22 August, 20th Week in Ordinary Time, Queenship of Mary:

Readings: Ez. 36:23-28; Ps. 51:12-13, 14-15, 18-19; Mt. 22:1-14.

Some Notes on the Queenship of Mary --

1. In 1954, four years after declaring the dogma of the Assumption in 1950, Pope Pius XII established the feast of the Queenship of Mary on the octave (8th) day after the Solemnity of the Assumption, 22 August. Assumed into heaven, Mary sits at the right side of her Son, from where as both our Queen and Mother, she intercedes for us as her spiritual children. She is the woman in Rev. 12:1-5, "And a great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of 12 stars."

2. As Christ is exalted in heaven as King of Kings, Mary is similarly exalted in heaven as Queen and Mother. Pope Pius XII wrote, "Jesus is King throughout all eternity by nature and by right of conquest: through Him, with Him, and subordinate to him, Mary is Queen by grace, by divine relationship, by right of conquest, and by singular choice [of the Father]." The main principle on which the royal dignity of Mary rests is her divine motherhood.

3. In the 4th century, St. Ephrem referred to Mary as "Lady" and "Queen." In the 7th century, St. John Damascene spoke of her as Queen and Mother of God. "When she became the Mother of the Creator, she truly became the Queen of every creature." Mary's queenship is a share in Jesus' kingship. The Marian hymns we know, such as "Hail, Holy Queen," were composed in the 11th to 13th centuries. For centuries, she has been invoked as the Queen of Heaven. Vatican II calls her Queen of the Universe (Lumen Gentium, ch. 8, no. 59), "that she might be the more fully conformed to her Son, the Lord of lords, and the conqueror of sin and death."

4. 1st Reading, Ez. 36:23-28 -- The Restoration of Israel. Context: By its wickedness, Israel provoked the exile (vv. 17-19). But God, on his own initiative, despite the wickedness of the people, desired to return Israel back "to its own soil." God will purify Israel from its idols (vv. 22-25).

5. "I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh" (v. 26). God will replace Israel's rebellious and obdurate attitude ("heart of stone") with a heart animated by God's plans ("heart of flesh"). "I will put my spirit within you so that you walk in my statutes, observe my ordinances and keep them. You will live in the land I gave to your ancestors; you will be my people, and I will be your God" (vv. 27-28).

6. Resp. Ps. 51:12-13, 14-15, 18-19 -- The Miserere, King David's Prayer of Repentance, when the prophet Nathan confronted him regarding his adulterous union with Bathsheba. Psalm 51 is the most famous of the 7 Penitential Psalms. "A clean heart create for me, God; renew within me a steadfast spirit. Do not drive me from before your face, nor take me from your holy spirit. Restore to me the gladness of your salvation; uphold me with a willing spirit" (vv. 12-14).

7. "Rescue me from violent bloodshed, God, my saving God, and my tongue will sing joyfully of your justice"(v. 16). "For you do not desire sacrifice" (v. 18, ritual sacrifice without good dispositions). "My sacrifice, O God, is a contrite spirit; a contrite, humbled heart, O God, you will not scorn" (v. 19).

8. Gospel, Mt. 22:1-14, Tne Parable of the Wedding Feast. The chief priests wanted to kill Jesus because he had condemned them through a parable. Replying to their murderous plan, Jesus tells another parable. "The kingdom of heaven may be likened to a king who gave a wedding for his son" (vv. 1-2). He sent servants to invite guests, but they refused to go to the feast.The king sent other servants to invite others. Some ignored the invitation, and others said that they were too busy. Still others mistreated the servants and some they killed (vv. 3-6).

9. Enraged, the king sent troops, destroyed the murderers, and burned their city (perhaps an allusion to the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD). He then told his servants to gather all they found, "bad and good alike." The hall was filled with guests. But the king saw one without a wedding garment. So the king ordered his servants to tie him up and cast him into the darkness outside (vv. 7-13). "Many are invited, but few are chosen" (v. 14).

10. The parable expresses God's judgment on Israel which refuses to accept the invitation to enter the kingdom of God and which killed the proclaimers of the kingdom. The kingdom is depicted as "now here" (the feast already prepared, vv. 1-10) and as "not yet" (vv. 11-14). The wedding garment signifies a change of heart, repentance, that is required for entrance into the kingdom.

11. The Readings today have a common theme: "a new heart and a new spirit (Ezekiel), contrite and humbled (Ps. 51), concretized by the wedding garment which signifies repentance, a change of heart (Gospel).

The Virgin Mary, Queen of Heaven conquered sin and death (Queen by grace and by right of conquest) and now intercedes for us to have a new heart and a new spirit.

12. Prayer -- O God, you made the Mother of your Son to be our Mother and Queen. Grant that, sustained by her intercession, we may receive a new heart and a new spirit, and so attain in the heavenly kingdom the glory that our Queen and Mother now enjoy. We ask this, through Christ, our Lord. Amen.

Prayers, best wishes, God bless!