August 15th 2021 – Feast of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin

GOSPEL: Luke 1, 39-56

 

Translated from a homily on Vatican Radio by Don Fabio Rosini

 

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GOSPEL: Luke 1, 39-56 

Mary set out at that time and went as quickly as she could to a town in the hill country of Judah. She went into Zechariah’s house and greeted Elizabeth. Now as soon as Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the child leapt in her womb and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. She gave a loud cry and said,
‘Of all women you are the most blessed,
and blessed is the fruit of your womb.
Why should I be honoured with a visit from the mother of my Lord?
For the moment your greeting reached my ears, the child in my womb leapt for joy.
Yes, blessed is she who believed that the promise made her by the Lord would be fulfilled.’

And Mary said:
My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord
and my spirit exults in God my saviour;
because he has looked upon his lowly handmaid.
Yes, from this day forward all generations will call me blessed,
for the Almighty has done great things for me.
Holy is his name,
and his mercy reaches from age to age for those who fear him.
He has shown the power of his arm,
he has routed the proud of heart.
He has pulled down princes from their thrones
and exalted the lowly.
The hungry he has filled with good things,
the rich sent empty away.
He has come to the help of Israel his servant, mindful of his mercy
according to the promise he made to our ancestors-
of his mercy to Abraham and to his descendants for ever.’
Mary stayed with Elizabeth about three months and then went back home.

The Gospel of the Lord: Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.

 

SUMMARY OF HOMILY . . . This Sunday coincides with the feast of the Assumption and we join with the Blessed Virgin in her expression of joy of the contemplation of the saving work of God. Why is it so important to celebrate Mary’s entry, body and soul, into heaven? The basilica of St Mary Major in Rome has many ancient mosaics depicting the story of salvation. These culminate in the apse with the coronation of Mary. Mary represents the destiny of every man and woman in history. When Christ crowns Mary, he crowns humanity, which in the Blessed Virgin arrives at the fullness of faith and the perfect assent to God’s will. In Mary, the Church contemplates her own body - of which Mary is its purest member – assumed into heaven. By means of Our Lady, human life sees that God can erupt into our existence. In the words of St Ireneaus, “Caro capax salutis” (the flesh is capable of being saved).

Why is this so important? It reaffirms our great dignity and potential. With our genuine “yes” to God, he can enter into our existence, as he did with Mary. By means of this “yes”, the Lord can achieve things in us that go beyond our natural capacities. We can bear in ourselves the life of Jesus, as Mary did when she visited Elizabeth. Christians are called to be, in their bodies, the very place where God enters the world and visits others. With Mary, we are called to exult and rejoice in the power of God. As Mary says in her canticle, the Lord lifts up those who are small and lowly. The expression, “He looks on the humility of his servant” is not a reference to the moral quality of humility. The Greek term for “humility” used in this passage refers to something infinitesimally small, of no importance. The Lord works through our fragility in order to manifest his greatness.

Mary sings of the greatness of God and, at the same time, of her joyful littleness. The mercy of God is the very air that we breathe. It is life-giving. Ironically, when we consider ourselves to be self-sufficient, we become small and mediocre. We are no longer the beautiful creatures that the Lord intends us to be. Woe to us when we make absolute the thoughts, opinions, plans and preoccupations of our heart! As Mary says, the Lord becomes a stumbling block to those who consider themselves great, because then we are deluding ourselves, while he is all-truth. When we search for our own greatness, we become mediocre, but when we allow him to operate in us, then we become instruments of his glory in this world. We are bound for heaven. Our bodies were made for the resurrection. Our lives are destined for glory. We see in Mary that to which all of us are called.