HOMILY FOR THE FEAST OF THE QUEENSHIP OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY.
THEME: ‘I am the handmaid of the Lord.’
BY: Fr Deotacious Chikontwe SMA.
*READINGS OF THE DAY*
Isaiah 9:1-7
Psalm 112:1-8
Luke 1:26-38
*LITURGICAL COLOUR*
WHITE
*INTRODUCTION*
Today we celebrate the Feast of the Queenship of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Pope Pius XII proclaimed the Queenship of Mary as a feast of the universal church at the close of the Marian Year of 1955. The feast is placed on this date, August 22, to stress its connection with the feast of the Assumption, exactly a week earlier. We find this link expressed in the joyful mysteries of the rosary, with the fourth mystery being the Assumption and the fifth mystery being the Coronation of Mary as Queen of heaven.
*FROM OUR FIRST READING*
In our first reading of today, the prophet Isaiah spoke of God’s Light and salvation that would come to the people who have lived in the darkness, promising to them the coming of the salvation in God, through the Holy Child that would be born, through a Virgin, a Woman, to the House of David, fulfilling everything that God had promised to His people, which were indeed fulfilled with the birth of Jesus Christ, Our Lord and Saviour.
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*FROM OUR GOSPEL READING*
In todays Gospel passage, the Archangel Gabriel greets Mary with ‘Full of Grace’, which highlighted her special status as a hallowed being, spared by God from any taint of original sin, and through her total obedience to the will of God, her love for Him and her commitment, she has become the worthy vessel through whom the Saviour of this world, the Son of God Himself, became incarnate in the flesh, and entered into our world.
*WHAT DO WE LEARN FROM THE FEAST OF TODAY?*
Today’s feast invites us to share in Mary’s willingness to both seek out God’s purpose for our lives and to surrender to it. This surrender won’t always come easy to us, no more than it came easy to Mary. Our own small purposes can get in the way of God’s greater purpose for our lives. Yet, Mary can help us to be as open and responsive to God’s will for our lives as she was, which is why we need to pray, ‘Mary, pray for us, sinners, now, and at the hour of our death’.
*CONCLUSION*
Let us all seek to emulate Mary’s examples, and let us all strive to live our lives worthily of the Lord from now on. Let us all no longer be easily swayed and tempted by the allure of worldly glory, evils and wickedness, and by the temptations of our desires, greed, ambition and pride, all of which may end up leading us to our downfall. Let us all ask Mary, our Queen and Mother, to pray for us all and to help inspire us and guide us in our journey of faith and life.
Happy Feast everyone, and may Mary the queen of Heaven always interceed for us.
Fr Deotacious Chikontwe SMA.
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