The Queen’s Fiat: Memorial of The Queenship of the Blessed Virgin Mary (Isaiah 9:1-6; Psalm 113:1-2, 3-4, 5-6, 7-8; Luke 1:26-38)

Very few things spark a fun, but potentially heated, debate than going up to a group of protestants and declaring Mary to be the Queen of Heaven.  It is quite possible that this title, along with most other Marian doctrines, causes more rejection of the true faith than any other topic.  

I cannot count the number of times I have heard something to the effect that “Mary was the last concept I had to come to terms with before I could convert to Catholicism" or “Mary is the only Catholic doctrine that I haven’t been able to accept” or “Catholic devotion to Mary is the reason I am not Catholic.”

At the same time, Mary as the Queen of Heaven is probably one of the more straight forward images in all of Scripture.

As with many theological concepts, we can start with the Old Testament.  In this case, the first book of Kings.  Bathsheba, who is a prototype of Mary, sits on a throne at the right hand of the King.  Anytime we see a “throne” or “sitting at the right hand”, we should automatically think “position of authority”.  

In his first encyclical, Peter talks about Jesus in heaven, at the right hand of God, having the authority of God.  This is the same context within which we see Bathsheba.  She is seated at the right hand of the king, in a position of authority.  We can say the same of Mary.

Further, the way monarchies work is that the mother of the king is known as the queen mother. A recent queen mother that many of us may remember is Queen Elizabeth of the UK.  She was the wife of King George VI and the mother of Queen Elizabeth II.  After the death of King George VI, she continued to rule at the side of Queen Elizebeth II until her death in 2002.  This included dozens of official visits on behalf of the royal crown.

Perhaps this feels a bit familiar to Catholics as we consider the many visits of Mary (through her apparitions) on behalf of the heavenly Crown.

In the first reading, the prophet Isaiah gives us an image of a Son to be born with dominion resting on His shoulders, the King of the Universe.  Earlier in this prophecy, Isaiah refers to the child as Emmanuel.  This prophecy of Isaiah not only speaks to the kingship of the Son to be born, but necessarily then speaks also to the queenship of the pregnant, young woman who is the Queen Mother.  The Queen Mother who, as we read in the book of Revelation gives “birth to a son, a male child, destined to rule all the nations with an iron rod.”

The visit of the Magi in the Gospel of Matthew also points to this reality of the Queen Mother.  When the Magi entered the grotto, they saw the Child with His mother.  There is no reason to mention Mary in this narrative (especially considering Joseph isn’t mentioned), unless of course, Matthew is referencing a greater reality.  A greater reality that the first century Jew would have picked up immediately on through the context of the Davidic kingdom and the prophecy of Isaiah.  The child, Emmanuel, the King of the Jews, with His mother, Mary, the Queen Mother.

Non-Catholics can, and will, reject the truth, but facts remain facts.  This King is Jesus.  This Queen Mother is Mary.  Together, they are the new Adam and the new Eve in the new creation of the Kingdom of God, which of course is the Sacramental life of His One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church.

In his encyclical Redemptor Hominis, Pope Saint John Paul II said:  “We can say that the mystery of the Redemption took shape beneath the heart of the Virgin of Nazareth when she pronounced her ‘fiat’ (which we heard in our Gospel today).  From then on, under the special influence of the Holy Spirit, this heart, the heart of both a virgin and a mother, has always followed the work of her Son and has gone out to all those whom Christ has embraced and continues to embrace with inexhaustible love ... The Church, which looks to her with altogether special love and hope, wishes to make this mystery her own in an ever deeper manner.”

As we celebrate the Queenship of Mary today, we remind ourselves that we too have been made kings and queens through our baptisms and are therefore called to follow her Son.  We too are called to embrace those called by Christ with an inexhaustible love.  We too are called to spread love and hope into the world around us.  We too are called to echo the response of the Queen Mother, “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word.”

Through our “fiat”, the name of the Lord will be blessed forever.

Thanks be to God!

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The Promise of an Empty Tomb: Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary (Revelation 11:19A; 12:1-6A, 10AB; Psalm 45:10, 11, 12, 16; 1 Corinthians 15:20-27; Luke 1:39-56)

Three years ago, Virginia and I (along with a handful of other parishioners) had the opportunity to go to the Holy Land with Father Hogan. It was a tremendous experience that truly enlightened the Gospel message in our lives in a special way.

The last day in the Holy Land was allocated to be a free day in Jerusalem. Many in our group, including Virginia, took an optional trip into the hill country east of Jerusalem to the location that serves as the setting for our Gospel reading. 

This group came back with quite a story about how they experienced the area where Mary pronounced the Magnificat (which we heard today) as she encountered Elizabeth and the leaping baby in her womb.

In the meantime, I elected to simply wander around Old Jerusalem, exploring on my own. I could tell quite a few stories, such as getting into the Greek Orthodox Church built on the site of the martyrdom of Saint Stephen (one of the first seven deacons of the Church).

Just a stone’s throw from that Church (sorry for the choice of words Saint Stephen), I was able to also visit another Orthodox Church that contains the empty tomb of the Virgin Mary.

The small “t” tradition regarding this tomb is that at the end of Mary’s natural life, she chose this location for her tomb. It is fitting that this would be the site of her tomb because there is a prophecy from the Book of Joel citing this location as the place where the Lord will judge the nations, presenting imagery of this as the location where the resurrection of the body will begin during the final judgement at the second coming.

As the story goes, the Lord inspired the Apostles to return to Jerusalem as Mary approached the end of her natural life. One day, Mary requested they come to the cenacle, which was the upper room where the Last Supper occurred and the Holy Spirit descended at Pentecost.

While the Apostles were with Mary, the Lord gave her a choice, a chance (if you will) to avoid death. However, it is said, Mary humbly replied, “It is proper that as I have tried to follow you in life so I follow you also in death.”

At this, her eyes gently closed and her soul peacefully departed from her body. Cause of death? Love.

The Apostles reverently laid Mary’s body on a wooden plank. They solemnly processed from the cenacle on Mount Zion to the chosen tomb in the Valley of Jehoshaphat (also known as the Kidron Valley), which is approximately one mile away. 

The procession is said to have included all the Christians in Jerusalem, as well as an infinitude of invisible angels, patriarchs, prophets, and saints.

Saint Peter and Saint John laid the body of Mary in the tomb and sealed it.

Some time after the funeral, the Lord descended into the tomb of Mary with her soul. The Lord returned Mary’s soul to her body and in the process of that, glorified her body and rose it up again. This was followed by a magnificent and triumphant procession from the tomb into heaven...Christ the King ascending with His Immaculate Mother at His side.

Saint Thomas, who we recall was late to the cenacle upon the resurrection of Jesus Christ, was returning from modern-day India.  Once again, he was late...late for the funeral of the Virgin Mary.  In fact, it was now the third day since Mary had been buried.  He was greatly distressed when he learned she had already passed. He begged to be allowed into the tomb to see her one more time.

Saint Peter and Saint John agreed and accompanied him to the tomb.

Upon arrival, there was nothing on the plank except her robe and mantle. An angel appeared to them and said, “Men of Galilee, your queen and ours is now living body and soul in heaven and reigning in it forever with Christ.”

The source of this story is from a book called “The Life of Mary as Seen by the Mystics”, by Raphael Brown. The story isn’t part of the dogma that we celebrate today and therefore not something we are obligated to believe. At the same time, I believe it is a source of rich spiritual fodder that we can take to prayer to help us enter more deeply into this mystery of our faith...these mysteries of the Dormition and Assumption of our Blessed Lady.

The Assumption of Mary is a great message of hope for us. As some of you have heard me say in a previous homily: what God did for Mary, He offers to all of us through the sacraments of His Holy Catholic Church.

Living the sacramental life of the Catholic Church, we have the promise of resurrection, the promise of eternal life, and the promise of complete union with God (body and soul).

Living the sacramental life of the Catholic Church, we have the promise to join the queen who stands at the right hand of God, arrayed in gold.

Thanks be to God!

Lay Down Your Life: Memorial of Saint Maximilian Mary Kolbe, Priest and Martyr (Wisdom 3:1-9; Psalm 116:10-11, 12-13, 16ac-17 ; 1 John 3:14-18; John 15:12-16)

Today is the feast day of Saint Maximilian Kolbe, who was a Franciscan priest that lived during the turbulent times of the two World Wars.  He is perhaps best known for laying down his life so another may live.

In February 1941, the monastery Saint Maximilian Kolbe lived in was shut down by the German authorities.  He and four others were arrested.

In May, he was transferred to the Auschwitz concentration camp.  As a priest, he was subject to extreme harassment, beatings, and lashings.

In July, a person escaped from the prison.  This prompted the guards to select ten men to be made an example of in order to discourage future attempts.  One of the ten men selected cried out, “My wife! My children!”.  Upon hearing this, Saint Maximilian Kolbe volunteered to take his place.

After being deprived of food and water for two weeks, Saint Maximilian Kolbe died of a lethal injection of carbonic acid on August 14th.

The man Saint Maximilian Kolbe laid down his life for would survive Auschwitz and would return home to his family.  He would die in March, 1995.  In 1994, he said that “so long as he ... has breath in his lungs, he would consider it his duty to tell people about the heroic act of love by Maximilian Kolbe”.

Imagine the humility Saint Maximilian Kolbe must have had in order to be able to lay down his life in such a way that he would face certain death.

In his monthly challenge, Archbishop Lori said, “In the life of a disciple of Christ, we are called to develop the virtue of humility. We are called to self-giving service to others, not self-serving advancement of ourselves. Let us strive to not seek worldly honors in an egotistical spirit, but rather to live as servants to others so that God may exalt us to eternal life.”

Saint Maximilian Kolbe gives us a model for how to live this out.  Fortunately, we will not likely be called to be a martyr as he was, but we are still called to walk with our Lord humbly and lay down our lives for others out of love, developing a sense of spiritual martyrdom.

So, we ask ourselves:  What does the struggle with the sin of pride look like in your life? How can you be more humble of heart while at the same time bold in living and proclaiming your faith? What living examples of humble service have you found in your own life?   How have you laid down your life for someone else?  How do you think God is calling you to lay down your life now?

Saint Maximilian Kolbe is a reminder of the invitation to abandon our comfort zone.  

Saint Maximilian Kolbe is a reminder of the invitation to abandon our self absorption and pride.

Saint Maximilian Kolbe is a reminder of the invitation of Pope Francis in his encyclical “Evangelii Gaudium”...the invitation to become “bruised, hurting and dirty because (you have) been out on the streets”....out on the street finding the victims of the culture of death and walking with them into the culture of life and into the sacramental life of the Catholic Church.

Thanks be to God!

The Lord’s Dog: Memorial of Saint Dominic, Priest (1 Corinthians 2:1-10a; Psalm 96:1-2a, 2b-3, 7-8a, 10; Luke 9:57-62)

When the mother of Saint Dominic was pregnant, she had a dream of a dog with a lit torch in its mouth leaping from her womb.  With the torch, the dog seemed to set the world of fire.

So, when Saint Dominic was born in 1170 in Callereuga, Spain, they decided on the name Dominic as a play on the Latin words Domini canis, which translates to the Lord’s dog.

Saint Dominic would join the Benedictine order in 1194 and was named prior in 1201.

He spent most of his time with the Benedictines in southern France, where he combated the Albigensian heresy and converted many heretics back to the true faith.  Sadly, many components of Albigensianism are still alive today within Protestantism, but that is a homily for another day.

According to a pious legend, Saint Dominic would witness an apparition of the Virgin Mary in 1214.  In this apparition, Mary gave Saint Dominic the present form of the rosary.  While we cannot know for sure, the legend may very well be true since there is no written record of the rosary (at least in its present form) prior to this time and the rosary became immensely popular immediately following this time.

In July 1215, Saint Dominic was granted permission to begin his own religious order, known as the Order of Preachers.  You may know it better as the Dominicans.  

The Order of Preachers carries a combination of charisms that is fairly unique among the multitude of religious orders in the world.

While personal prayer time is important to all religious people, the Dominicans see it as the essential element for the rest of their rule of life.  They take ample time everyday for prayer; including the Liturgy of the Hours, the rosary, spiritual reading, and contemplation.

This serves as inspiration for us to cultivate an ever deepening life of prayer to nurture our relationship with the Holy Spirit.

Another important charism of the Dominican order that has been cultivated throughout the Church is study.  The constitution of the Order of Preachers says the following, “Saint Dominic included study ordained to the ministry of salvation as part of the essential plan for our Order … before all else, our study should aim principally and ardently at this, that we might be able to be useful for the souls of our neighbors.”  

This reminds us of how important it is for us to continue to learn our faith more deeply.  Not only for the benefit of our own faith life, but also in order to communicate that faith to those around us…especially those who live in ignorance of the Truth of Jesus Christ and those who live in opposition to the Truth of Jesus Christ.

Community is another important charism of the Dominicans.  It is through community that they perpetually encounter Christ through their brothers and recreate moments with the Holy Spirit.  

It shows us how important it is for us to come together as a community, certainly at Mass, but also to make God’s love visible through active participation in our prayer groups and service ministries.

For the Dominican, these three charisms feed and strengthen their primary charism: preaching.  Dominican legacy is the preaching of the Truth of Jesus Christ.

After suffering from a fever for approximately a month, Saint Dominic died at the age of 51 on August 6, 1221, in the presence of his Dominican brothers.   

Interestingly, while Saint Dominic has had a major influence on the Church (some of which I will preach on at other times), he has never been declared a Doctor of the Church.  Still, he is one of the most highly regarded and venerated saints in the Church, particularly among Dominicans and Franciscans, because through his example and intercession we can truly proclaim God’s marvelous deeds to all the nations.

Thanks be to God!

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Salty Life of Saint Alphonsus: Memorial of Saint Alphonsus Liguori, Bishop and Doctor of the Church (Romans 8:1-4; Psalm 119:9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14; Matthew 5:13-19)

Saint Alphonsus Liguori was born on September 27, 1696.  Both of his parents were very faithful and pious, ensuring he grew up to be the same.  In fact, Saint Alphonsus would attend an annual retreat with his father at a nearby religious house.

In 1715, at the age of 19, Saint Alphonsus began his career as a lawyer in the courts.  Over the course of eight years, it is said that he never lost a case, and (by the age of 27) had become the leader among his peers.

Everything was about to change in 1723.  He agreed to be lead counsel in a case between the Grand Duke of Tuscany and a Neapolitan nobleman over a property dispute valued at $500,000.  (That would be about $38 million dollars in today’s value.)  

The opening statement of Saint Alphonsus was nothing short of brilliant and was delivered with a tone of victorious presumption.

However, there was a key piece of evidence that he was unaware of.  The opposing council dismissingly announced, “Your arguments are wasted breath. You have overlooked a document which destroys your whole case.”

Long story short, Saint Alphonsus was thunderstruck by revelation.  He lost the case and was inconsolable by neither his peers nor the judge.  He declared, “World, I know you now. Courts, you shall never see me more.”

Later that year, he entered into formation for the religious life.  He was ordained a priest on December 21, 1726.

Among the various characteristics of his priesthood, we see in Saint Alphonsus a great confessor, a great moral theologian, and great devotee to our Lady and the Eucharist.

The line to his confessional was always extraordinarily long, often filled with hardened sinners repenting and returning to a life of grace.

As a moral theologian, he wrote extensively about prayer, spiritual direction, and the love of Jesus Christ, emphasizing a personal and affective spirituality.  Among his great works include “The School of Christian Perfection”, “Glories of Mary”, and “Visits to the Blessed Sacrament”.

In 1732, he founded the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer, commonly known as the Redemptorists.  This order still exists today, serving the poor and most spiritually abandoned.

At the age of 66, he was appointed a bishop.  At once, he began to reform his diocese.  

In the meantime, Saint Alphonsus suffered from great rheumatoid pain.  By the age of 71, his neck was so severely bent that it caused a sore on his chest.  It was so severe, the he could not even celebrate Mass.  That is why much artwork we see of him depicts his bent neck.

Saint Alphonsus died in the night between July 31 and August 1, 1787, two months before his ninety-first birthday. He was canonized in 1871, and proclaimed a Doctor of the Universal Church.  He is considered the patron saint of moral theologians, confessors, and those who suffer from arthritis.

In the life of Saint Alphonsus, we see what can happen when we live our life in the sacramental worldview of the Church, or as Saint Paul put it in our reading today, when we live the law of the spirit of life in Jesus Christ.   

And so, like Saint Alphonsus, we too can be the salt of the earth, allowing the world to glorify our Heavenly Father through our good works to reach out to those that are victims of the culture of death and walk with them into the spirit of life.

Thanks be to God!

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