Homily: Feast of the Queenship of the Blessed Virgin Mary

Feast of the Queenship of the Blessed Virgin Mary (Mt. 22:1-14)

The Feast of the Queenship of Mary was established by St Pius XII in 1954. This memorial was related to the Feast of the Assumption. The Feast of the Queenship of Mary was set a week after the Holy Day.

The idea of Mary being a queen was something that relates to her Assumption. She was taken body and soul to heaven when she died. Our belief is that she prays for us constantly as she lives in eternal glory. We needn’t feel like we are alone in our prayer. We have a prayer partner in Mary.

We could remember the teaching of St. Ignatius Loyola. In his Spiritual Exercises he speaks of two Kingdoms. We have the kingdom of this world where one tries to acquire possession, power and popularity and then we have the Kingdom of Jesus where we live a life of spiritual abandonment. Our only desire is to serve God to the best of our ability.

If Jesus is the King, then we say that Mary is the Queen of the Kingdom of God. We know what her choice was. When the Angel Gabriel came to her to ask her to be the mother of God’s son she responded, “Be it done unto me according to thy word.” She left her ego behind and submitted herself to God’s holy will.

We remember that Jesus’ purpose was always to serve the Father. Ignatius would say that we have a decision to make. Will we live in the Kingdom of Jesus or not?

This is not a one-time choice, but it is a choice we make repeatedly. We must constantly make decisions between what is self-serving and what shows love for God and our neighbor. Mary shows us the way.

Reflection:

1.    Do I live my life completely in the Kingdom of Jesus? Where do I compromise?

2.    Is it hard to live like Mary? Why is it that way?

Dear Parishioners,

            On Labor Day weekend we will be having an outdoor Mass in front of Culemans Hall. We could not do this on July 4th because of the rain that day. The Mass will be at 9:15 a.m.

            I would remind everyone to bring their own lawn chair. We do not want to have to set up and tear down chairs. If it rains we will move into the church.

            May Queen of Heaven pray for us,

            Fr. Mark