Memorial of the Queenship of the Blessed Virgin Mary

Our reading from Judges today should be read many times for those who have difficulty with their faith at this time and also say, “If the Lord is with us, why has all this happened to us?” We have this wonderful exchange with an angel and Gideon that leads to an altar of God’s peace, memorializing the great exchange of nourishment. More importantly, sharing our food with the Lord leads to our fears and worries being abated and our salvation.

Like so many of our encounters around the Table of the Lord, this encounter hopefully leads to our own peace. As Christ says in the Gospel, it is not easy traveling with the baggage we carry (i.e., worries and fears). These may make it difficult to pass through gates (the name of the one gate in Jerusalem is “Eye of a Needle”) and build God’s reign. Like Gideon and Peter, we can feel so frustrated that we have already done enough for God. However, we are called to serve God until we are called to our heavenly reward.

This leads us to remember the memorial of today: Mary’s Queenship, her ultimate canonization process that the church honors her with this title, and such great joy. This day reminds us that, like the angel that came to her and said, “Do not be afraid, you can bear God’s son…” (my paraphrase) that saying “yes” to God will lead us, like her, to our ultimate reign in heaven.

Let us keep on keeping on and see that the Lord speaks to us, calms our fears, and is with us in our sacrifices toward the new and eternal Jerusalem.

Prayer:

God of majesty and glory, you called Gideon, Mary, Peter, and the other disciples to trust in your providence. May we lay our worries and fears with you on the altar of salvation. Transform our doubts and anxieties into your dreams and actions that will serve you and others faithfully, through Christ our Lord.