The Assumption of Mary

May the peace of Christ Reign in our hearts…

You know the twentieth century was an incredible time.

It was like no other century in the history of the world.
There were huge advances in medicine to many name

There were advances in technology and science….
Remember “One small step for man who giant step for mankind.”

I can remember that day so clearly when humanity walked on the moon for the first time.

For many especially here in the United States during the second half of the 20th Century there was  significant growth in the standard of living
things seemed so good.

On the other side of the coin…

The 20th century was also time of great suffering.
Never in the history of the human race had so many people died from war and violence.

World War I was a terrible war of attrition with 16 Million deaths.

During the Second World War 60 Million people died .

At the end of the war we developed the atomic bomb and for the first time in the history of world humanity had the power to wipe itself off the face of the earth.

The 20th century was  the best of times and it was the worst of times  Just like Charles Dickens described the  period leading up to the French Revolution.

In the context of such suffering and loss of lives….

It almost seems like we had forgotten who we were and where we were headed.

We forgot that we were the children of God.
We forgot that each and every person matters.

We forgot living and loving according to God’s plan is the best possible choice we can make.

Humanity forgot that our destiny is to be with God forever.
That’s why God created us…
He wants to love us forever heaven.

For centuries some say as early as the third century Catholics had believed that Mary the Mother of Jesus was assumed into heaven

She did not ascend into heaven like Jesus.

Mary was assumed into heaven as
Like Fr. Martin said the other day notice the passive voice.

Jesus ascended into heaven on his own.
Mary needed God to be assumed into heaven.

Since she was conceived without original sin.
She did not have to suffer death one of consequences of original sin.

Catholics believed that  Mary’s Assumption
was God’s way reminding us we too were destined to be united with Him in heaven.

In a world marked with so much suffering and death
Pope Pius XII wanted to find a way to give us hope again.

And so after lots of prayer and consultation he proclaimed the dogma of the Assumption of Mary.

He did so to call mankind back to faith 
He proclaimed the dogma to remind us who we are.

He wanted us to remember our destiny,
the goal of our lives, is to be with God.

It was his hope that by proclaiming the dogma of  the Assumption of Mary humanity somehow find its heart again and come back to faith.

Sometimes like humanity we too forget who we are.
We allow ourselves to be filled with anger and resentment.

Sometimes you would never know that we are Catholic by the way we talk to each other.

Sometimes we live as if all that matters is how much money we have in the bank or how big our house is 
or how much power and influence we can amass.

We allow ourselves to loose hope in God’s love.
Sometimes we just don’t trust God’s loving providence.

Sometimes like the many who lived during the 20th Century we loose our way home…

May this feast day of Mary remind we are children of God

May it remind us that we are indeed very loved by God.

May it help us refocus our efforts to live good and holy and generous lives.

May the Assumption of Mary help us set or reset our priorities and our values.

And once again point us in the direction of home.

Holy Ones…
No matter what life throws our way…
No matter what….

May we be filled with hope and be consoled with Joy

Mary our Mother was assumed into heaven and someday if we live good lives it will be our destiny to find our way home to God and in heaven to be with her,
our loved ones  and God forever.

Amen