Luke 1:26-38

Isaiah 9:1-6

Psalm 113:1-2, 3-4, 5-6, 7-8

Luke 1:26-38

The angel Gabriel was sent from God

to a town of Galilee called Nazareth,

to a virgin betrothed to a man named Joseph,

of the house of David,

and the virgin's name was Mary.

And coming to her, he said,

"Hail, full of grace! The Lord is with you."

But she was greatly troubled at what was said

and pondered what sort of greeting this might be.

Then the angel said to her,

"Do not be afraid, Mary,

for you have found favor with God.

Behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son,

and you shall name him Jesus.

He will be great and will be called Son of the Most High,

and the Lord God will give him the throne of David his father,

and he will rule over the house of Jacob forever,

and of his Kingdom there will be no end."

But Mary said to the angel,

"How can this be,

since I have no relations with a man?"

And the angel said to her in reply,

"The Holy Spirit will come upon you,

and the power of the Most High will overshadow you.

Therefore the child to be born

will be called holy, the Son of God.

And behold, Elizabeth, your relative,

has also conceived a son in her old age,

and this is the sixth month for her who was called barren;

for nothing will be impossible for God."

Mary said, "Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord.

May it be done to me according to your word."

Then the angel departed from her.

Opening Prayer: Lord God, you called Mary to be the Queen Mother. She has been exalted through her Assumption as Queen of Heaven and Earth. Listen to her as she intercedes with maternal care for us before her Son.

Encountering the Word of God

1. Queen Mothers: In ancient Israel, the queen was not the king’s wife, but rather his mother. From First and Second Kings, we know the names of the queen-mothers of almost every king of Judah. Bathsheba, for example, was the mother of Solomon, and she had royal authority and acted as an advocate on the Davidic royal court. Azubah, Zibiah, Jocoliah, Jerusha, Abi, and Jedidah were all seemingly good queen-mothers. Holy Scripture presents the queen mother as a highly revered noblewoman who came to wield significant authority in the government affairs of Israel. Queen mothers wore a crown (Jeremiah 13:18), was arrayed in gold (Psalm 45:9), and sat enthroned at the king’s right hand (1 Kings 2:19). In Proverbs 31:1-9, we hear a queen mother advise her son to administer justice to the poor and avoid the pitfalls of women and wine (see Ignatius Catholic Study Bible, 506).

2. Evil Queen Mothers: “A few queen mothers in Israel used their high-level position to sponsor idolatry (2 Kings 15:13), to counsel their sons in doing wickedness (2 Chron 22:3), and even to seize control of the kingdom when the Davidic throne was temporarily vacant (2 Kings 11:1-3)” (Ignatius Catholic Study Bible, 507). The worst queen mother was Athaliah, who usurped the throne from 841-835 B.C. She was the daughter of King Ahab and Queen Jezebel from Northern Israel. She tried to exterminate the Davidic line and introduced the worship of Baal in the kingdom of Judah. Instead of advising the king and advocating for the people, Athaliah sought to kill the royal sons and led the people into idolatry.

3. Mary, the Queen Mother of the Messiah: Today, we celebrated the queenship and coronation of Mary in heaven. Mary is the Queen of Heaven and Earth and our Queen because she is the Mother of our Lord and because she cooperated in Christ’s redemptive work of salvation. Assumed into heaven, Mary entered the royal court of heaven and sat at the right hand of her Son, Christ the King. As our Queen, Mary directs us, protects us, and intercedes for us. Mary is a most excellent queen because of her Immaculate Conception by which she possessed a fullness of innocence and holiness, as well she is a most efficacious queen as she shares in Christ's influence over humanity, distributing graces through her motherly intercession. In heaven, Mary does not cease her saving service, which expresses her maternal mediation “until the eternal fulfillment of all the elect” (John Paul II, Redemptoris Mater, 41). 

Conversing with Christ: Lord Jesus, you reign in heaven and have your mother, Mary, at your right hand as the Queen Mother. She is beautiful and continually intercedes for your Bride, the Church. Attend to her intercession and grant her petitions.

Living the Word of God: Mary is the model disciple who heard God’s word and accepted it. She persevered throughout her entire life, following her Son even through the torment of his death. In this, she fulfilled all the conditions for attaining royal status. She inspires all of us to realize the Christian royal vocation in our lives. “Therefore, fixing our gaze on the mystery of Mary’s Assumption, of her ‘crowning’ in glory, we daily learn to serve - to serve God in our brothers and sisters, to express in our attitude of service the ‘royalty’ of our Christian vocation in every state or profession, in every time and in every place. To carry over into the reality of our daily life through such an attitude the petition, ‘Thy kingdom come,’ which we make every day in the Lord’s prayer to the Father” (John Paul II, August 23, 1981).