August 16, 2025
Paulist Fr. Rich Andre preached this homily on the Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary on August 15, 2025, at Old St. Mary’s Catholic Parish in Chicago, IL. The homily is based on the day’s readings: Revelation 11:19a; 12:1-6a, 10ab; Psalm 45; 1 Corinthians 15:20-27; and Luke 1:39-56.
Today, we celebrate that at the end of her life, Mary was taken directly to heaven, body and soul. This leads to a lot of questions, including:
- Why isn’t this recorded in the Bible? The answer is: why would it be? No book of the Bible was written for the purpose of telling us about the life of Mary.
- So, where did the Church come up with this? The Church didn’t “come up with” this. The Church has believed this from the earliest days. It’s part of the Apostolic Tradition.
- Why is this important? Because we believe that we, like Mary, will one day be in heaven with God, both body and soul.
It’s kind of shocking to hear this, but today is one of the best days of the Church year to talk about death and the afterlife. That’s where we are going in the homily today. As we always should on a Marian feast day, let’s pay especially close attention to the 2nd reading. In it, Paul is trying to explain the concept of our own bodily resurrections to a skeptical Corinthian community.
Let us ask God to shower us – and our world – with unconditional love and mercy.
I have been to Las Vegas five times. The first time was to see the place; the other times were for various meetings. The last time was on my 50th birthday, but I wasn’t there for festivities: I was there for a religious conference. And let me say, nothing against the fine people of the city, but I do not like going to Las Vegas. Gambling has absolutely no appeal to me. I know too much about statistics to find any entertainment in gambling. I know that if I play the games, I will eventually lose my money. Any time that I have attempted to gamble in Vegas, it has taken me three separate sittings to lose ten dollars… since I can only sit for a few minutes at a time before having to get up and take a break.
Today, we have a feast that’s the opposite of a gamble. It’s a sure bet. Believe it or not, the Solemnity of the Assumption of Mary is the very good day for us to talk about death and the afterlife. As we heard in our first reading, God had a place prepared for the woman revealed in the stars. That woman is probably not Mary, but a representation of the Church itself. In other words, God has a place prepared for each one of us. Our second reading tells us that as Christ was raised from the dead, so will we all be.
Since earliest days of the Church, the Apostolic Tradition has taught that Mary was assumed into heaven. But it was only about 75 years ago that Pope Pius XII consulted with the bishops of the world and declared that the Assumption of Mary was a dogma of the Church. Why did he do that? Pius XII did not just wake up one day thinking that the Church needed to make a bigger deal about an ancient teaching. Pius XII pointed out that if we believe the four following things:
- If we believe that when God created the world, he declared everything as good and human beings as “very good,” and
- If we believe that those who have carried out the will of God will be rewarded with eternal life, and
- If we believe that God destines all of us to live eternally in heaven, and
- If we believe that since we are “very good,” we, like Jesus, will eventually have our bodies resurrected,
Then, Mary’s assumption into heaven, body and soul, has to be true. Since Mary played an essential role in the salvation of the world, and since she was without sin, then she must have been taken to heaven at the end of her life.
It’s a sure thing that no bookie would bet against in Vegas.
Tonight, when we proclaim the Nicene Creed, let’s pay special attention to the very end of it, when we proclaim together: “I look forward to the resurrection of the dead and the life of the world to come.”
We shall rise again on the last day. God has prepared a place for each of us. We will find an open door there. And when we arrive, Mary will already be there, welcoming us with open arms.