By Deborah Castellano Lubov
“Mary’s song, Magnificat, strengthens the hope of the humble, the hungry, the faithful servants of God.”
Pope Leo XIV gave this reminder during the Mass for the Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary at the Pontifical Parish of Saint Thomas of Villanova in Castel Gandolfo on Aug 15 2025.
The Holy Father began his homily by observing that although today is not Sunday, “we celebrate in another way the Paschal Mystery of Jesus, which changed the course of history.”
READ POPE LEO XIV’S FULL HOMILY HERE
“In Mary of Nazareth,” he continued, “we recognize our own history: the history of the Church, immersed in the common lot of humanity. By taking flesh in her, the God of life and of freedom has conquered death.”
The Pope recalled that on this Solemnity we contemplate how God overcomes death, yet never without us. “His is the Kingdom, but,” he explained, “ours is the ‘yes’ to his love that can change everything.”
On the Cross, the Pope said, Jesus freely uttered that “yes” which would strip death of its power—the death that still spreads wherever our hands crucify and our hearts remain imprisoned by fear and mistrust. On the Cross, trust prevailed; so did love, which sees what is yet to come; and forgiveness triumphed.
That ‘yes’ still lives
The Pope recalled to those present in the parish that Mary was there by the Cross united with her Son.
“In our day, we are like Mary whenever we do not flee, whenever we make Jesus’ ‘yes’ our own.
“That ‘yes,'” Pope Leo marveled, “still lives and resists death in the martyrs of our time, in witnesses of faith and justice, of gentleness and peace. Thus this day of joy becomes also a day that calls us to choose how and for whom we shall live.”
The Pope went on to remember how we listened to the Gospel passage on the Visitation, in which Saint Luke recorded “a decisive moment” in Mary’s vocation.
Magnificat
As “we celebrate the crowning moment of her life,” Pope Leo said, “It is beautiful to recall that day.”
While he observed that “every human story, even that of the Mother of God, is brief on this earth and comes to an end,” he went on to reflect, “Yet nothing is lost. When a life ends, its uniqueness shines even more clearly.”
The Pope explained that Mary’s Magnificat radiated the light of all her days, and that the surprising fruitfulness of barren Elizabeth confirmed Mary in her trust, for “it anticipated the fruitfulness of her ‘yes,’ which extends to the fruitfulness of the Church and of all humanity whenever God’s renewing Word is welcomed.”
God breaks through our despair
Reflecting on Friday’s Solemnity, the Holy Father highlighted that the Resurrection enters our world even today.
“The words and choices of death may seem to prevail, but the life of God breaks through our despair through concrete experiences of fraternity and new gestures of solidarity,” and “prior to being our final destiny, the Resurrection transforms in soul and body, our dwelling on earth.”
Hence, the Pope reflected, “Mary’s song, Magnificat, strengthens the hope of the humble, the hungry, the faithful servants of God.”
God’s Word continues to be brought to light
Pope Leo reassured that despite something seeming impossible, God’s Word continues to be brought to light.
“When bonds are born, with which we confront evil with good and death with life,” he said, “we see that ‘nothing will be impossible with God’ (Lk 1:37).”
Pope Leo recalls poor and persecuted Christian communities
The Pope warned against when self-reliance prevails and consciences are dulled. “Instead of letting the old world pass away, one clings to it still, seeking the help of the rich and powerful, which often comes with contempt for the poor and lowly.”
However, Pope Leo acknowledged, the Church lives in her fragile members, and she is renewed by their Magnificat.
“Even in our own day, the poor and persecuted Christian communities, the witnesses of tenderness and forgiveness in places of conflict, and the peacemakers and bridge-builders in a broken world, are the joy of the Church,” he reaffirmed, saying, “They are her enduring fruitfulness, the first fruits of the Kingdom to come.”
Let us be converted by their witness
Recalling that many of them, like the elderly Elizabeth and the young Mary, are women, “Paschal women, apostles of the Resurrection,” Pope Leo implored, “Let us be converted by their witness!”
Addressing the faithful, Pope Leo stressed that “when in this life we ‘choose life,’ “we are right to see in Mary, assumed into heaven, our own destiny.”
“She,” the Pope continued, “is given to us as the sign that the Resurrection of Jesus was no isolated event, no mere exception.”
Mary: wondrous union of grace and freedom
Mary, the Pope said, is that wondrous union of grace and freedom, which urges each of us to have trust, courage, and participation in the life of God’s people,” especially as she says, “He who is mighty has done great things for me” (Lk 1:49).
With this in mind, Pope Leo said, “may each of us know this joy and proclaim it with a new song. Let us not be afraid to choose life!”
Even if “it may seem risky and imprudent. Many voices whisper: “Why bother? Let it go. Think of your own interests,” he said; such suggestions are “voices of death,” and we instead “are disciples of Christ.” “It is His love that drives us, soul and body in our time.”
Pope Leo concluded by stressing that only when we, as individuals and as the Church, no longer live for ourselves, life spreads and life can prevail. – Vatican News
