Homily at St Andrew’s, Tenterden, for The Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, 2022.
Do you remember those BT telephone adverts where Maureen Lipman played a Jewish mother? In the most famous one, she was delighted her grandson had got an “ology” – that made him a scientist! In another advert, she was griping to the world in general that her son never got round to picking up the phone and calling her… until, one day, he did; and then she griped that he never visited!
When we hear reports of the Blessed Virgin Mary appearing in various places around the world, we might be tempted to think that she’s also the kind of Jewish mother who will never be satisfied. At Lourdes, it’s “Please come here on pilgrimage.” At Fatima, it’s “Please pray the rosary every day!” Why does our Blessed Mother need all this attention?
Today’s celebration is about who Mary really is. At the end of her earthly life, Mary’s body was taken up into heaven. Her body was the Ark of the New Covenant, the vessel in which God’s presence had entered our world. It was right and fitting that this holy Ark be taken up into God’s heavenly Temple.
This means that Mary is now, what each one of us shall be in the future – if only we stay faithful to God. We too can become part of the new heaven and new earth which God has prepared for the end of time. (The Bible speaks of this as “perishable nature… putting on imperishability”.) Blessed Mary has no insecurities, no “need to be needed”. She already enjoys the nearness of God, who is love, and she can no longer be tempted to sin or self-doubt. She prays for us; and her Immaculate Heart grieves when she sees broken families on earth.
Our Lady cares deeply about the unity of families, and she invites families to pray together. In one of the lesser known places where she spoke – to a Hungarian woman called Elizabeth Kindelmann – she called for family prayer. She asked that families should gather for an hour on Thursdays or Fridays and spend an hour praying together. That hour could begin with a time of reading from the Bible. It could include the Rosary. It might include a visit to church, if there’s a church open nearby.
This is not a rule. This is not a demand. It’s an invitation, from a mother who loves you and wishes you to spend time with her. It was on a Thursday night that the Lord’s closest disciples failed to spend an hour keeping him company in prayer. It was on a Friday that most of the apostles ran away from the foot of the Cross. Surely we can do better than that!
What if you live alone, or you’re the only believer in your family? This is where your parish is meant to become your family. Maybe there’s someone else here at Mass today you could connect with, and once a week, especially on a Thursday or Friday, spend an hour praying together. You could visit each other at home, or connect using the phone or online.
Our prayers matter. Blessed Mary, assumed into heaven, has been sent back to earth to encourage us and to warn us in equal measure.
Just over 100 years ago, she appeared in Fatima. The three visionary children were shown the suffering of souls in Hell, and asked to pray and make sacrifices so that people still alive would be converted, repent of their sins, and be able to go to heaven. One of the ways of praying for this was to add a prayer to each decade of the Rosary: “O my Jesus, forgive us our sins, save us from the fires of hell. Lead all souls to heaven, especially those who are most in need of your mercy.”
If Mary invites us to pray the rosary daily, it is not because she needs the affirmation. It’s not because the gates of heaven would be closed to us, people who follow Jesus, if we didn’t do so; rather, it is because she’s inviting us to become part of her network of prayer. She holds before God all the children which Our Lord placed under her care, with his dying breath upon the Cross. Praying to save souls is our privilege; and when we do reach the gates of heaven, we will experience great joy for each and every rosary, every family prayer meeting, and every invocation of Our Lady, which we uttered during this earthly life.
I doubt that they make adverts in heaven, but I can just imagine Our Blessed Mother standing in the courtroom of heaven, speaking with Our Lord and the angels about her children on Earth. Of this I am sure; that she will not be complaining about the children who aren’t calling her, but she will be pointing out all those who have faithfully gathered, in homes and churches to pray their rosaries, and invoked her prayers. I can almost hear her words: “For their sake, My Son, send your angels to protect the Earth, so that hearts may be converted and peace may be restored. Let the flame of your love which burns in my heart spread out and fill the whole world.”
To be a child of Mary, to be someone who invokes her prayers, is a great privilege which God offers to members of His family. Mary keeps inviting us to join in this task; it must be important. So not for guilt, not for obligation, but as an act of pure love: Call your mother! All she wants is an hour a week with you. She’s waiting to hear from you!
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