Hullo! How are you today? Hope you are well. A few weeks ago we had a musical group called “The Crown Jewels” play at the parish festival Summer Jam. They are a cover band of the classic rock group Queen. One of their all-time hits is a song called, “Killer Queen.” It has some pretty evocative lyrics such as, “
She's a Killer Queen. Gunpowder, gelatine, dynamite with a laser beam…” Apparently it was written about a high-class woman of distinct tastes and preferences in how she lived her life.
Throughout the universal Church today we celebrate someone who was definitively not a high-class woman but our veneration for her is of the highest class given to human beings. She’s not a killer queen. Quite the opposite. The woman who we celebrate today has been given a multitude of titles such as, “Queen of Love…Queen of Mercy…Queen of Peace…Queen of Angels…” She was the earthly Mother of the Savior and has been appropriately referred to as the Mother of God. On this August 22
nd
of 2019 we honor Our Blessed Mother Mary and her Queenship of Heaven and Earth.
For the Jewish people their Queen was not the wife of the King but rather it was his mother. Therefore, Mary is rightly referred to as a Queen since her Son Jesus is the King of the Universe. However, their royal identity is not one which leads them to a pompous or inflated or egotistical outlook. Rather, their very lives give witness to the reality that they are humble and hard-working servants. Jesus said that he came, “Not to be served but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many” (Matthew 20:28). Mary declared that she was, “the handmaid of the Lord” (Luke 1:38) and
that God had “looked with favor on His lowly servant
” (Luke 1:48).
Their words and deeds give us an inspiring example to follow as we strive to live as Beloved Sons and Daughters of Our Heavenly Father. By virtue of our baptism we are taken into the royal family of Heaven and given the Grace necessary to reject what is sinful and choose what is good and holy. On this day in which we celebrate Our Blessed Mother Mary may we gratefully call upon her for help and honor her as life-giving Mother.
