Feast of the Assumption Homily Gotta have hope

John of Patmos, author of the book of Revelations, was sentenced to exile on the island of Patmos for being Christian. This was done by the Roman civil authorities amid a persecution of Christians. John probably was despondent and fearful and then he had this vision. If read superficially, it may seem violent, weird, but it is ultimately about hope and trust. John hopes that even as Christians struggle to birth the faith into a hostile world, God will win and this world will be transformed. NOT DESTROYED, but transformed and healed.

As the Church, some 2000 years later, we celebrate hope. Hope as signified in this and every Eucharist and in the sacrament. Hope signified by the feast day we have today, the Feast of the Assumption.

Let’s face it, we will have bad days, weeks, months, and maybe even years. We struggle with our health, with our relationships, with our finances etc.   It weighs us down.

We do our best to do what is good and right; we try to be caring, giving, patient...and people respond with vitriol, harshness, selfishness, or just plain hate. It’s ironic some of the most vile hateful things said against Catholics are from other Catholics, or at least those who self identify as catholic.

We are called to hope. We are called to persevere. We are called to Trust.


Mary’s great Magnificat comes from a place of hope, trust, and perseverance. It comes from a place of memory and story. Mary, full of Grace, has been raised to know how God has been with her people. How God has taken them from slavery, walked with them in the desert, brought them to a land, and provided for them. How God, even when rejected by these same people, hoped in them and called them back. How God overturned injustices to give others a hope.

Mary, who witnessed her own son, at times not understanding, do amazing things that exemplified God’s work with the people. Who witnessed the own injustice of his arrest and execution; and who witnessed the hope of the resurrection.  Mary, who acted with patience, kindness, generosity, love and whom we believe still acts to this day for us, to draw us to her Son.  Mary, so full of hope and life; even death could not corrupt her.

It can be difficult to have hope, I get that. Why have hope? Why go on? We can sit in our little caves and remain despondent, bitter, cynical, self-medicating with our stuff.  

Or, we can open ourselves to life. We can hope and then work to fulfill that hope. Amid all the loud bitter noises...we can strive to people of calm, of affirmation, who listen.

Amid the violence and the choice for violence, we can choose peace, healing.

Amid the isolation we may experience we can take the risk and reach out to someone else, and start to find community.

God graces us; so that we too can remember the story of God with us.  So that we too can be open to new ways of seeing God’s grace work in this world, maybe not in the way we have become accustomed to, but in ways that we and the world needs.  God graces us to discern, pray and then take action. God graces us to not let discouragement rob us of hope.

Because God is life. Hope is life.

When we can place our trust in a better future.  As we place our efforts to help transform and heal, as Jesus did, as Mary and the Disciples and all the Saints did…

We find life.
We live life.

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