Deacon Cornell's Homily

I am sure you all remember the story of Jesus and the woman caught in adultery. Jesus encounters a crowd that is about to stone this woman whom they had caught in the act of adultery. Jesus challenges the crowd by saying: let he who is without sin cast the first stone. The crowd went quiet as they all looked at each other. Then from the back of the crowd, there was a murmuring as this older woman worked her way forward through the crowd, until she was right in front of Jesus and the woman. Without a word, she bent down, picked up a pebble and threw it at the woman. Jesus let out a sigh and said, "Mom, how many times have I asked you not to do that?"

It might seem natural to think of the Assumption of Mary as a feast that highlights how different Mary is from us. She was conceived without sin, became the mother of God, and now she is taken up to heaven bodily to reign as Queen of Heaven and earth. Pope Benedict XVI in his homily on this feast almost 2 decades ago suggests that the contrary is true. Precisely because she is with God and in God, she is very close to each one of us. While she lived on this earth she could only be close to a few people. Being in God, who is close to us, actually, "within" all of us, Mary shares in this closeness of God. Being in God and with God, she is close to each one of us, knows our hearts, can hear our prayers, can help us with her motherly kindness. Mary has been given to us, as the Lord said, precisely as a "mother" to whom we can turn at every moment. Just as Jesus had to ascend back to the Father so he could be with the whole world, in every age, so Mary's assumption into heaven allows her to be close to each one of us. The assumption also confirms for us that God is not just concerned about our souls but because we as humans are created as bodily creatures, God cares about our bodies as well.

In that first reading from the book of Revelation, the woman clothed in the sun has a double symbolism: she stands for the mother of Jesus, bringing Christ into the world as our brother, and she stands for the Church bringing Christ into the world again and again through baptism and the other sacraments. The woman's description also serves a double purpose. It symbolizes the glory that Mary was assumed into, and it also symbolizes the glory which we hope to enjoy one day.

As any good mother, Mary models for us the way we are to live. Her wonderful prayer, the Magnificat, which we heard in the Gospel reading, is a perfect distillation of how she lived and how we are to live.

Our souls are to magnify the Lord. We are to live in such a way that the goodness and love and generosity of God shines through us. Notice that her prayer focuses, not on what Mary has done, but on what God has done and continues to do. It is God who has looked with favor on Mary and on each one of us. It is the Almighty who has done great things for us, and holy is His name. It is God who has come to the help of his people, for it is God who promised us mercy, and who fulfills that promise by giving us his only beloved Son to bring us that mercy.

Let us celebrate this feast in the realization that, just as Christ is the first fruits of those who are brought to life in Christ, so Mary's assumption is proof that we also share in that promise. So let our spirits rejoice in God our Savior and let us thank him for giving us so great a Mother in Mary.

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