Homily for the Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary

Imagine discovering that your best friend is actually part of your family. The surprise would bring joy, but also questions: if my best friend is family, then their family is mine as well. This was something like the experience of St John Henry Newman. As an Anglican Christian in England, he already knew and loved Jesus. But when he became Catholic, it was as though he discovered the rest of the family. Among them, he came to know and love Mary, the Mother of Jesus, in a new and profound way.

Today, the Church celebrates Mary’s Assumption into heaven. This doctrine was solemnly defined by Pope Pius XII in 1950: “the Immaculate Mother of God, the ever Virgin Mary, having completed the course of her earthly life, was assumed body and soul into heavenly glory” (Munificentissimus Deus).

Here in our parish, we began our celebrations on Friday evening with the Musical Oratory Garland for Our Lady. The church was full—parishioners, visitors from other parishes, and even friends from different Christian traditions—all gathered to worship God and honor Mary. The music, chosen by our brother Simon, included works by composers such as Mozart, Elgar, Guilmant and Hassler. A choir drawn from across the city lifted our hearts with music that gave glory to God.

That evening also included a reading from St John Henry Newman’s Meditations and Devotions, reflecting on the Assumption:

“As soon as we apprehend by faith the great fundamental truth that Mary is the Mother of God, other wonderful truths follow in its train… although her body was for a while separated from her soul and consigned to the tomb, yet it did not remain there, but was speedily united to her soul again, and raised by our Lord to a new and eternal life of heavenly glory.”

Newman also addressed a concern we sometimes hear: that devotion to Mary might take away from devotion to Jesus. But he insisted it is the opposite:

“It is customary with those who are not Catholics to fancy that the honours we pay to [Our Lady] interfere with the supreme worship which we pay to [Our Lord]; that in Catholic teaching she eclipses Him. But this is the very reverse of the truth.”

In fact, honoring Mary and the saints directs us more deeply to Christ. The saints are signs that God’s grace really does transform human lives. In Mary’s Assumption, we see the first fruits of Christ’s victory: body and soul glorified. With Mary, we hope for resurrection; with the saints, we hope to overcome sin by His grace.

The Assumption also invites us to reflect on the unity of body and soul. Too often, our culture treats the body as something separate from the person, or even as something to be manipulated without reference to the soul. But the Christian vision insists: we are body and soul together, and our salvation involves both.

A recent pilgrimage reminded me of this truth. Rome and Lourdes each speak, in very different ways, about the beauty of the body.

Rome is a feast for the senses. Its architecture, sculptures, and art show beauty in perfect form and proportion. Even the food delights the eyes before it reaches the taste buds. In summer, the streets are alive with people eager to display the beauty of their bodies. Rome, rightly, is called the Eternal City—majestic and glorious.

But Lourdes offers another perspective. Pilgrims do not travel there for statues or monuments. They go, above all, because of sickness and suffering. The daily processions are filled with wheelchairs, stretchers, and fragile bodies. Some carry hidden wounds—emotional, psychological, or spiritual. Yet here lies a deeper beauty: broken bodies offered to God in prayer. Every halting step, every carried burden, becomes an act of worship. Pilgrims come not only seeking healing, but above all to unite themselves with Jesus and Mary, who both offered their “yes” to the Father with body and soul.

Rome reveals beauty in proportion and power. Lourdes reveals beauty in weakness and prayer. And in truth, this is the highest purpose of the human body: to glorify God. As St Paul reminds us, “present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual worship” (Romans 12:1).

Today, as we celebrate the Assumption—our national patronal feast—we are invited to turn to God in thanksgiving. In Mary’s bodily assumption into heaven, we see a sign of the victory of Christ’s resurrection, which is also our hope.

Yes, our own bodies may carry wounds, scars, and frailty. Some of us know pain in our flesh; others carry suffering in the heart or mind. Yet even in weakness, our bodies remain the place where God’s glory can be revealed. Like the pilgrims of Lourdes, we can turn every step, every effort, into prayer.

Mary’s Assumption proclaims not only what God has done for her, but what He promises to do for us. With her, we look forward to the day when Christ will raise us too, body and soul, into the fullness of life and glory with Him. Amen.