The Celebration Continues: Homily for the Queenship of Mary 2024

Queenship of Mary                                                                                         August 22, 2024
Fr. Alexander Albert                                                               St. Mary Magdalen, Abbeville

N.B. This is a sequel to the homily for the Assumption of Mary.

A week later and here we are again, celebrating something about Mary the Mother of God. Once again, it is worth asking: why? As with her Assumption into heaven, there are many reasons that all come back to one reason: to glorify Jesus Christ her son, God incarnate.

And what is it that we celebrate this time? Mary’s queenship. It’s not an accident that it is exactly a week after her assumption, either. Like we do with Christmas and Easter, these two feasts are part of an octave: 8 days of celebrating something. God created the world in 7 days, so in scripture the 8^th day has become a symbol of the new creation, of our restoration to God’s glory. It’s why baptismal fonts usually have 8 sides. This is the octave day, the spiritual echo of last week’s Solemnity of the Assumption. Last week, she was raised into heaven body and soul. This week, Mary is crowned as queen of heaven and earth.

Can we, like last week, find 3 reasons to give for this feast? Yes, and they line up nicely with last week: the fulfilment of prophecy, the consolation of God’s saints, and the clarification of our hope.

First, the prophecy. In ancient Israel, God established Saul as the first king. King David in turn took over and eventually Jesus was born of that royal line. When you have a king, you usually also have a queen. Normally, people think the queen is the king’s wife, but if you look back at the Old Testament, that is not what you find. Some of the kings had multiple wives – much to the disappointment of God. Even if they had only one wife, however, she was not queen. No, the queen was always the king’s mother. This is very obvious with King Solomon, whose mother Bathsheba is seen wielding great influence in the kingdom.

Once Jesus raised his mother body and soul to heaven, he crowned Mary as a fulfilment of ancient Israel. The Church is the new Israel. If Mary is the new queen, that is yet one more confirmation of the fact that Jesus is the new and eternal king.

Secondly, the consolation of God’s saints. By making Mary queen, Jesus not only honors her but actually gives her real power and influence. Mary is powerful. Her prayers matter. It’s not because she overpowers Jesus or anything, but because God likes to share his power and glory, to work through human beings. He also knows that we like to have a mom on our side. Obviously we only need Jesus. But the reality is that sometimes, in our sinfulness, we are afraid or ashamed or uncertain of how to go to God… to Jesus directly. So Momma Mary is for our benefit, able to help bring us to him. And that mom is also a queen.

Now, Mary is the greatest of all the saints, but she is not the only saint. What she has in superabundance, the other saints have to a lesser degree. Mary’s queenship is a consolation to us, a reminder to us that we are not alone. That she and all the saints are interceding for us, ready to help us get closer to Jesus if we are willing to ask them, to walk with them, to learn from them.

Finally, Mary’s queenship also clarifies our own hope. We not only get our bodies back at the end of time, we share in God’s own glory! We have here Mary’s famous answer to the angel: “May it be done to me according to your word.” And what is God’s word? That she be filled with Jesus, that she be his disciple, that she share in his crucifixion, that she comes to know him as resurrected lord, that she goes to heaven, and that she shares in the glory of God in heaven.

Do you know who else fits that plan of God’s word? All of us. Mary is the most perfect example, but we too are called to be saints. You can be a saint! Even if you’re not canonized with a feast day on the calendar, you will be a saint if you make it to heaven. God’s judgment is a serious thing and we need a healthy fear of judgment. At the same time, it is a joyful thing and we should look forward to it if we follow Mary’s example of saying yes to God. It’s why our psalm says God “raises up the lowly from the dust… to seat them with… the princes of his own people.” On the day of final judgment, we will answer for our sins, yes, but we will also receive our crowns!

So remember this whenever you feel lost, unimportant, unseen, ignored, or powerless. You are destined to rule in heaven along with your king and queen! Look at Mary, the unimportant young Jewish girl who was never rich or famous or politically powerful in her life, yet she has become your queen, your mother whose only desire for you is to join her in the glory of heaven. Look at Jesus who gleefully shares his royalty first with Mary and then with you. Be consoled and know that you are loved, you are capable of incredible glory if you but learn to say to God, to believe, to truly live her words in your own life: “Behold, I am the servant of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word.”