Allow me to begin with a poem entitled, Fiat by Bishop Bob Morneau based on Henry Ossawa Tanner’s painting, Annunciation
On her bed of doubt,
in wrinkled night garment,
she sat, glancing with fear
at a golden shaft of streaming light,
pondering perhaps, "Was this
but a sequel to a dream?"
The light too brief for disbelief,
yet its silence eased not her trembling.
Somehow she murmured a "yes"
and with that the light's love and life
pierced her heart
and lodged in her womb.
The room remained the same
- rug still need smoothing
- jug and paten awaiting using.
Now all was different
in a maiden's soft but firm fiat.
To reflect on this feast, we need to call to mind this moment of Mary’s Yes – her life was like a seamless garment of weavings of Fiat uttered again and again. . . from Annunciation to her Assumption.
Today, we gather to celebrate, to remember and to affirm our belief once again in the passing of Mary into God’s eternal loving embrace– body and soul. We gather to celebrate all that she had within her that enabled her to:
• trust in Mystery,
• walk in the holy darkness of questions,
• ponder her experiences in the light of faith,
• hope in God’s love amidst her joys and sorrows, losses and discoveries, deaths and risings,
• and live with courage as she responded moment by moment to the challenges and surprises that resulted from her murmured soft but firm “Yes”.
The Assumption of Mary into heaven is one of the oldest celebrated feasts of Mary, easily traced back to at least the 5th century, perhaps, according to some historians, celebrated as early as the third century. The event is not found in Scripture, and there were no witnesses – the feast came before its definition– it came from the belief of the people, the heart of the people.
It is written that in 1946 Pope Pius XII sent an encyclical letter to all the bishops of the world and asked them to confer with their people about the mystery of the Assumption becoming a dogma of the Church. On the strength of their response and the testimony of history he declared the Assumption dogma in 1950.
Most of what we know about Mary in Scripture comes from the Gospels of Luke and John. As a young Jewish girl, she grew into womanhood with an extraordinary faith.
Oftentimes she did not understand what God was asking of her, but she believed with all her heart that it could and would be done, and she acted accordingly. It was enough for her to be called to move within holy mystery and gently hold the tension of all that was being asked of her. She did not seek answers, or clarity or quick results – we are told that “she held all these things in her heart” and treasured them until their meaning was revealed a grace at a time! Truly a beautiful example of trust and love!
Mary not only witnesses to the action of God in her life, but she is a woman who was fully human, gifted with grace, truth, mercy, compassion, and faithfulness, on fire with the Spirit, generous in ministry, and centered in God.
These are but a few of the treasures that she possessed deep within her that enabled her to be a Jewish woman, wife, mother, sister, cousin, friend, disciple, prophet, and witness.
No doubt that after the Ascension of Jesus, Mary grew in age, grace and wisdom as well. She, too, was filled with the Pentecostal fire of the Spirit and would have received the same energy and power of the Spirit as the other disciples.
So how can this feast speak to us?
Let us ask boldly for all that she had within her that enabled her to be authentic, faithful, and trusting, so that we, too, will sing out our prophetic song of faithfulness and hope.
Let us ask boldly for all that she had within her to walk in Mystery, as we speak our firm Fiat for the transformation of the world, the Church and ourselves; for our story calls us to missionary zeal for nurturing the seed of faith and a pastoral concern for those whose faith life or human dignity is threatened.
I close with a selection from Soul Sisters by Edwina Gateley,
Who reflects upon this Gospel . . .
https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/081524-Day.cfm
“Affirmed, loved and comforted,
You stayed with Elizabeth,
Absorbing the experience and the wisdom
of the older woman,
deepening in your own resolve
to nurture, hold
and mother God.
Your journey has blessed ours, Mary.
Your Yes dares us
to believe in the impossible,
to embrace the unknown,
and to expect the breaking through of mystery
onto our bleak and level horizons.
The words you heard, Mary,
we will forever remember.
We will not be afraid,
for the life that you birthed
will not be extinguished
in our souls.
And the journey
you took in faithfulness,
we also take.
We the people, women and men, the midwives,
and the healers will also,
like you Mary,
Give birth to God
for our world.”
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