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Friday 15 August 2025 The Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary
A beacon of hope for all believers
Revelation 11:19; 12:1-6; Luke 1:39-56
Context: a congregation of devout, mainly retired people in a suburban setting at a morning Mass on a Holy Day
Aim: to help the congregation see Mary as a model of hope
Today we celebrate one of the great feasts of the Church’s year, the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary. This feast is a profound celebration of Mary’s journey and her unique role in the story of salvation. It commemorates the belief that Mary, at the end of her earthly life, was assumed body and soul into heavenly glory, not having to suffer the decay of death. This event is not only a testament to her purity and faithfulness but also serves as a beacon of hope for all believers. In this Jubilee Year we are called, like Mary, to be signs of hope in a world in so much need of hope. In Mary, we see the ultimate model of discipleship, the ultimate example of hope.
There are many depictions in art, especially in churches, of the Assumption of Mary, depicting her in glory surrounded by angels and the heavenly host. This can perhaps warp our understanding of what the Assumption and the Virgin Mary mean for us. It can make her appear other-worldly and beyond the ordinary and human. I believe to fully appreciate her Assumption and what it means for us we need first to connect to her as the Mary of the Scriptures; to encounter the Mary we met today in the Gospel and so understand better her Assumption into heaven.
Her life was marked by complete trust and surrender to God’s will, beginning with her ‘yes’ at the Annunciation. Today we meet this young girl just after that encounter with the Archangel Gabriel. She rushes to her cousin Elizabeth who is also expecting a child to whom she offers up the great hymn of the Magnificat, telling of a God who is firmly on the side of the poor and lowly. A song of hope for those who are oppressed in any way. A song of hope for those whom the world cares nothing for. A song of hope that we are called to live out in our lives.
This trust in God and living out of hope continues through the joys and sorrows of her life, even to the foot of the cross. A hope that is realised in the resurrection of her Son on Easter Sunday and then offered to the whole world through the coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost on her and the Apostles. A hope that they are called to take from Jerusalem to the ends of the earth. An evangelising hope that we, as the spiritual heirs of Mary and the Apostles, are called to take to the world today.
The Scriptures give us a picture of Mary, woman, mother and faithful servant of God who dares to hope in her Son, Jesus, and whose hope is fulfilled. We are called to do likewise in the here and now, called to be trusting pilgrims of hope, and live as fearless disciples of her Son, Jesus.
Ultimately her Assumption reminds us of the dignity and destiny promised to all who follow Christ. Her Assumption should fill all of us with hope, for it calls us to reflect on the mystery of our own journey and destiny. Just as Mary was taken up into glory, we, too, are called to share in the resurrection of her Son. It invites us to ponder our relationship with God and encourages us to live with our eyes not only set on the ultimate goal of eternal life, but on the living out of the Gospel in our everyday lives.
As we celebrate the Assumption, let us seek Mary’s intercession, that we might have the grace to live as she did—with faith, hope, and love—ever trusting in the promises of God. Let us enjoy all that artwork depicting her Assumption but always be aware that our pilgrimage to share in that glory starts, like hers, in living today a life that is filled with hope and trust in God.
Our eyes may be directed to heaven, but our pilgrim feet need to remain firmly on the ground.
Mary, Mother of Hope pray for us.
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