Reflections on the readings for the Memorial of the Queenship of the Blessed Virgin Mary (August 22, 2019): JGS 11:29-39; PS 40:5,7-8,8-9,10; MT 22:1-14
MISSIO offers “Preaching Mission,” as a homily help, providing connections to mission from the readings of Sundays, Feast Days and Holy Days.
This is the octave day of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin, and we now celebrate the Queenship of Mary.
Pope Pius XII proclaimed today’s feast in 1954, just four years after declaring the Assumption to be an official belief of the Church. The days are linked, in that we recognize both the love God has for the mother of His Son and the great dignity to which He has raised her. In her days on earth and her eternity in heaven, Mary serves our Lord and cares for His people. Just as Christ is truly King of the Universe, we acknowledge Mary as Queen. Forever sinless, she is profoundly, exclusively dedicated to the will of God. As part of her Jewish upbringing, she must have pondered the words of the Psalms: “Sacrifice or oblation You wished not, but ears open to obedience You gave me.… To do your will, O my God, is my delight, and Your law is within my heart!” (Psalm 40:7-9). God gave this gentle, brave, compassionate young woman everything necessary to fulfill her special role in the redemption of the world. And with her whole being, she said, “Yes!”
Because Mary is our Queen and our Mother, as surely as she delighted in tending to Jesus’ needs, she wants to look after us, too. We have only to ask her guidance, and she will teach us to know, love and serve our Lord. Whatever we may have done to fall from grace, she will always support us in getting up again. The Queen of Heaven and Earth yearns for us to spend our days preparing for our everlasting home with her and with her Son, who is one with the Father and the Holy Spirit.