Friday August 15, 2025

Solemnity of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary

Readings of the day

I greet the many pilgrims, as well as Father Emmanuel Schwab, rector of this sanctuary, who invited me to celebrate with you the feast of the Assumption.

Mary ascended into heaven in body and soul: even for the body, there is a place in God. This is a consolation and an encouragement to resilience, hope, and positivity, especially for the sick, those in fragile situations, and the elderly, who are particularly concerned about the culture of death that seems to prevail in public discourse and legislative priorities. 

Mary ascended to heaven, exalted by God as a successful woman. The biblical readings told us of a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and with a crown of twelve stars on her head. And again: From now on, all generations will call me blessed. The Almighty has done wonders for me.

Mary of Nazareth was not a successful woman, in the sense we understand the term today. She was not the statue with a beautiful crown on her head. But she was a woman who had an intense life, filled with joy and suffering; a woman who, in the school of God's word and in the presence of Jesus, matured into a profound, serene, welcoming, and wise humanity. 

The feast of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary into Heaven takes on special significance in the context of the centenary of the canonization of Saint Therese of the Child Jesus. A centenary that is being celebrated throughout the world, and with particular significance here in Lisieux. In fact, through an image dear to her, Saint Therese helps us understand the profound meaning of today's feast.

In his spiritual testimony, collected in the posthumous book Story of a soul, addressed to her religious Superior, Mother Marie de Gonzague, she writes: “You know, Mother, I have always desired to be a saint, but alas! I have always noticed, when I have compared myself to the saints, that there is between them and me the same difference that exists between a mountain whose summit is lost in the heavens and the dark grain of sand trampled under the feet of passersby; instead of being discouraged, I said to myself: the Good Lord could not inspire unrealizable desires, I can therefore aspire to holiness despite my smallness; to magnify myself is impossible, I must bear with myself as I am with all my imperfections; but I want to seek the means of going to Heaven by a small, straight, short way, a small, completely new way. We are in a century of inventions, now it is no longer worth climbing the steps of a staircase, among the rich an elevator advantageously replaces it. I too would like to find an elevator to raise me up to Jesus, because I am too small to climb the steep staircase of perfection" [Ms C 2].

Thérèse understood well that she would never succeed in climbing all the steps of virtue and holiness using her own strength alone. She found in the modernity of her time that famous elevator whose correspondence she sought in the spiritual life and which would save her the effort of climbing all the degrees that lead to holiness. This elevator was the arms of Jesus into which she chose to abandon herself. 

This image of the elevator is beautiful and instructive, especially when we contemplate the Assumption of Mary into heaven. Mary, mother of Jesus, even before Saint Teresa, had traveled the little way. We can affirm this in a way that may seem banal, but it is not banal: Mary trusted in God.

From the very beginning of creation, the Book of Genesis tells us that the devil sought to sow doubt among men: doubt that God was on our side, that God cared for man. He even presented God as a rival to man, jealous of man's freedom, envious of man's power, to the point of forcing humanity to confront evil, gratuitous suffering, and all sorts of limitations on a daily basis.

All ancient Greek literature is pervaded by this doubt, this suspicion. God is jealous of man, he constantly punishes him. So, one must defend oneself. And thus is born a religiosity made up of practices and laws to be respected to contain the evil sent by God and negotiate a truce with God. This is how the superstition appears that develops among many people and is so widespread today, even among those who call themselves Christians.

The greatness of Mary, mother of Jesus, was to have shattered this doubt, namely that God is the enemy of man, and to have placed on the contrary all her trust in God who is savior: this we read in the hymn of the Magnificat, which arose from the heart of Mary when she met her cousin Elizabeth.

Let us not be mistaken, it is not so easy to do this because there is no greater effort in life than to renounce saving oneself in order to allow oneself to be saved by Another. In this sense, Mary, the mother of Jesus, and Therese lead us to come out of ourselves and entrust ourselves to the Son of God. 

Making childhood the path to holiness, as Saint Therese did, does not mean diminutives, small beds of colorful flowers, rose petals: rather, it means putting at the center the need, the thirst for love, arms stretched upwards in the expectation that someone will lift you up.

A path to holiness that is also for each of us and at the same time a formidable lesson for our time. To those who believe that everything must be controlled until the last moment of their existence, the Virgin Mary and Saint Therese of Lisieux offer them a completely different path. At a time when men seem to be redoubling their pride in their desire to control life and death, Mary Ascended into Heaven and Saint Therese show us the small way. 

A small but effective and sure way in that it leads us to share the same strength and vitality as God our Father, who wants us to become strong with his strength.

+ Celestino Migliore
Apostolic Nuncio