20190822
SHARING
IN CHRIST’S KINGSHIP
22 AUGUST, 2019,
Thursday, Queenship of Mary
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First reading
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Isaiah 9:1-7 ©
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A Son is given to us
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The people that walked in darkness
has seen a great light;
on those who live in a land of deep shadow
a light has shone.
You have made their gladness greater,
you have made their joy increase;
they rejoice in your presence
as men rejoice at harvest time,
as men are happy when they are dividing
the spoils.
For the yoke that was weighing on him,
the bar across his shoulders,
the rod of his oppressor,
these you break as on the day of Midian.
For all the footgear of battle,
every cloak rolled in blood,
is burnt,
and consumed by fire.
For there is a child born for us,
a son given to us
and dominion is laid on his shoulders;
and this is the name they give him:
Wonder-Counsellor, Mighty-God,
Eternal-Father, Prince-of-Peace.
Wide is his dominion
in a peace that has no end,
for the throne of David
and for his royal power,
which he establishes and makes secure
in justice and integrity.
From this time onwards and for ever,
the jealous love of the Lord of Hosts will
do this.
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Responsorial Psalm
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Psalm 112(113):1-8 ©
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May the name of the Lord
be blessed for evermore!
or
Alleluia!
Praise, O servants of the Lord,
praise the name of the Lord!
May the name of the Lord be blessed
both now and for evermore!
May the name of the Lord
be blessed for evermore!
or
Alleluia!
From the rising of the sun to its setting
praised be the name of the
Lord!
High above all nations is the Lord,
above the heavens his glory.
May the name of the Lord
be blessed for evermore!
or
Alleluia!
Who is like the Lord, our God,
who has risen on high to his
throne
yet stoops from the heights to look down,
to look down upon heaven and
earth?
May the name of the Lord
be blessed for evermore!
or
Alleluia!
From the dust he lifts up the lowly,
from the dungheap he raises
the poor
to set him in the company of princes,
yes, with the princes of his
people.
May the name of the Lord
be blessed for evermore!
or
Alleluia!
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Gospel Acclamation
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cf.Lk1:28
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Alleluia, alleluia!
Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with
thee!
Blessed art thou among women.
Alleluia!
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Gospel
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Luke 1:26-38 ©
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'I am the handmaid of the Lord'
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The angel Gabriel was sent by God to a
town in Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man named Joseph,
of the House of David; and the virgin’s name was Mary. He went in and said to
her, ‘Rejoice, so highly favoured! The Lord is with you.’ She was deeply
disturbed by these words and asked herself what this greeting could mean, but
the angel said to her, ‘Mary, do not be afraid; you have won God’s favour.
Listen! You are to conceive and bear a son, and you must name him Jesus. He
will be great and will be called Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give
him the throne of his ancestor David; he will rule over the House of Jacob for
ever and his reign will have no end.’ Mary said to the angel, ‘But how can this
come about, since I am a virgin?’ ‘The Holy Spirit will come upon you’ the
angel answered ‘and the power of the Most High will cover you with its shadow.
And so the child will be holy and will be called Son of God. Know this too:
your kinswoman Elizabeth has, in her old age, herself conceived a son, and she
whom people called barren is now in her sixth month, for nothing is impossible
to God.’ ‘I am the handmaid of the Lord,’ said Mary ‘let what you have said be
done to me.’ And the angel left her.
SHARING IN
CHRIST’S KINGSHIP
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [Isaiah 9:1-6; Psalm 112:1-8; Luke 1:26-38 ]
Jesus Christ is the King
of Kings. He is the fulfilment of the prophecy to King David when the Lord said through Prophet Nathan,
“When your days are fulfilled and you lie down with your ancestors, I will
raise up your offspring after you, who shall come forth from your body, and I
will establish his kingdom. He shall build a house for my name, and I
will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. I will be a father to
him, and he shall be a son to me. Your house and your kingdom shall be made
sure forever before me; your throne shall be established forever.” (2 Sm 7:12-14, 16) The Davidic dynasty of course was
fulfilled in Christ whose kingdom has no end. The angel Gabriel said
“Listen! You are to conceive and bear a son, and you must name him
Jesus. He will be great and will be called Son of the Most High.
The Lord God will give him the throne of his ancestor David; he will rule over
the House of Jacob forever and his reign will have no end.”
Jesus, as the King of
Kings, came to set us free from oppression, suffering and especially from the Evil
One. He is the light to humanity as Isaiah prophesied. “The people that walked in darkness
have seen a great light; on those who lived in a land of deep shadow a light
has shone. You have made their gladness greater, you have made their joy
increase; they rejoice in your presence as men rejoice at harvest time, as men
are happy when they are dividing up the spoils. For the yoke that was
weighing on him, the bar across his shoulders, the rod of his oppressor, these
you break as on the day of Midian.” St Matthew recounted the beginning of
Jesus’ ministry with this citation. (cf Mt 4-12-17) St Luke recast the mission of
Jesus as that of the Suffering Servant. (cf Isa 61:1-3; Lk 4:18f)
Mary who shared in the
salvific mission of our Lord, in a special way shares in His kingship
analogously. Jesus is King by nature as God; Mary is Queen by grace
and by relationship. Mary
was chosen to be the mother of the Saviour. Being His mother, she is
given the honorific title of Queen. This, of course, is a grace.
God’s choice of her as the mother of the Saviour is because she has been highly
favoured by the Lord. The angel addressed her as such, “Rejoice, so
highly favoured! The Lord is with you.” Mary herself
acknowledged God’s favour when she said in the Magnificat, “My soul magnifies
the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has looked
with favor on the lowliness of his servant. Surely, from now on all
generations will call me blessed; for the Mighty One has done great things
for me, and holy is his name.” (Lk 1:46-49)
Secondly, Mary is Queen
by her cooperation with the salvific work of Christ who is the King. By His conquest of sin and the Evil
One, Mary, who was part of this whole salvific process, analogously shares in
His victory. We read in St Paul’s letter to the Corinthians. “Then
comes the end, when he hands over the kingdom to God the Father, after he has
destroyed every ruler and every authority and power. For he must reign until
he has put all his enemies under his feet. The last enemy to be destroyed
is death. For “God has put all things in subjection under his
feet.” (1 Cor 15:24-26)
This explains why the Queenship of Mary is celebrated on the Octave of the
Feast of the Assumption. Mary who triumphed over the Evil One and
shared in Christ’s resurrection is therefore deemed to also share in Christ’s
victory over sin and death. She is worthy to be called Queen simply
because she fulfilled the prophecy of Genesis when the Lord told the serpent,
“I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and
hers; he will strike your head, and you will strike his heel.” (Gn 3:15) This is reiterated in the book
of Revelation when John described his vision, “a great portent appeared in
heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her
head a crown of twelve stars.” (Rev 12:1)
The next consideration
is how she fulfils her role as Queen of Heaven. Being Queen of
Heaven, she fulfils her role as intercessor for the Church. Already this role was prepared for her
when she interceded for the Wedding Couple at Cana in Galilee. But then
her time had not yet come. Hence, our Lord said to her, “Woman, what
concern is that to you and to me? My hour has not yet come.” (Jn 2:4) But when the hour came, the Lord
repeated the same words, “‘Woman, here is your son.’ Then he said to the
disciple, ‘Here is your mother.’ And from that hour the disciple took her into
his own home.” (Jn 2:26f) Just as Christ
is now seated at the right hand of the Father interceding for us, so too Mary,
who is next to Jesus, prays for us as well. She shows us the way to
approach the Lord with confidence as she did at Cana in Galilee. The
letter to Hebrews writes, “Consequently he is able for all time to save those
who approach God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for
them.” (Heb 7:25) And
again, “For Christ did not enter a sanctuary made by human hands, a mere copy
of the true one, but he entered into heaven itself, now to appear in the
presence of God on our behalf.” (Heb 9:24) Mary is therefore given
the title, the mediatrix of all graces as Mary distributes the fruits of
Christ’s objective redemption to us.
Secondly, her Queenship
is for service, not for domination. Like the Lord, her Queenship is for
the service of humanity. The
Lord told His disciples, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over
them, and their great ones are tyrants over them. It will not be so among
you; but whoever wishes to be great among you must be your
servant, and whoever wishes to be first among you must be your
slave; just as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve,
and to give his life a ransom for many.” (Mt 20:25-28) Mary, too, is Queen of
servants. She is the model of what it means to be a handmaid of the
Lord. She was ever ready to do the will of God. Her first concern
was not about herself but the needs of others, as in the case of Elizabeth.
Upon hearing from the angel of her cousin’s pregnancy, she left her house
immediately to give her assistance. When we serve, we become true
Kings and Queens for others. Power is not for dominating other
people but to win them over by love and humble service so that they too can
share our joy with others.
Thirdly, her Queenship
extends to all of heaven and earth. As mother of Jesus, and therefore Mother
of God, she holds a dignity higher than the rest. She is Queen of the
Angels and Queen of the People of God. She is above the
angels. She is also the Queen of Apostles because she was with the
apostles in prayer to prepare for Pentecost. “All these were constantly
devoting themselves to prayer, together with certain women, including Mary the
mother of Jesus, as well as his brothers.” (cf Acts 1:14) Yet, in her humility,
she is the most humble of all human beings. She never thought highly of
herself nor claimed credit for what she was. All credit went to God alone
for she said, “The Mighty One has done great things for me, and holy is his
name. His mercy is for those who fear him from generation to generation. He has
shown strength with his arm; he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of
their hearts.” (Lk 1:49-51)
Today, as we celebrate
the Queenship of Mary, let us also imitate Mary in her holiness by fighting
against sin and overcoming the temptations of the Evil One. “Let us approach with a true heart
in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil
conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold fast
to the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who has promised is faithful.
And let us consider how to provoke one another to love and good deeds,” (Heb 10:22-24) Like our Blessed Mother, we too
must present our “bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God”,
which is our spiritual worship. “Do not be conformed to this
world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds, so that you may
discern what is the will of God – what is good and acceptable and
perfect.” (Rom 12:1f) In this
way, we can truly say with Mary that we “are a chosen race, a royal priesthood,
a holy nation, God’s own people” in order that we may proclaim the mighty acts
of God who called us out of darkness into His marvellous light.” (cf 1 Pt 2:9)
Written
by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All
Rights Reserved
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