• Summary of the Archbishop’s Homily


  • The Basilica of the Assumption of Our Lady, Mosta
    15 August 2019

    I would to share a reflection with you that has been brewing in my mind and heart for some time that would help us celebrate the Easter of the Assumption in a more meaningful and profound manner.

    When I look at our islands, at our two beloved dioceses of Malta and Gozo, I understand how much our ancestors treasured this much-loved feast. We can say that there are many parishes and churches that are dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary under the title of the Assumption. This feast adorns our islands with honour. It is helpful for us to understand the profound reason behind our joyous celebration of the Solemnity of the Assumption; why we rejoice that her son, the Son of God made man, chose to bestow on his mother with this singular privilege. Knowing all this we ask ourselves: how does this celebration apply to us personally? What is its significance in this day and age?

    Mary of Nazareth, who looked upon her son die on a cross, who witnessed his burial and rejoiced in his resurrection from the dead and in the gift of the Holy Spirit bestowed on his disciples gathered around her on Pentecost, does not suffer the corruption of her body in death but joins her son in glory like we shall at the end of time.

    Our hope is that we will be raised from our sins and like Mary, at the Lord’s appointed hour, we pass from death to life. As we heard in his Letter to the Ephesians that is proclaimed on this great Solemnity, the Apostle Saint Paul, our Father in faith, reminds us that we were dead through our trespasses and sins; in which we once walked following the course of the world and “the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience.  Among these we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, following the desires of body and mind, and so we were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind” (Eph 2:2-3).

    For a truly joyful celebration of the Easter of the Assumption, we must truthfully and humbly admit our sins and our radical need for God’s mercy. If we cannot acknowledge this truth concerning the story of our lives and ourselves, then we cannot raise our eyes to Mary and receive from her hands the ray of hope and the pure and powerful beam of love that transforms us into authentic saints.

    ✠ Charles J. Scicluna
        Archbishop of Malta


     

  • Photos: knisja.mt/ritratti

     

     

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