Monday, 22 August 2016 : 21st Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of the Queenship of the Blessed Virgin Mary (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today we commemorate together the feast of the Queenship of Mary, ever-virgin, the mother of God. We celebrate she whom God has appointed to great honour, as the Queen of Heaven, as the Queen of All Saints and as the Queen of Angels, in accordance to her position as the mother of our Lord and God, Jesus Christ, and thus, being the Mother of God, merit to be the honoured persona in the kingdom of God.

Some of us may think that such attribution of honour is excessive and unnecessary. Indeed, critics of the faith and the Church had attacked us based on the honour and the praise which we have heaped on Mary, the praises we have sung of her, and all that we have asked her to intercede for our sake, that God may hear us through her prayers.

But that was because they failed to grasp and understand the reality of who Mary is and how significant is her life and actions to all of us. Mary is not just like any other woman or as any other human beings in that she has been chosen out of many to be the bearer of the Saviour bearing the salvation which God had promised His people ever since the beginning of time.

Firstly, Mary was conceived without sin, to prepare for her role as the Ark of the New Covenant, to bear the new Covenant of God with mankind, that is in Jesus Christ her Son. But even more importantly, she carried herself with proper decorum and act in accordance to what is expected of all the children and all the followers of the Lord.

That said, we did not elevate her to be a deity or a goddess over us, to be worshipped and adored as the pagans had done. She gained that great honour not by her own virtue or power, but because her Son is the Lord and King and Master of all the universe, the Lord of heaven and earth, so therefore it is just to call her a Queen. If a king’s mother is called the queen mother, then by the same argument, it is just to call Mary the Queen of Heaven, of All Saints, and of Angels.

In Mary, we see a great example to be adapted as our own. After all, her devotion to God and her obedience are things we can also adapt in our own lives. She listened to the Lord even when she was unsure and had doubts about what the Archangel Gabriel had told her that she would become the mother of the Son of God Most High and Saviour of the world, but she pressed on nonetheless, and did all she could in order to care for Jesus throughout His life.

And as God rewarded Mary with the glory of heaven, as we celebrated the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin just last Sunday, over a week ago, we see in her the fulfilment of the promise which God had told us mankind since so long ago. In her we see our eventual triumph against the forces of evil and darkness, the triumph and victory we will experience if we are faithful to God to the end, against the bondage to sin and wickedness, which had so far separated us from the Lord and His love.

As we celebrate the feast of the Queenship of Mary on this day, let us also take some time to look deep within ourselves, and see how we have lived our lives all these while. Have we been faithful to the Lord in the way that she had been faithful? Or have we instead walked the path of rebelliousness and stubborn refusal to repent from our sins?

The choice is ours, brethren, for us to choose between following God and seeking His forgiveness or to move away from Him, turn ourselves away from His mercy and instead embrace the tempting ways of this world. Shall we now not be worried or be hesitant any longer, but devote ourselves anew to the Lord, and walk forevermore in His ways from now on?

Let us seek the help of our beloved Queen, Mary, the mother of our Lord Jesus Christ. May she be our greatest help and intercessor, praying for our sake to her Son at all times. Pray for us, o Blessed Virgin Mary, Queen of Heaven, of All Saints and of all Angels, our role model in faith. Amen.

Monday, 22 August 2016 : 21st Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of the Queenship of the Blessed Virgin Mary (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Luke 1 : 26-38

In the sixth month, the Angel Gabriel was sent from God to a town of Galilee called Nazareth. He was sent to a young virgin, who was betrothed to a man named Joseph, of the family of David; and the virgin’s name was Mary.

The Angel came to her and said, “Rejoice, full of grace, the Lord is with you.” Mary was troubled at these words, wondering what this greeting could mean. But the Angel said, “Do not fear, Mary, for God has looked kindly on you. You shall conceive and bear a Son, and you shall call Him Jesus.”

“He will be great, and shall rightly be called Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give Him the kingdom of David, His ancestor; He will rule over the people of Jacob forever, and His reign shall have no end.”

Then Mary said to the Angel, “How can this be, since I am a virgin?” And the Angel said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore, the Holy Child to be born of you shall be called Son of God. Even your relative Elizabeth is expecting a son in her old age, although she was unable to have a child; and she is now in her sixth month. With God nothing is impossible.”

Then Mary said, “I am the handmaid of the Lord, let it be done to me as you have said.” And the Angel left her.

Monday, 22 August 2016 : 21st Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of the Queenship of the Blessed Virgin Mary (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : White

Psalm 112 : 1-2, 3-4, 5-6, 7-8

Alleluia! Praise, o servants of the Lord, praise the Name of the Lord! Blessed be the Name of the Lord now and forever!

From eastern lands to the western islands, may the Name of the Lord be praised! The Lord is exalted over the nations, His glory above the heavens.

Who is like the Lord our God, Who sits enthroned on high, but also bends down to see on earth as in heaven?

He lifts up the poor from the dust and the needy from the ash heap. He makes them sit with princes, with rulers of His people.

Monday, 22 August 2016 : 21st Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of the Queenship of the Blessed Virgin Mary (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Isaiah 9 : 1-6

The people who walk in darkness have seen a great light. A light has dawned on those who live in the land of the shadow of death. You have enlarged the nation; You have increased their joy. They rejoice before You, as people rejoice at harvest time as they rejoice in dividing the spoil.

For the yoke of their burden, the bar across their shoulders, the rod of their oppressors, You have broken it as on the day of Midian. Every warrior’s boot that tramped in war, every cloak rolled in blood, will be thrown out for burning, will serve as fuel for the fire.

For a Child is born to us, a Son is given us; the royal ornament is laid upon His shoulder, and His Name is proclaimed : “Wonderful Counsellor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” To the increase of His powerful rule in peace, there will be no end.

Vast will be His dominion, He will reign on David’s throne and over all his kingdom, to establish and uphold it with justice and righteousness from this time onward and forever. The zealous love of YHVH Sabaoth will do this.