Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary
Vigil Mass
Homily
[1Chronicles 15:3-4, 15-16; 16:1-2; Psalm 132; 1Corinthians 15: 54b-57; Luke 11:27-28]
It is wonderful to be back here at Skaro for our annual pilgrimage on the vigil of the Solemnity of the Assumption. For more than 100 years, the people of God in this local area and beyond have come to this holy place, moved to do so for three principal reasons.
First, we come here because we want to. We love Our Lady, and are eager to express our affection in this particular way. She is the Church’s greatest treasure, and we honour her as Blessed—the Blessed Mother. From the words of Jesus in tonight’s Gospel text, we recognize her as doubly blessed. The woman in the Gospel speaks rightly when she acclaims the womb of Mary as blessed, without knowing fully why this is so. We do. Borrowing from the first reading, we extol Mary as the ark of the New Covenant, who is Jesus himself. When Jesus replies with, “Blessed rather are those who hear the Word of God and obey it,” we acknowledge that no one has more perfectly received and followed the divine commands than Mary herself. And in this particular liturgy, Mary’s Assumption—body and soul—into heaven recalls for us the destiny God has in store for those who place their full trust in His Son. We are here because we want to rejoice in the gift that Mary is and take heart from the example and hope she provides.
We are also here because we know we need to be here. We need the help Mary offers her children through her powerful intercession with her son. It escapes no one that our world is presently in a parlous state. The ancient sin of Adam and Eve, the rebellion of the creature against the Creator that has marred human history, is today actualized in alarming fashion. We observe, for example, the re-definition of marriage, the presumed separability of gender from bodily fact, the widening access to euthanasia, the wanton destruction of the environment, terrible wars among nations, and recently the blasphemous parody of the Last Supper at the opening ceremonies of the Paris Olympics. In these and many other ways, much of the world is choosing not to listen to the Word of God but to other voices, pledging allegiance to their instructions rather than those of Almighty God, whose every Word is spoken in love and directed at our well-being and salvation.
Which brings me to the third reason we gather on this pilgrimage: the need to give witness to the truth of Jesus Christ and to the light and hope he is for the world. The Skaro pilgrimage is a public act, one by which we wish to declare openly our faith in Jesus Christ as the one and only Saviour of the world. By the mere fact of our gathering in this particular place dedicated to Mary, we also invite others to turn to the Blessed Mother for the help of her prayers—the power of her intercession knows no bounds—and the guidance of her good counsel. “Do whatever he tells you.” These were the words she spoke to the stewards at the wedding feast in Cana; they form the same command she continues to speak to each one of us and to the whole world. Only by a careful heeding of her injunction, only by listening attentively to the Lord Jesus and doing faithfully and trustingly whatever he commands, can our world be returned to the right and just path.
So, allow me to thank each and every one of you who has gathered here this evening. Thank you for your witness! In our day, it is increasingly incumbent upon believers to give testimony to their faith and thus point the world to Jesus Christ. By your very presence here tonight you are demonstrating your willingness to be the convinced and convincing witnesses to Christ that the peoples and nations of our world very clearly need.
Of course, we know our witness would be of no effect whatsoever were it not inspired and empowered by God’s grace. For his reason, we gather for the Eucharist. Here in this sacrament, we are given the gift of wondrous communion with Jesus himself. May the grace received in this mass deepen our love for the Lord and renew within us the zeal to make him known.
In this mass, too, let us call upon the Blessed Mother and ask for her prayers. May she intercede with Almighty God that people everywhere will turn to the world’s one and only Saviour, to Jesus Christ, hear his Word and obey it, so that all will come to know and rejoice in true blessedness here on earth as we journey together, under Mary’s guidance and protection, toward the eternal blessedness we see manifested in her glorious Assumption.
✠ Most Reverend Richard W. Smith
Our Lady of Good Counsel Parish and Shrine
Skaro, Alberta
August 14th, 2024