Homily – The Assumption: Mary’s Glory and Our Goal

Brothers and sisters,

Today the Church doesn’t just tell us about Heaven.
She shows us someone who is already there — Mary, body and soul.

Not a dream.
Not a myth.
Not just a soul floating somewhere.
A real woman.
A glorified body.
Standing before her Son, crowned Queen of Heaven and Earth.

From her first heartbeat, Mary was set apart.
From her first moment, she belonged entirely to God.
Full of grace — not part-time, not “good enough” — but full.

She is the New Ark of the Covenant:
The old Ark carried the Law of God in stone — Mary carried the Lawgiver in flesh.
The old Ark carried manna from heaven — Mary carried the Bread of Life.
The old Ark carried Aaron’s rod — Mary carried the Eternal High Priest.

If the old Ark was too holy to touch, do you think the body that carried the Creator would be left to decay in the ground?
No.
The Son who took His flesh from her took her flesh into glory.

This is the Catholic vision:
We are not saved from creation — we are saved with creation.
We are not destined to be pure spirits forever — we are destined for the resurrection of the body.

The Assumption is a declaration: The human body matters.
The world either idolises the body or abuses it.
Mary’s Assumption says: your body is for glory.

That’s why Catholics:
– Bury the dead with reverence.
– Honour the relics of the saints.
– Defend life from conception to natural death.

Because we know: What God created, God will glorify.

Mary’s story is a preview of yours.
Her glory is the first chapter of your eternal life — if you stay faithful.

One day — if you die in grace — your soul will be reunited with a glorified body.
No sickness.
No weakness.
No decay.
Radiant, incorruptible, alive in God’s presence forever.

The Assumption is not a distraction from the Gospel — it’s the Gospel fulfilled.
What Christ did for Mary, He will do for you.

The Assumption isn’t just about the future.
It’s about today.

Mary lived on earth the way we are all called to live:
– Totally surrendered to God’s will.
– Totally faithful in trials.
– Totally open to grace.

She said “Yes” at the Annunciation — and she never took it back.
Not when she didn’t understand.
Not when she stood under the Cross.
Not when her Son’s body was placed in the tomb.

If you want to share her glory, you must share her faith.

Mary’s Assumption is tied to the altar before us.
She was the first to receive Jesus into her body — not in sacrament, but in reality.
The Body that now sits at the right hand of the Father is the Body that once rested under her heart.

And every time you receive the Eucharist worthily, you are doing what Mary did:
Carrying Christ in your body.
Becoming a living tabernacle.

This is why the Eucharist is not a symbol.
Not a reminder.
It is Christ Himself — Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity — truly present.

On August 15th, the Church also remembers St. Tarcisius —
A boy in ancient Rome who carried the Eucharist to imprisoned Christians.
He was attacked, beaten, and killed rather than let the Body of Christ be desecrated.

Why?
Because he knew: This is God.
This is the same Lord who raised Mary into Heaven.

If the Eucharist is only a symbol, then St. Tarcisius died for bread.
If the Eucharist is only a symbol, then our faith is empty.
But it is not a symbol — it is Jesus.
And that changes everything.

Some of us here bring Holy Communion to the sick, the housebound, the dying.
When you carry the Host, you are carrying the same Jesus Mary bore in Nazareth.
You are walking in the footsteps of St. Tarcisius.

But you don’t have to be an Extraordinary Minister to carry Christ.
Every Catholic is called to bring Him to the world —
in our words, in our actions, in our love.

The Assumption is also a defence of the faith in a sceptical age.

Some say: “It’s not in the Bible.”
But Scripture is full of God taking His faithful ones, body and soul —
Enoch walked with God, and was no more.
Elijah was taken up in a chariot of fire.

If God can do it for them, why not for His own Mother?

Some say: “It’s just a pious legend.”
But the Church has believed it from the beginning — East and West.
The Fathers of the Church spoke of it, the liturgy celebrated it, and in 1950 Pope Pius XII solemnly defined it — not as a new idea, but as the faith handed down.

And the Assumption fits the whole logic of salvation:
If death and decay entered through sin, then she who was free from sin would not see decay.

Mary’s Assumption is not an easy-pass into Heaven for us.
It’s an invitation to walk the same road:
– Daily conversion.
– Daily prayer.
– Daily fidelity to Christ.

If you want her destination, take her path.

So when you face temptation — remember: your body is for glory.
When you’re tired of being Catholic in a hostile world — remember: the crown is worth the Cross.
When you receive the Eucharist — remember: you are already touching Heaven.

Mary’s Assumption says: The grave is not your end.
Sin is not your master.
Death is not your destiny.

The Eucharist says: Heaven is already breaking into earth.
Mary says: “Do whatever He tells you.”
Tarcisius says: “Defend Him with your life.”
The saints say: “Follow us — it’s worth it.”

So I ask you:
Will you say “Yes” like Mary?
Will you guard Christ like Tarcisius?
Will you live for the glory that lasts forever?

Because the same Jesus who lifted His Mother into Heaven —
is the same Jesus you will receive at this altar —
and the same Jesus who will one day say to you:
“Rise.”

And in that moment, if you have lived in His grace, you will follow Mary —
body and soul — into the glory you were made for.