All Generations Still Call Her Blessed

Homily for the
Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary
15 August 2013

          I doubt that many in this church today – or in any church today! – have read the document Munificentissimus Deus, the Apostolic Constitution of Pope Pius XII defining the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary – body and soul – into Heaven as an official dogma of the Catholic Church. (The official declaration happens in paragraph forty-four [44], by the way.)

          It’s a wonderful, and actually not-too-long read. Pope Pius XII goes through Christian history, showing us how the tradition of this particular celebration stems from the most ancient times of the Church’s life. We have acknowledged this sacred feast for almost two thousand years, though not officially defined as dogma until 1950, a mere sixty-three years ago . . . a drop in the bucket of time.

          But why do we acknowledge this event in Salvation History? In fact, why do we have so many devotions to the Blessed Mother at all? As some of our Protestant brothers and sisters would point out to us, it ALMOST seems like we are worshiping Mary.

          But as you and I know, we’re not.

          If someone asks you why we honor Mary so much in the Catholic Church, simply point out to them the Gospel reading we just heard. If they don’t understand, then narrow it down, pointing out to them Luke, chapter one (1), verses forty-eight (48) and forty-nine (49):

From this day all generations will call me blessed:
the Almighty has done great things for me
and holy is his Name.

          We celebrate this great Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary because, as with all of theology and understanding of Mary’s role in Salvation History, we know that Mary recognized the blessedness that was hers. She knew and understood she had a special role to play in the supernatural course of human history, though she could not completely know the exact magnitude of what her “yes”, her fiat, to God would actually mean for her – or for you and me!

          We honor Mary because her words in Sacred Scripture foretold that “all generations [would] call [her] blessed” . . . but not because she sought glory in or for herself. She is to be called “blessed” because “the Almighty has done great things for [her]”. The life of the Blessed Mother always reflected back the glory of God. The life of Mary always points the way to Jesus. Ad Jesum per Mariam – “To Jesus through Mary”: We wouldn’t consider Mary to be blessed if she had given birth to Rex. But since through her the Rex Mundi came into this world, the fullness of blessing is given to Mary, and she, in turn, returns it to God.

          We also honor Mary on this great Solemnity because she is what we hope to be through our faith in her Son. This great festival celebrates the fact that humanity has a higher calling, and those who are faithful to the Gospel will, indeed, merit the promises of Christ. We celebrate the fact that Mary, assumed body and soul into Heaven, is for us the model of what we hope to become on the great and terrible day of the Resurrection, when, God willing, our bodies and souls will be reunited to worship before eternity before the throne of God.

          And so, we honor Mary for the blessedness that is hers, recognizing that all generations have and will continue to call her “blessed”, for through her, the Almighty God has and continues to do great things for the benefit of all humanity. We honor Mary because, through her, the glory of her Son is revealed, and that glory is the promise she now shares in because if her cooperation in God’s plan for her (and for humanity).

          From the earliest days of the Church, as Pope Pius XII reminds us, this feast has been celebrated – but not for the glory of Mary, but for the glory of God, and the hope that what Mary now experiences body and soul in the fullness of Heaven will be shared by us who, through the Eucharist are united to each other, our Blessed Mother, and all the saints, hope in the eternal promises of Christ.

Pray for us, O Holy Mother of God, that we may attain the promises of Christ.

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Enjoy the journey . . .