Feast of the Assumption 2025

In celebrating the Assumption, we celebrate Mary's call to glory, and what a triumph it is!

What the Church whispered in the 6 th century is now proclaimed across the world. Our

founder Emmanuel d’Alzon wrote:

The mystery that unifies the life of Mary is the Immaculate Conception; the mystery

that consumes her in glory is the Assumption. Between the two and in order to unify

them, I identify her painful Compassion. Why? Because the birth of Jesus Christ and

the rest of His life are linked to human salvation taking place through the cross, and

Mary was the purest of creatures in order to cooperate perfectly with Jesus Christ in

the mystery of the Redemption through her Compassion. Her glory in heaven is so

great because of this very cooperation.

This feast is central to our faith, infallibly declared after centuries of universal acclaim.

Today we witness the impossible made manifest! In Mary's Assumption, heaven is thrown

open and God's revolutionary promise is fulfilled—that flesh need not taste corruption, that

death has met its master, that our destiny transcends every earthly limitation.

D'Alzon blazed with this truth. " Mary," he declared, "is our hope and our model." Her

privilege is our inheritance! Where Mary ascends, we are destined to follow. Her glory

illuminates the path we must walk with unwavering courage.

As sons and daughters of the Assumption, we carry this fire in our souls! Mary, our blessed

patron, shattered barriers with her " yes." She walked through darkness with unshakeable

trust. Her life proclaims that the Kingdom of God is worth everything.

D'Alzon loved to say that Mary is " the most perfect creature who ever came from the hands

of God." He saw what we must see: Mary is the perfect disciple who draws us into Christ's

burning love for his Kingdom. As our founder proclaimed, " Through Mary, we learn to love

Jesus with the same love that she has for Him." Her Assumption declares that God's

promises are real, that heaven is not a dream but our destined home.

We proudly celebrate Mary, crowned in celestial splendour, as she marches alongside us

still! D'Alzon understood that " Mary is always with us on our journey." She inspires us to

dare impossibilities for God, to build God’s Kingdom of truth and justice with tireless

devotion. Her presence empowers us to transform the world through radical love.

Let our joy radiate across creation! Let it be a joy that moves mountains, an unshakeable

sign that God never abandons his faithful followers, that Mary's victory will be ours and that

love conquers all!

We have inherited this glorious destiny. Every prayer, every sacrifice, every act of service

carries us toward that eternal embrace where Mary now reigns in perfect joy.

Our Lady of the Assumption—pray for us. Ignite our hearts, and lead us home to glory!

by Fr. Thomas O'Brien