Assumption of Mary: August 15, 2024

It’s probably all of Jesus’ talk about Bread on the weekends when we are reading from St. John’s Bread of Life discourse – that dislodged this childhood memory.
    My brothers and sisters and I of course LOVED the summer.  With woods and fields and ponds and haylofts on 86 acres of land – Mom would turn us loose in the morning and did not expect to see much of us throughout the day.
    So we played games, built forts, swung through trees on vines, made treehouses, fished, and generally had a good time getting down and dirty.


    My father arrived home from work like clockwork at 5:00 o’clock every evening, and we were expected to be at the dinner table shortly after that – CLEANED UP from our busy days.
    So, this usually meant a change to cleaner clothes of , certainly a hand and face wash, and hair combed.  It was expected of us, and we complied without question.

    So what does this have to do with Mary – and our celebration of her Assumption today??

    You probably know the basic teaching of this feast – that when Mary’s earthly life had ended, she was assumed – taken up to heaven – body and soul.
    Being sinless from the time of her Conception – the feast we celebrate on December the 8th – her wedding garment - -her soul – was without blemish – her soul was clean – ready to take her place at the heavenly banquet.  And so she did.
    Now - we do not claim for Mary what we do not also claim for ourselves – we, too,  are destined for the heavenly banquet – but, unlike Mary,  we don’t have a direct route there body and soul. . .
    Like my brothers and sisters and I playing around on the farm — our wedding garment – given to us at the time of our Baptism – is not spotless – is NOT without blemish –
our souls are not clean because they have been infected – and effected by — SIN.
    So, we need to get cleaned up before we sit down at the banquet table of heaven – and that cleaning up process for us is called - PURGATORY– when we are made aware of all those things we chose to do to separate ourselves from the love of God - and others – and are scrubbed clean by the loving, compassionate, merciful, and forgiving –  embrace of God – who is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.



    Nobody has returned to tell us what that is like – so I am of the mind and heart that Purgatory is more of a process – rather than a place – because after our death we are freed from the constraints of time and space. . .
    The Catechism does not specify purgatory as a place – it says:
“All who die in God’s grace and friendship, but still imperfectly purified, are indeed assured their eternal salvation.
But after death, they undergo purification, so as to achieve the holiness necessary to enter the joy of heaven.”


At the end of her earthly life - because she was sinless –  Mary was assumed body and soul into heaven.  She was ready to sit at the banquet table of heaven because she was already pure and clean.
We do not claim for Mary what we do not also claim for ourselves.
Where Mary is – we hope to follow - we just need to clean up a bit.
And Mary – humble, trusting, hopeful Mary – will be there waiting for us – waiting to welcome each of us to the table –  as only a loving mother can.
And so we ask, Mary:  Queen of Heaven – to pray for us – NOW, and at the hour of our death.  AMEN!

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