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Homily of the Day

Title:	Will You Come the Rest of the Way?
Author:	Monsignor Dennis Clark, Ph.D.
Date:	Tuesday, August 15, 2006

Rv 11:19a;12:1-6a,10ab / Cor 15:20-27 / Lk 1:39-56

There was a king whose only son was an angry, rebellious young man. Try as he might, the king could not find a way to his son's heart. And finally one day the boy gathered up his things and rode off into the sunset. The father tracked his journey across many lands, waiting patiently till his son would remember where his real home was. When the time seemed right, the father sent a message, "Come home, my son," he said. "I love you, and I want you at my side."

The son replied with a sad heart, "Dear father, I can't come home. Too much has passed between us. The distance is too far."

The father replied, "Return as far as you can, my son, and I will come to you the rest of the way."

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As we celebrate this feast of Jesus' mother, our eyes turn where Mary is always pointing, to her Son, who understands us so well. He knows the baggage we're carrying, the fears and angers, hatreds and prejudices, sins, confusions, and all sorts of junk. He knows! And knowing all that, He says to us what the king said to his son, "Return as far as you can, and I will come to you the rest of the way." That's what God did for us, when He made Mary Jesus' mother. He came out to a spot where we could meet Him and not be afraid, and where we could finally open our arms and say, "Father!"

God continues to "come the rest of the way" for us every day. In doing that, He's not just taking care of us, He's showing us what He wants us to become, and that is reconcilers, people who have learned the habit of coming the rest of the way for one another.

Too much of life is frittered away with people getting angry and staying angry at one another. Angry at their parents and spouses, brothers and sisters, angry at their colleagues, their clergy, their contractor, and God knows who else. What a waste, especially when we know that so often the evil is in the eye of the beholder and nowhere else!

So why not pay attention to what the Lord is trying to teach us? Here it is: It makes no difference who's at fault. Take the initiative, the way the Lord does. Seek out the person you dubbed "my enemy." Name your hurt, your shame, your sorrow, your resentment, whatever it is that needs naming, and begin the search for peace ... and leave your calculator at home!

Help the other person break out of the trap built by anger, resentment, or shame. Help the other save face, if that's the issue. Do what needs to be done, and don't hold back. It's hard work, no doubt. But in doing it we become like God, and our hearts will grow large and happy and full — just like God's!

That is God's promise, and He always keeps His word.

		I once asked a college theology class if anyone could explain the doctrine of the Assumption. A student replied, “Yeah, that’s the teaching whereby the Catholic Church ‘assumes’ that Mary is in heaven.”

In This Article... Greatest of Marian Feasts Something Unique about Mary No Decay, No Delay


Greatest of Marian Feasts There’s a bit more to it than that. The Church does not just “assume” that any canonized saint in is in heaven. Rather, it authoritatively declares that a person is in glory and should therefore be honored in liturgy and imitated in life. Our church calendar is filled with saints’ days. But why a particular day for each saint? The first evidence for this goes back to 155 AD, to a bishop named Polycarp. The account of his martyrdom notes that after his execution, the faithful collected his bones, more precious than gold, and put them in a place of honor where every year they gathered to celebrate the anniversary of his death as a sort of “birthday” into eternal life. Celebrating Mass in the catacombs over the relics of the martyrs led to the practice of putting relics in the main altar of every church. Eventually saints who did not die a martyr’s death were also commemorated on their heavenly “birthday” and their relics were accorded great honor. From very early times, August 15 has been observed as the “birthday” of our Blessed Lady. On this greatest of all Marian feasts we celebrate the greatest moment of her life — being permanently reunited with her son and sharing His glory. Something Unique about Mary All the saints experience the “beatific vision” upon their entry into heaven, and we celebrate this on every saint’s day. But there is something unique about Mary’s day. The Catholic Church teaches authoritatively that it is not just Mary’s soul that was admitted to God’s glory, but that at the end of her earthly life, Mary’s body as well as her soul was assumed into heaven by the loving power of God. There is no eyewitness account of this actual event recorded in the Bible. Come to think of it, though, no one witnessed the actual resurrection of Jesus, either. The evidence was an empty tomb and eyewitness reports that the Risen Lord had appeared to them. Interesting parallel here. There is a tomb at the foot of the Mount of Olives where ancient tradition says that Mary's body was placed. But there is nothing inside. There are no relics, as with other saints. And credible apparitions of Mary, though not recorded in the New Testament, have been recorded from the 3rd century till today. Mary is not equal to Christ, of course. Jesus, though possessing a complete human nature, is the Eternal Word made flesh. Mary is only a creature. But she is a unique creature, the highest of all creatures. This is not just because she was born without the handicap of original sin. Eve and Adam were born free of sin as well, but it did not stop them from sinning as soon as they had the chance. Mary instead chose, with the help of God’s grace, to preserve her God-given purity throughout the whole of her life. No Decay, No Delay The bodily corruption of death was not God’s original plan. It came into the world through sin, as St. Paul says “the sting of death is sin” (I Cor 15:56). So it is fitting that she who knew no sin should know no decay and no delay in enjoying the full fruits of her son’s work. It is fitting that she who stood by Christ under the Cross should stand by Him bodily at the right hand of the Father. “The Queen stands at your right hand, in gold of Ophir” (Ps 45). Enoch and Elijah, who the Old Testament says were assumed into heaven, were surely great in God’s eyes. But they do not begin to compare with the immaculate mother of His Son. We too, one day, insofar as we accept God’s grace, will stand at His right hand. But Paul says that “all will come to life again, but each one in proper order” (I Cor 15:23). The Redeemer, of course, blazes the resurrection trail. But who is to be first among His disciples? The one who is last is first: the Lord’s humble handmaid who did no more than say yes, and kept saying yes, and whose soul magnified not herself, but the Lord. Dr. D'Ambrosio studied under Avery Cardinal Dulles for his Ph.D. in historical theology and taught for many years at the University of Dallas. He now directs www.crossroadsinitiative.com, which offers Catholic resources for RCIA, adult faith formation, and teens, with a special emphasis on the Year of the Eucharist, the Theology of the Body, the early Church Fathers, and the sacrament of confirmation.