The Secret Blueprint to Heaven Hidden in the Assumption

 

You Did Not Have to Be Here

Good morning everyone. You all know why you’re here today because it is a solemnity. It is the Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, which this year is not a day of obligation. Hopefully you all know that, and that makes it even more special because you don’t have to be here.

But the reality is we need a day like this. Imagine if the best you could get out of life was just enough to get by. Imagine you suffer, you go through tough times, and then at the end of your life you say, “Well, at least my children are going to be well off.” Or imagine you take a bullet for someone you love and you think, “At least this person will continue living.”

Today is a reminder that you don’t have to settle for anything less than the minimum.

Maybe because I’m Italian, I think of this day as going to a restaurant. When you go to a restaurant, what do you expect? Good food, sure, but if that’s all you expect it’s not a great restaurant. You expect a great waiter or waitress. You expect a comfortable place where you can relax. You expect a fair bill. You expect everything to be clean. Imagine if the only thing you expected was good food while there were roaches on the wall, which I have seen.

Today reminds us that the full package is our destiny.

First Lesson: Mary Always Leads the Way

Mary, for many of us, could have been our first real interaction with Jesus. Just as she gave the world her son, Jesus came into the world through her.

When I was learning about my faith, it was actually the arguments that Protestants were making against Mary that made me study her first in order to get to Jesus. And Mary continues to lead the way, allowing us to go through her to get to him, as if to say, follow me, I’m heading to my son.

Mary always leads the way, and with her assumption she shows us that the grave is not the final destination.

Second Lesson: What Humility Actually Gets You

People often think of humility as simply being quiet and kind to others. And what does that get you? Everybody’s at peace, everybody’s happy. But the reality about humility is something much bigger than that.

People love people who are humble. You can get so much done with an open heart, an open mind, and open hands with very few strings attached. The fact that Mary is humble is a good indicator for all of us that being humble isn’t just about being nice. It’s about being able to get things done and make a big difference in the world.

Third Lesson: The Body Is Not Left Behind

Mary’s assumption into heaven is body and soul. It is not as if the body does all the work and then gets discarded at the end. The body, along with all its sacrifices, all its scars, all its wounds, gets healed.

There is a beauty in suffering. The crucifix is ugly, but it is beautiful at the same time, because it means something. It means we are loved, and loved a lot. God does not leave anything behind. God is able to beautify the whole person, everything.

Fourth Lesson: Decisions Define Your Life

One of the most dangerous and thrilling things in life is making a decision. The decisions you make can be scary, but that is also what brings excitement to life.

The fact that Mary said yes, that is where it all began. That one yes brought her to this moment. And so for the decisions we make, especially the really big ones, it is always worth taking time to pray and reflect. Because at least then you can say, I didn’t do it alone. I did it with the help of God.

Fifth Lesson: God Has the Last Word

Death, suffering, the grave, hurt, and wounds are not the last word. God is.

There are so many lessons we can learn from the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, and yet it keeps coming back to a restaurant. You want the whole package. You want everything. And you want a great deal. Life gives us a great deal.

Amen.