counts is faith working through love‟,
faith expressing itself in love. The faith that Mary displayed at the Annunciation immediately
found expression in love. She made the long journey from Nazareth in Galilee to the hill
country of Judah to be with her relative Elizabeth who was also with child. This is one of the
ways our faith finds expression today. We journey to others in love. Mary brought the Lord to
Elizabeth in a very physical sense, carrying him in her womb. Elizabeth recognized what was
happening, „Why should I be honoured with a visit from the mother of my Lord?‟ When we
journey towards others in faith and love, we too bring the Lord to them. The Lord wants to
visit others through us, to speak to others through us. A little later in Luke‟s gospel, when he is
sending out the seventy on mission Jesus says to them, „whoever listens to you, listens to me‟.
The name „Christopher‟ literally means Christ bearer or Christ carrier. Mary was the supreme
Christopher and we are all called to be a Christopher in our own place and time, in accordance
with our own qualities and gifts.

Today‟s gospel shows that Mary‟s faith not only found expression in love, it also found
expression in prayer. At the end of his first letter to the Thessalonians, Saint Paul calls on the
church, „Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances‟. In response to
Elizabeth‟s greeting, Mary immediately praised and gave thanks to God. God was the horizon
within which Mary moved. God was at the heart of all her human relationships of love,
including her relationship with Elizabeth. In a sense, Mary exemplifies the two great
commandments, to love God with all one‟s being and to love our neighbour as ourselves. One
of the ways our love of God finds expression is through prayer. Mary‟s prayer, the Magnificat,
has been prayed by believers down through the centuries.

If Mary exemplifies a life of faith that finds expression in love and prayer, she also shows
where such a life ultimately leads. Those who follow this path, in the words of Paul in today‟s
second reading, „will be brought to life in Christ‟. Mary shows us that all who bring Christ into
the lives of others will be brought to life in Christ beyond this earthly life.

Coming to our readings of today, the opening words of the first reading from the Book of
Revelation, gives us a glimpse of Mary‟s glorious life, „a woman, adorned with the sun,
standing on the moon, and with the twelve stars on her head for a crown‟.
Yet, at the same time, the first reading speaks of a battle between the woman and the dragon.
After delivering her baby, she suffered a great tribulation from which God protected her and
her offspring. The woman signifies both Mary, who gave birth to Jesus, and by extension, the
church who continues to give birth to Jesus from generation to generation through the lives of
its members. Mary, in that sense, is an image of the church and, so, when we look to Mary, we
can learn a lot about ourselves as disciples of the Lord.

In the gospel reading, St. Elizabeth addresses Mary as „the mother of my Lord‟. This
confirms to us the Dogma of the Divine Motherhood of Mary;

God chose Mary to represent the power of grace and to express the victory of good over evil.
In so doing, what the first Eve lost, the second Eve retained.

According to Apostolic tradition, as Mary loved her Son so much, after having lived several
more years past the time of her Son‟s Resurrection and Ascension into Heaven, the great love
that Mary had for her Son led her to experience death, sharing the same death that her Son
experienced for our sake. And when the time came for her to say goodbye to this world, the
Apostles were gathered and asked for Mary‟s last blessing, and she entered a sleep of death,
and she was placed in the tomb. One tradition stated that because St. Thomas, one of the
Apostles could not be there to see Mary one last time, he demanded to see the Mother of God
one last time.

When the Apostles and the other assembled disciples opened her tomb, they were all surprised
to find that not only that there was no trace of decomposition, but the body of the Blessed
Virgin Mother of God herself had disappeared, replaced by a bed of roses. It was evident to all
then that because her Son had been triumphant over sin and death, He would not have let her
to experience the degradation of death, and took her up into Heaven, body and soul. And that
is the story of how the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, came to be.

We commemorate Her Glorious Assumption into Heaven every time we pray the Glorious
Mysteries of the Holy Rosary.

Then, brothers and sisters in Christ, how is this crucial for us? How is it important for us to
appreciate this celebration of the Assumption of Mary, the Blessed ever-Virgin Mother of God?
Mary‟s Assumption into Heaven first of all is an assurance for us that we have someone who is
always ever constantly praying for us, and who intercedes for us directly beside the Throne of
her Son. For Mary is indeed the greatest of all the saints, and the one closest to Our Lord
Himself, as is she not His mother? Just like the occasion of the miracle of the wedding at Cana,
even the Lord would still listen to the words of His loving mother.

And that is not all, brothers and sisters in Christ, for in the Assumption of Mary, we also see
the promise of new life and existence that we ourselves are going to experience in the time to
come, as we will also be raised to Heaven, body and soul, at the end of time, when the final
judgment comes, and our souls shall be reunited fully with our bodies, glorified, purified and
blessed, that we may enjoy forever, with Mary, and with all the saints, the glory and true joy
of Heaven with God forevermore.

Our Blessed Virgin Mary is always available to pray for us and to deliver our prayers to His Son
our Lord Jesus Christ. As stated above, She sits at the right hand of her Son, so let‟s all pray
through her to plead to Her Son to shower us with mercies and grace. She is the best gift that
we Catholic Faithfuls have found and embraced.

Prayer: Oh Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of our Lord Jesus Christ, we beg you to constantly
pray for us to your Son so that we may never lack His graces and mercies. When we are
unable to pray due to our worldly commitments, sickness and especially at the hour of our
death, always pray for us. Amen.

Now there is a common misunderstanding that the Assumption of Mary is similar to the Lord‟s
Ascension into heaven. thinking that we believe in Mary‟s „Ascension‟ into heaven

Today’s gospel: In the Magnificat, the song of Mary given in today‟s Gospel, Mary
acknowledges that “the Almighty has done great things” for her. Besides honoring her as
Jesus‟ mother, God has blessed her with the gift of bodily Assumption. God, who has “lifted
up” His “lowly servant” Mary, lifts up all the lowly, not only because they are faithful, but also
because God is faithful to the promise of Divine mercy. Thus, the feast of the Assumption
celebrates the mercy of God, or the victory of God‟s mercy as expressed in Mary‟s Magnificat.
As the new Eve, Mary shares intimately in the fruit of the redemption and so is assumed body
and soul into Heaven.

Life messages: #1: Mary‟s Assumption gives us the assurance and hope of our own
resurrection and assumption into Heaven on the day of our Last Judgment. It is a sign to us
that someday, through God‟s grace and our good life, we, too, will join the Blessed Mother in
giving glory to God. It points the way for all followers of Christ who imitate Mary‟s fidelity and
obedience to God‟s will.

#2: Since Mary‟s Assumption was a reward for her saintly life, this feast reminds us that we,
too, must be pure and holy in body and soul, since our bodies will be glorified on the day of
our resurrection. St. Paul tells us that our bodies are the temples of God because the Holy
Spirit dwells within us. He also reminds us that our bodies are members (parts) of the Body of
Christ.

#3: This feast also gives us the message of total liberation. Jesus tells us in John 8:34 that
everyone who sins is a slave of sin, and St. Paul reminds us (Gal 5:1), that, since Christ has set
us free, we should be slaves of sin no more. Thus, the Assumption encourages us to work
with God to be liberated from the bondage of evil: from impure, unjust and uncharitable
thoughts and habits, and from the bonds of jealousy, envy, and hatred.

#4: Finally, it is always an inspiring thought in our moments of temptation and despair to
remember that we have a powerful heavenly Mother, constantly interceding for us before her
Son, Jesus, in Heaven. The feast of Mary‟s Assumption challenges us to imitate her self-
sacrificing love, her indestructible Faith and her perfect obedience. Therefore, on this feast day
of our heavenly Mother, let us offer ourselves on the altar and pray for her special care and
loving protection in helping us lead a purer and holier life.

Then, the Assumption should also not be confused with the Ascension, as the Assumption
refers to the moment when Mary was taken up into Heaven by the will of God, by the power of
her Son, taking her up body and soul into Heaven to be by His side, while the Ascension refers
to the moment when the Lord Himself, the Son of God, by His own power and will, ascended
into Heaven to return to His Throne and rightful place. There now the Lord reigns over us, with
His mother Mary by His side, and her always interceding and praying for our sake.