by Fr. Tommy Lane
You may be surprised by the choice of Scripture readings for our Mass today. There is no reference to the Assumption of Our Lady in them. Why? Not all of our beliefs are in the Bible. So when it comes to readings for the Assumption of Our Lady and the Mass of the Immaculate Conception on 8th December the best we can do is to choose other readings for Mass which are concerned with Our Lady. Who did Jesus appear to firstly after he rose from the dead? The different Gospels give different accounts but from the early centuries of the Church there has been a strong tradition that Jesus appeared firstly to his own mother. That would make sense, wouldn’t it? Not all of our beliefs are in the Bible. The remainder of our beliefs are in the teaching of the Church which we often call Tradition. So we need both the Bible and the teaching of the Church i.e. Tradition to guide us. So even though the Assumption of Our Lady is not in the Bible it has been believed in by the Church for centuries. Today we thank God for the Assumption of Our Lady. It is as the Preface to the Eucharist Prayer says today, “a sign of hope and comfort” for God’s people on their pilgrim way.
Do you know that Our Lady is depending on you to help her? Do you know that you can change the future course of world events? When Our Lady was assumed into heaven she continues to help us from heaven but she depends on you, on each of us to help her. We learn from her many apparitions that she is depending on our Rosaries. On 13th July 1917 in Fatima Our Lady said, “Continue to say the Rosary every day in honor of Our Lady in order to obtain peace for the world and an end of the war because only she can obtain it.” Mary is depending on your Rosaries to help her achieve her plans in the world. No wonder then that in so many apparitions in so many places she has asked us to pray the Rosary every day. In the same apparition in Fatima on 13th July 1917 she said that if we fulfilled her wishes Russia would be converted. We have seen this fulfilled. On 13th October 1917 in Fatima Our Lady revealed herself as Our Lady of the Rosary. In Lourdes Our Lady never came before they had begun to pray the Rosary and she always left shortly after they had finished praying the Rosary and she prayed the Rosary with Bernadette. During the apparitions Bernadette went into an ecstasy and during those ecstasies for the benefit of people praying the Rosary she mimed or acted out the mysteries of the Rosary under the guidance of Our Lady. Pope John Paul II in his Angelus Address on 29th October 1978, shortly after his elevation as Pope, stated, “The Rosary is my favorite prayer. A marvelous prayer! Marvelous in its simplicity and in its depth.” As you are probably aware the Pope gives a gift of a Rosary beads to all those who are privileged to be given a private audience with him.
No one really knows the full story of the how the Rosary came to be. It evolved into its present form over a number of centuries. While we are unsure about the development of the Rosary, we are not unsure about the power and beauty of the Rosary. For all who love Our Lady, praying the Rosary is a most beautiful gift to give to her every day. The name ‘Rosary’ means a garland of roses and it was given this name after a legend which spread all over Europe which stated that Our Lady was seen taking a rose from the lips of a young monk each time he prayed the Hail Mary.
I am quite sure that we don’t believe enough in the power of the Rosary. As you know priests and religious make a retreat every year. The second day of the retreat I attended this year (2002) was led by Fr Gabriele Amorth, the exorcist for the diocese of Rome. He told us that once when he was performing an exorcism the demon said to him, “every Hail Mary is another blow on my head. If Christians knew the power of the Rosary my power would be finished.” So in that sense we could say that every Hail Mary of the Rosary is a rose being given to Our Lady. If we knew the power of the Rosary, the power of Satan would be finished. David conquered Goliath with a slingshot. We can conquer evil through the Rosary. When the atomic bomb was dropped in Hiroshima one entire household in Hiroshima survived. How? They claimed afterwards that it was due to their praying the Rosary. I think God allows events like the salvation of that household to occur in order to teach us if we have eyes to see and ears to hear. (more stories on the power of the Rosary)
So on this feast of the Assumption of Our Lady I encourage you to pray the Rosary every day. While we pray the Rosary we don’t just say prayers. Saying the prayers is to help us enter into a spirit of deep prayer, contemplation on the fifteen mysteries in the lives of Jesus and Mary, five joyful, five sorrowful and five glorious. It is so sad that some parents do not pray with their children now. I am afraid that such children may grow up almost pagan. There are many helps available in religious bookshops for family prayer but I would also ask you to consider including all or part of the Rosary into your family prayer.
Like any good mother, Our Lady is concerned for us her family so after her Assumption in heaven she continues to help us from heaven but she needs your Rosaries to help her achieve her plans. Give a bouquet of roses to your heavenly mother every day by praying the Rosary. The bouquet of roses will then be transformed by Our Lady so that she can help people around the world.
Holy Mary, mother of God, pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death. Amen.
This homily was delivered when I was engaged in parish ministry in Ireland before joining the faculty of Mount St. Mary’s Seminary, Emmitsburg, Maryland.
More homilies for August 15th - The Assumption of Our Lady
Assumption of Our Lady and her humility
Assumption of Our Lady and her house in Ephesus
Mary the Ark of the Covenant Assumed into Heaven intercedes for us 2007
Related: Four Marian Dogmas
First Reading Revelation 12 and Our Lady of Guadalupe
Stories: Jesus in the womb of Mary, strange light in form of embryo in Guadalupe