Today we celebrate a great feast day of Our Lady. Today we celebrate the
perfection of God’s work in a sinless human being. And today we look forward
with hope, that, one day, this could be our destiny too.
Our Lady being taken up into heaven means that God has won. Love has won.
Our Lady was, and is, God’s masterpiece. Unlike us, when she was conceived,
she was spared from inheriting Original Sin, by a special intervention of God’s
grace. With God’s grace, she persevered in serving the Lord perfectly. Now,
that journey reaches its fulfilment. The preface today says: “rightly you would
not allow her to see the corruption of the tomb, since from her own body she
marvellously brought forth your incarnate Son, the Author of all life”. Our
Lady is now in heaven, with both body and soul. That’s a cause of great
rejoicing for us. Rejoicing in what Our Lady has achieved, but it also gives us
hope as well.
But don’t we have a more difficult life? Don’t we start off on the back foot?
Our Lady’s soul is like a piece of wood that has always been kept clean. Our
souls are like pieces of wood that got splashed with engine oil. The waters of
baptism cleansed that oil, that Original Sin away, but there is still a stain left.
Even though we now have received the Holy Spirit in baptism, we are still
inclined towards sin, and at times we struggle to do what is right, when it seems
so much easier and at times even more pleasing to go the other way. As Our
Lord says, “the road that leads to perdition is wide and spacious, and many take
it; but it is a narrow gate and a hard road that leads to life, and only a few find
it” (Matthew 7:13-14). Sometimes, we can understand why. But look at it
from another perspective: there would have been a much greater falling from
grace for Our Lady if she had committed even the smallest sin, compared with
us, in our already tainted condition, taking part in the most minor infraction of
the law of almighty God. Just as Our Lord was tempted, so Our Lady would
have had to have undergone temptation as well. There are three sources of
temptation for us: the world, the flesh and the devil. Our Lady would not have
experienced temptation from the flesh and the lure of the world in the way that
we do, but nonetheless the devil would still have tried to do what he could to
cause Our Lady to fall. You can imagine how she must have frustrated him!
She wouldn’t give in even in the smallest matter! In her younger years, he
might even have asked himself: who is this young girl? Who is this young
woman? Why can’t I break her? How true it was when Elizabeth said to her:
“Of all women you are the most blessed”. Because of her perfection, being
free from Original Sin, God’s grace could work more powerfully in her,
without all the flaws and weaknesses that we have. We are a bit like vases that
have been broken and then stuck back together, but the glue doesn’t always
hold, and too much movement can lead to breakage again. Our Lady is like an
intact vase, crystal clear and brand new.
Today in the preface to the Eucharistic Prayer, she is also honoured with the
words “the beginning and image of your Church’s coming to perfection”. One
of the great things about some of the prayers of the Mass is the way in which
they contain so much in such a few short words. Our Lady is “the beginning
and image of your Church’s coming to perfection”. She shows us what we are
all called to. At the end of the world, for those of us who are faithful, we will
enjoy heaven, not just with our souls, but also with glorified bodies. As St Paul
writes in Philippians 3:21: “he will transfigure these wretched bodies of ours
into copies of his glorious body. He will do that by the same power with which
he can subdue the whole universe”. Then we, like Our Lady, will enjoy heaven
with glorified bodies, thanks to the victorious grace of Christ. So Our Lady,
assumed into heaven, is the “beginning and image of ... [the] Church’s coming
to perfection” – she is glorified now, the first member of the Church coming to
perfection in heaven, and one day, we could be there too! Permanently. And
that really will be something to glorify God about. God is so great, even I
made it! People won’t just be saying: “What’s he doing here?” or “How did
she get in here?” but “How did you get in here?” Glory and praise to Him for
all eternity!
Curious about exploring things further? If you would like to ask further questions about the topics raised in these homilies (or maybe think it wasn’t explained too well!), please feel free to e-mail Fr Michael at stjoseph.thame@rcaob.org.uk