The Assumption

 

Readings 081526 

Blessed be God.

Praise be to Jesus Christ, now and forever.

Come, Holy Spirit—fill us with joy,

set our hearts ablaze with Your presence.

Amen.

Brothers and sisters,

there is a strange hostility in the world toward the Blessed Mother.

You hear harsh, confused claims—

sometimes even from those who call themselves Christian.

Not long ago I heard a preacher shouting,

“Mary is not the Mother of God!”

again and again, as if volume could replace truth.

But to deny Mary as Mother of God

is to deny that Jesus is truly God.

They do not understand,

and they do not try to.

And yet—

sometimes a child sees clearly

what adults refuse to see.

My grandson was explaining the Church to his new sister.

He pointed around and said,

“This is God’s house.”

Then he looked toward the tabernacle:

“That’s Jesus’ house,

and He lives there with his momma, Mary.”

My daughter corrected him gently:

“That’s Jesus’ house.

Mary isn’t there.”

He paused, puzzled,

and then said something simple and profound:

“Well… doesn’t Jesus love His mother?

I love you,

and I live with you.

And when I grow up,

I’m going to take care of you forever.”

Why does a six‑year‑old understand

what the world cannot?

The Church gives Mary a unique honor—

hyperdulia—

because in her,

grace reached its fullest human flowering.

And today we celebrate one of the Church’s great dogmas:

that Mary, at the end of her earthly life,

was taken body and soul

into heavenly glory.

This is not a new idea.

It is ancient—

believed from the earliest days of the Church.

And it is one of only two infallible proclamations

ever made by a pope.

But this belief does not float in isolation.

It rises from everything God accomplished in her.

If the Lord looks on the heart,

then in Mary’s heart

He found perfect humility,

perfect trust,

perfect readiness

for His saving plan.

Her whole life was already a “yes”

stretching toward heaven.

And Scripture gives us a vision

that matches this truth:

a woman clothed with the sun,

the moon beneath her feet,

a crown of twelve stars—

not myth,

not symbol,

but Mary

standing in the radiance

of God’s own victory.

The dragon rages,

as evil always does

when holiness draws near.

Yet the Child is lifted to the throne,

and the woman is sheltered

in the heart of God.

This is the pattern of her life:

grace received,

grace protected,

grace fulfilled.

Then the Gospel brings us closer—

from cosmic glory

to quiet obedience.

Mary does all she does

with no spotlight,

no applause,

never drawing attention to herself—

just love and obedience to God.

And from her presence,

and from the One who dwells within her,

joy leaps,

faith awakens,

blessing fills the room.

This is the woman

God assumed into heaven—

the one whose presence

makes souls rise.

And here the Assumption finds its center:

Mary believed.

She believed the promise

would be fulfilled.

And because she believed,

God raised her—

body and soul—

into the fullness of His Kingdom.

Her Assumption is not escape;

it is completion—

God revealing

what He intends

for every faithful heart.

Christ rises first.

Mary follows.

And we—

in our own time,

in our own small obediences—

are invited into that same rising.

Grace draws us upward toward the life she already shares.

Friends, lift your eyes.

Let hope stand beside you.

Let Mary’s faith steady your steps.

Let her joy teach your heart

how to leap again.

Blessed are you

who believe

that what the Lord has spoken

will be fulfilled.

Heaven is Jesus' house

Where He is seated 

at the right hand of the Father.

And be sure, 

He lives there with His mother

Be like Mary—

good and holy.

Preach the Gospel

by the way you live,

love,

and forgive one another.

Praise be to Jesus Christ, 

now and forever. Amen