Solemnity of the Assumption

Today we celebrate the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary into Heaven. That is we celebrate that the Virgin Mary at the end of her earthly life was taken up body and soul into the glory of heaven. It seems only fitting that this great event and article of faith should be celebrated because of the Blessed Mothers privileged place in the order of creation. Her dignity and beauty as the Mother of God is brought to fulfillment as she enters the place prepared for her from the foundation of the world. Certainly a worthy event to celebrate in honor of the Blessed Virgin Mary. However mothers never really get a day off and so neither does the Blessed Mother. Why? Because she is our Mother and on each of her feast days and on those of her Son she desires to give gifts to her children as she receives their prayers and acclamations.

What particular gift then does our Blessed Mother desire to give her children on this Feast of Her Assumption? Hope! In truth this day is a great celebration of Hope. Hope for eternal life. Hope for forgiveness. Hope for healing. Hope for comfort. Hope for blessings. Hope for mercy. Hope for faith. Hope for love. Mary truly is the hope of the hopeless for she has been given all these gifts by her Divine Spouse the Holy Spirit in the gift of The Son, according to the Will of the Father. Thus we see in the Gospel that her soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord, and her spirit exults in God her Savior. In her Assumption then we see the fulfillment of all her hope and she assures us that all our hope will be fulfilled as well.

As Christians we live in the world but we are not of the world. We are of the Kingdom of God which has begun in Christ but has yet come to fulfillment. While we wait we live in the world with all it's struggles and sufferings. But as we pray at mass each day we wait in joyful hope for the coming of our Savior Jesus Christ. In Mary's Assumption we see the fulfillment of all our hope. The feast then is meant to sustain us as we wait in joyful hope. As our Mother Mary sustains us along with her Most Beloved Spouse the Holy Spirit in this vale of tears that is our daily life in all our struggles and sufferings.

How does this happen? You see Mary's Assumption is the culmination of her life lived in the Holy Spirit as daughter, as wife, and as mother, but most importantly in all these she was a disciple following the promptings of the Holy Spirit which eventually brought to her her Son. The Savior of the world, the Son of God the fruit of her womb, Jesus the Word made Flesh who she followed even on the way of the cross. The truth of Mary's discipleship and her Assumption go hand in hand and this is how she is the cause of our Hope. Living in the fire of the Holy Spirits Love she did the will of the Father, she followed His Son, her Son living a life of Grace that culminates in her Assumption. We too have been given the gift of the Holy Spirit and are called to live in the fire of His love that we too may do the Fathers will in the following of Jesus Christ our Savior in this life of grace. The Assumption of Mary teaches us to seek our own sanctification and that of others( which comes from the Holy Spirit) in the midst of our ordinary duties of life, while at the same time it encourages us to keep our eyes fixed upon Heaven and the place prepared for us from the foundation of the world.