The feast of the Assumption:

“[…] is an opportunity to rise with Mary to the heights of the spirit where one breathes the pure air of supernatural life and contemplates the most authentic beauty, the beauty of holiness.”

These words of Pope Benedict are filled with eager hope and joy at what Our Lady shows us on the feast day.

However this encouragement to Christian hope can seem unrealistic in today’s world where our faith is regarded with hostility. It is seen as a superstition, or an ignorant creed in the face of modern science. Sometimes it is even presented as something harmful to genuine human flourishing. We might think that the situation is hopeless when Pope Francis talks about evangelisation, about us being missionary disciples.

For the early Christians, the Roman empire seemed supreme. As Pope Benedict said:

“At the time when St John wrote the Book of Revelation, this dragon represented for him the power of the anti-Christian Roman Emperors, from Nero to Domitian. This power seemed boundless; the military, political and propagandist power of the Roman Empire was such that before it, faith, the Church, appeared as a defenceless woman with no chance of survival and even less of victory.

Who could stand up to this omnipresent force that seemed capable of achieving everything? Yet, we know that in the end it was the defenceless woman who won and not egoism or hatred; the love of God triumphed and the Roman Empire was opened to the Christian faith.”

We are called to the same hope today. We do not rely on our own poor efforts at evangelisation, we depend upon the power of God and we should call upon the intercession of Our Lady who told us “My Immaculate Heart will triumph.” Again in the words of Pope Benedict;

“The Feast of the Assumption is a day of joy. God has won. Love has won. It has won life. Love has shown that it is stronger than death, that God possesses the true strength and that his strength is goodness and love.”

We must have that same confidence which St Paul had in the midst of struggles, that our faith is a path of true life. Our Lady offers us an example of that trust and confidence:

“[Mary] was not afraid that God might be a “rival” in our life, that with his greatness he might encroach on our freedom, our vital space. She knew that if God is great, we too are great. Our life is not oppressed but raised and expanded: it is precisely then that it becomes great in the splendour of God.”

The glory of Our Lady assumed into heaven shows us the truth that to put our faith in God, to give our lives to Him, to give up everything to follow Christ, will not somehow weaken our lives or take away something that would enrich us. Quite the contrary, Christ is true to his promise that he will bring us life, and life more abundant.

Please forgive another quotation from Pope Benedict, but he put it better than I could:

“If we let Christ into our lives, we lose nothing, nothing, absolutely nothing of what makes life free, beautiful and great. No! Only in this friendship are the doors of life opened wide. Only in this friendship is the great potential of human existence truly revealed. Only in this friendship do we experience beauty and liberation. And so, today, with great strength and great conviction, on the basis of long personal experience of life, I say to you, dear young people: Do not be afraid of Christ! He takes nothing away, and he gives you everything. When we give ourselves to him, we receive a hundredfold in return. Yes, open, open wide the doors to Christ – and you will find true life. Amen.”

Sermon given by Fr Finigan at St Austin and St Gregory, Margate for the Feast of the Assumption 16 August 2015