R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Mary is taken up to heaven;
a chorus of angels exults.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Mary set out
and traveled to the hill country in haste
to a town of Judah,
where she entered the house of Zechariah
and greeted Elizabeth.
When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting,
the infant leaped in her womb,
and Elizabeth, filled with the Holy Spirit,
cried out in a loud voice and said,
“Blessed are you among women,
and blessed is the fruit of your womb.
And how does this happen to me,
that the mother of my Lord should come to me?
For at the moment the sound of your greeting reached my ears,
the infant in my womb leaped for joy.
Blessed are you who believed
that what was spoken to you by the Lord
would be fulfilled.”

And Mary said:

“My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord;
my spirit rejoices in God my Savior
for he has looked with favor on his lowly servant.
From this day all generations will call me blessed:
the Almighty has done great things for me
and holy is his Name.
He has mercy on those who fear him
in every generation.
He has shown the strength of his arm,
and has scattered the proud in their conceit.
He has cast down the mighty from their thrones,
and has lifted up the lowly.
He has filled the hungry with good things,
and the rich he has sent away empty.
He has come to the help of his servant Israel
for he has remembered his promise of mercy,
the promise he made to our fathers,
to Abraham and his children forever.”

Mary remained with her about three months
and then returned to her home.

The Assumption of the Virgin, Nicolas Poussin, c. 1630-1632, Public Domain

If a small child hurts his or her finger they run to Mommy crying.  All Mommy has to do is to kiss the finger and it is well again.

In the same way we look to Mary as our heavenly mother.  She is the mother of us all.  We look on her as our mother who loves us a great deal, who watches over us,  protects us.  She is the mother to whom we can tell every joy and every sorrow to.  Remember Jesus’ words as he was dying on the cross; He said to Mary, “Woman behold your son”, and to John He said, “Son, behold your mother”.  We regard this incident to being symbolic for us;  as Jesus was dying on the cross and giving of His mother.

The reason for our great joy today as we celebrate Mary’s Assumption into heaven is because we are celebrating a great privilege given to our heavenly mother.

There is in all of us the tendency or temptation to “play God” sometimes. We will not allow God to have control over our lives.  We refuse to surrender our lives to God.  We hold out our hands to God full of ourselves so that God cannot give Himself to us because He can only give Himself to us if our hands are empty.  Our life is meant to be giving more and more of ourselves to Him. We are a tough culture and we only give God part of our lives, the part that suits us.  But to meet God in heaven we need to surrender ourselves fully to God firstly, to let God be God in our lives and accept that we are only human.

Mary’s greatness lies in the fact that she was humble before God and surrendered herself to Him.  Her words to the angel at the Annunciation are words that we need to meditate on a great deal, “Let it be done to me according to your word.”  Surrendering of herself to God did not mean an eternal spiritual honeymoon, but a giving of herself more and more to God as time went on.  We see testimony for this in the Gospel readings: at the Presentation of Jesus in the Temple, Simeon told her that her soul would be pierced with sorrow; when Jesus was twelve years old the family had a misunderstanding over why Jesus was lost for three days. Mary once again discovered more about surrendering to God as Jesus told her that He had to be about his Father’s business.

Since she surrendered herself so much to God, He filled her with His presence just as God fills us when we surrender ourselves to Him.  Mary’s sinlessness and being “full of grace” led her supernaturally to her assumption, body and soul, into heaven at the end.

One of many ways for us to surrender ourselves to God and be filled with the presence of Him like Mary, is  praying the Rosary daily.  It is the most beautiful prayer, a prayer that can bring us closer to God and keep us closer to Him.  When we pray the Rosary we are not just saying prayers to calm us down so that we can tune in to God and our blessed Mother.  We say the prayers so that our minds are meditating on the main happenings in the life of Jesus.  When we are in desperation, and we do not know what to pray, the Rosary is the most beautiful way to keep in contact with our heavenly mother. When we do so we can unite ourselves with Mary in expressing her true sentiments:

“My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord
and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior
because He has looked upon his lowly handmaid.”

Mary is lifted up in her lowliness because she said “yes” to God’s love and “yes” to the invitation to become the mother of Jesus.

All of us who say “yes” to Jesus stand with Mary.  We have hope that Mary’s destiny in heavenly glory will be our destiny, and we have hope that the unthinkable joy of eternal life with God will be ours as well.

Deacon Anthony Falasca, Permanent Deacon, Our Lady of Mount Carmel Basilica and Saint Anthony Parish

Assume. How often have we used that word within the context of speech such as, “I assume he did”… or, “I assume that’s what she meant?” Assuming can lead to faulty assumptions about a person or a situation.

Today’s Solemnity is far removed from making erroneous assumptions about the Blessed Virgin Mary. Our belief in her Assumption as a dogma of the Church is a central to our Faith and is in perfect coherence with the truths revealed by the Holy Spirit.

Sacred Scriptures tell us what happened to Jesus’ body after His death. He was placed in a tomb and, after three days, on His own power rose from the dead where, ultimately, he ascended to heaven. Eye witnesses testify to these events; and the Church has boldly proclaimed Jesus’ Resurrection as “the crowning truth of our faith in Christ” (CCC 638).

But, what happened to Mary? Did she die? Was she buried?

I should like to address the meaning of “Assumption”, within the context of the three Theological Virtues of Faith, Hope, and Charity.

Faith, Hope, and Charity are distinctly different from one another.

Faith is believing in a person.

Hope is believing in an action.

Charity is the action of love.

Let us briefly visit each.

Faith is rooted in the person or persons that we deeply believe in and trust. For instance, if I were shipwrecked, believing my family and friends love me instills faith in each of them.

This leads to hope. I have hope they will perform the actions necessary to look for and rescue me. Hope is in the action or actions they will perform.

Both faith and hope emanate out of love. The love they have for me binds me to them and them to me. Love is the force that desires the good for others. Their love for me is a cause for hope.

Let’s apply those Theological Virtues to the Blessed Mother. Mary: a woman of great faith.

Mary’s “fiat”, her “yes” to God’s message through the Angel Gabriel that she would conceive by the power of the Holy Spirit and bear the Savior of the World is paramount to Christ coming into the world for our salvation. Without understanding the “how” or the “why”, Mary’s response, “Yes” is an act of faith; faith in God as our loving Creator. She believed in God and trusted Him completely. Her belief in the person of God is the basis for her faith.

Hope is the theological virtue in which “we desire the kingdom of heaven and eternal life as our happiness” (CCC 1817). Mary’s acceptance of God’s will that, through the action of the Holy Spirit, she would conceive and bear the Son of the Most High emanates out of her hope in God’s plan for our salvation.

“Charity, also known as love, is the theological virtue by which we love God above all things for His own sake, and our neighbor as ourselves for the love of God.” (CCC1822) Mary has a very special love for her Son. She loves Jesus both as her son and as her Creator. And, to reciprocate, Jesus loves Mary in a singular and unique way.

God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit’s love for the Blessed Mother is a direct response to her love for her Son.

Faith – Mary manifested her faith through her trust in God

Hope – Mary manifested her hope through her obedience to God’s will and through the good works she performed

Love – Mary manifested her love for God and for neighbor by the prayers and actions she offered to God for others.

In his letter to the Romans, St. Paul says, “For the wages of sin is death” (Rom 6:23). But Mary was conceived immaculately and never sinned. And, if she never sinned, she did not die. When her time on earth was complete, she was assumed, body and soul into heaven. “Because she never sinned, her body, like the body of Jesus, didn’t decay. [She] went directly from an earthly state to a heavenly state” (Link).

The Church, inspired by the Holy Spirit and Sacred Scripture professes as a result of perfect faith, hope, and love Mary’s body never underwent corruption. She was taken body and soul into heaven. And, that’s not just an assumption on our part. Mary’s Assumption into heaven is a direct act of Faith in God, an act of Hope in His mercy, and His act of perfect Love for His mother.

Mary is the model of the theological Virtues. She is the epitome of the perfect being God desires each of us to be. She was assumed into heaven where she remains next to her Son. We revere Mary’s Assumption into heaven as we imitate her virtues so that, one day, we too, through Faith, Hope, and Love we may be able to rejoice with her as we pray, “My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord. My spirit rejoices in God my Savior.”

Deacon Mark Izzo, Permanent Deacon, Our Lady of Mount Carmel Basilica and Saint Anthony Parish

In order to bring light to the Assumption of Mary into Heaven, we must look as she did to God!

In the Divine plan of God, the Mother of God had to first be born, and further, she would be born without the stain or effects of Original Sin. Hence, Mary is called the Immaculate Conception.

Then this same young woman gave a, “Yes,” in reply to the message of the Angel Gabriel at the Annunciation. She conceives by the power of the Holy Spirit, and Jesus is born of the virgin. Her virginity is before, during, and after the birth of the Son of God. She is the Mother of God. We cannot underestimate St. Joseph here, too, because he supports her divine motherhood, giving his own yes to the Divine plan of God.

And now, after Jesus saves the human race through His cross and Resurrection — through His founding of His Catholic Church. Mary, Our Lady of Sorrows, receives her Son at the foot of the cross. Her hope would be fulfilled in the Resurrection.

And today we reflect upon the meaning of the Assumption of Mary! That same young woman who left her, “Yes,” in the hands of Gabriel and her Son in the hands of Joseph of Arimathea, no longer young herself, faces the end of her own journey on Earth. But the ending of her earthly life is unique because she did not experience the effects of Original Sin so she did not suffer decay of the body. Rather, it was more of a sleep. The early Catholic Church of the East calls it a “dormition.” And Mary is continually favored by God’s plan, and as a consequence, both her body and soul are assumed into Heaven. The queen, arrayed in gold, now sits at the side of Jesus, her son. Mary, Queen of Heaven.

I understand Bishop Bonnar will be in Campbell, Ohio today to celebrate the Assumption of Mary into Heaven at what was once St. Lucy Church, where there will be a street procession with the statue of Mary Assumed into Heaven, body and soul. All humanity must suffer the decay of earthly death unlike Mary. Though now we have great hope, because she waits and prays there in Heaven, for you and for me. We don’t fear the completion of our earthly pilgrimage because our mother awaits us!

For now, let us just be her children. Let us follow her Son, Jesus Christ.

Mary, Immaculately Conceived. Mary, Ark of the Covenant. Mary, Mirror of Justice. Mary, Assumed into Heaven. Mary, Queen of Heaven. Mary, Our Mother. Our Lady of Mount Carmel. Pray for us.

Monsignor Michael J. Cariglio, Jr., Rector, Our Lady of Mount Carmel Basilica and Saint Anthony Parish

God’s temple in heaven was opened,
and the ark of his covenant could be seen in the temple.

A great sign appeared in the sky, a woman clothed with the sun,
with the moon under her feet,
and on her head a crown of twelve stars.
She was with child and wailed aloud in pain as she labored to give birth.
Then another sign appeared in the sky;
it was a huge red dragon, with seven heads and ten horns,
and on its heads were seven diadems.
Its tail swept away a third of the stars in the sky
and hurled them down to the earth.
Then the dragon stood before the woman about to give birth,
to devour her child when she gave birth.
She gave birth to a son, a male child,
destined to rule all the nations with an iron rod.
Her child was caught up to God and his throne.
The woman herself fled into the desert
where she had a place prepared by God.

Then I heard a loud voice in heaven say:
“Now have salvation and power come,
and the Kingdom of our God
and the authority of his Anointed One.”

R.    (10bc)  The queen stands at your right hand, arrayed in gold.
The queen takes her place at your right hand in gold of Ophir.
R.    The queen stands at your right hand, arrayed in gold.
Hear, O daughter, and see; turn your ear,
forget your people and your father’s house.
R.    The queen stands at your right hand, arrayed in gold.
So shall the king desire your beauty;
for he is your lord.
R.    The queen stands at your right hand, arrayed in gold.
They are borne in with gladness and joy;
they enter the palace of the king.
R.    The queen stands at your right hand, arrayed in gold.

Brothers and sisters:
Christ has been raised from the dead,
the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.
For since death came through man,
the resurrection of the dead came also through man.
For just as in Adam all die,
so too in Christ shall all be brought to life,
but each one in proper order:
Christ the firstfruits;
then, at his coming, those who belong to Christ;
then comes the end,
when he hands over the Kingdom to his God and Father,
when he has destroyed every sovereignty
and every authority and power.
For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet.
The last enemy to be destroyed is death,
for “he subjected everything under his feet.”

It has long been a Catholic understanding that when circumstances prevent one from receiving Holy Communion, it is possible to make an Act of Spiritual Communion, which is a source of grace. Spiritual Communion is an ardent desire to receive Jesus in the Most Holy Sacrament and lovingly embrace him at a time or in circumstances when one cannot receive Him in sacramental Communion. The most common reason for making an Act of Spiritual Communion is when a person cannot attend Mass. Acts of Spiritual Communion increase our desire to receive sacramental Communion and help us avoid the sins that would make us unable to receive Holy Communion worthily.

Spiritual Communion Prayer

My Jesus, I believe that you are present in the Most Holy Sacrament.

I love you above all things and I desire to receive you in my soul.

Since I cannot at this moment receive you sacramentally,

Come at least spiritually into my heart.

I embrace you as if you were already there

And unite myself wholly to you.

Never permit me to be separated from you.

Amen.