August 15, 2002

Father Owen's Homilies

Homily for the Solemnity of the Assumption of Mary, August 15, 2002

Today we celebrate the passage of Mary from this life to the next. She is in heaven with her resurrected body. She is there with her Son. Both await you and me to join them. This Feast is a time to remember just why Mary is in heaven with her Son, Jesus!
Mary was taken up to heaven to be with her son because she said “yes” to God. She said “yes” to being the Mother of God. She said, “yes” to the prospect of living her live in the gradually unfolding of mystery. She said “yes” to doing the will of a Loving God. “Let it be done to me according to Your Word.” Mary is in heaven because she was willing to exercise the power that comes from being a servant. She is there because she was a humble person. By humble I mean that she knew she needed God. She is there because she was the Mother of God.

Finally, Mary is in heaven and invites us there. She, as a woman and our Mother, has one message for us. It is this: “Say ‘yes’ to a loving God as I did. Come be with us.”