Assumption -Heaven can only be reached through virtue (Seoul 2026)

My Dear Brethren,

When we reflect on Our Lady’s entry into heaven, we may be tempted to think: well, of course, since she was the Mother of God, it could not have been otherwise. 

However, we need to realize that we can gain heaven only as a reward of merit.

1. Not by privilege,

Being the Mother of God is, indeed, a sublime and august privilege, but it is a dignity conferred graciously by God, just as He resolved to confer angelic nature on the angels, or human nature on men. So, there is honor but no merit in the Blessed Virgin being the Mother of God.

Now, if Mary of Nazareth did not merit heaven by becoming the Mother of God, how did she merit it? The answer is simple: By her virtuous life on earth. 

Once, when He was preaching to the multitude, a certain woman hearing Christ’s words of wisdom, exclaimed: "Blessed is the womb that bore Thee, and the breasts that gave suck Thee!" But Jesus answered immediately: "Rather, blessed are they who hear the word of God and keep it." (Luke 11: 27, 28). Our Lord meant: "You praise my mother for being my mother, but I praise her for her sanctity." 

Likewise, on another occasion, there was a great crowd about Him, and some said: "Behold Thy mother and Thy brethren, outside, seek for Thee". Christ answered: "Who is my mother, and my brethren? And looking around on them who sat about Him, He said: " Behold my mother and my brethren; for whoever shall do the will of my Father who is in heaven, he is my brother, and my sister and mother." (Mark. 3:32,35). External privileges, however great, —even the ties of blood which bound the Messiah to his blessed Mother— are as nothing compared to obedience to God's will. 

Perhaps, also, this is the explanation of Our Lord’s puzzling language at the marriage in Cana. What He refuses to Our Lady on the score of her maternal authority, He grants to her virtue and holiness, working the desired miracle at once, in spite of the fact that "[His] hour had not come yet."

To come back to the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin, some may think: she obtains what she asks on easy terms! She has but to ask, and it is done. She enters heaven as a noble heiress comes into her father’s estate, by the mere title of blood and lineage. That’s mere family favoritism! 

But no, our Savior says: "To sit on my right or left hand is not mine to give you, but to them for whom it is prepared by my Father. " (Mt 20:23)

2. By way of merit,

Mary of Nazareth did not merit heaven by becoming the Mother of God, but by her virtuous life on earth. She never failed to perfectly correspond to God’s grace.

“Mary’s faith surpassed that of all men and all angels. She saw Her Son in the stable at Bethlehem and she believed that He was the Creator of the world. She saw Him fly from Herod and she never wavered in her faith that He was the King of kings. She saw Him born, and believed Him eternal. She saw Him poor and without even the basic necessities, and nevertheless she believed Him to be the Master of the universe. She saw Him lying on straw, and her faith told her that He was the All-powerful One. (…) And in the end, she saw Him dying, exposed to all manner of insult, affixed to a cross, and though the faith of all others was shaken, yet Mary persevered in her unhesitating belief that He was God.” (St. Alphonsus Liguori)

Thus, the lowly Jewish maiden with no other secret but faithful and persevering love of God, was preparing for herself the bright mansion in heaven wherein she now dwells eternally with her Son.

"Thou art the glory of Jerusalem, thou art the joy of Israel, thou art the honor of our people!"

Conclusion

My Dear Brethren,

We have not Mary's sinlessness; but we have the grace of Baptism by which we have been made children of God and heirs of heaven, and by which we may vanquish sin. 

We have not, as Our Lady had, the visible presence of our Lord; but we have Him invisibly in our hearts, and sacramentally in holy Communion. 

We are not full of grace as she was; but we have grace without limit promised us in answer to prayer. Everything depends on our co-operation with grace. Mary, the Virgin Most Faithful, arrived at her sublime degree of glory by faithfully corresponding with every grace. 

Mary, dearest Mother, lift up thy voice for us in heaven, that, following thy footsteps, we may, one day, share thy glory, and, with thee, praise forever the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. Amen.

* Video: https://youtu.be/Pf6Mw9vqXKg?si=KcsB-brWIURIPU_j