Mary, Mother of God and Queen of All Creation
Is 9, 1-6; Lk 1,26-38
My point is that God makes possible what for us appears to be impossible. There are things that are much more important to us than just simply an eclipse. I like to divide the gifts or graces that we ask for into two categories: physical and spiritual.
We pray for physical graces when we ask God for good weather or when we intercede for someone's healing when he or she is already in the terminal stages of a disease. In cases like these, for God to intervene, a miracle that goes against the laws of nature is required. These are very rare, although they do happen. Recently I was reading a short biography of Pedro Aruppe, the General of the Jesuits in from the mid 60's to the early 80's. He recounts how before becoming a priest, he had studied medicine and worked as a doctor. One summer he went to Lourdes, where he witnessed many miracles, and this encouraged him to leave his vocation as a doctor to the become a priest. So physical miracles do happen, although they are very rare. Very often, we start praying physical graces, such as healing, but soon start praying for things such as "peacefully accepting the will of God."
This is an example of a spiritual grace. By spiritual graces I mean those miracles that do not need physical intervention because they happen right in our heart, in our mind. Our heart and our mind are very soft organs, yet, we treat them as though they are hard, as though they were made of stone. Cannot a God who can bring about physical miracles carry out even more, spiritual miracles? We pray for peace, we pray for the gift of forgiveness, we pray for conversion of hearts, we pray for families to remain united. Don't these miracles occur right in our heart?
We pray for physical graces when we ask God for good weather or when we intercede for someone's healing when he or she is already in the terminal stages of a disease. In cases like these, for God to intervene, a miracle that goes against the laws of nature is required. These are very rare, although they do happen. Recently I was reading a short biography of Pedro Aruppe, the General of the Jesuits in from the mid 60's to the early 80's. He recounts how before becoming a priest, he had studied medicine and worked as a doctor. One summer he went to Lourdes, where he witnessed many miracles, and this encouraged him to leave his vocation as a doctor to the become a priest. So physical miracles do happen, although they are very rare. Very often, we start praying physical graces, such as healing, but soon start praying for things such as "peacefully accepting the will of God."
This is an example of a spiritual grace. By spiritual graces I mean those miracles that do not need physical intervention because they happen right in our heart, in our mind. Our heart and our mind are very soft organs, yet, we treat them as though they are hard, as though they were made of stone. Cannot a God who can bring about physical miracles carry out even more, spiritual miracles? We pray for peace, we pray for the gift of forgiveness, we pray for conversion of hearts, we pray for families to remain united. Don't these miracles occur right in our heart?
Yet, even about these things, which are based simply on what we think and believe, we sometimes get doubts and get discouraged. How can we ever have peace? How can I ever forgive that particular person? Though they might seem impossible for us, for God they are not.
The Angel Gabriel tells Mary that Elizabeth in her old age is going to bear a child. We can appreciate this even more if we remember that for their Semitic culture, not to have offspring meant that you have no future, so it meant a lot to Zachariah and Elizabeth that they were going to have a son and this served as a sign for Mary. In other words, the Angel was saying, "I know that it is hard for you to believe that you are going to bear child and that God will be with you throughout all this, but look at Elizabeth."
The liturgy today gives us a choice of readings. I could have used this which is specific to the feast of Our Lady, Mother and Queen, or I could have chose the readings of the feria which continues with yesterday's reading, which is the story of the rich young man. If I had chosen the reading for the feria, we come across similar words. Jesus tells his disciples, that it is hard for a rich person to enter the gates of heaven. But then her adds - and here is the important part - for man this is not possible, but for God, nothing is impossible.
There is where God opens his possibilities: where we thing that there is no alternative and that there is nothing that we can do. It reminds us of our utter dependence on God. When we start getting doubts whether we can continue loving when a relationship seems to have lost signs of life; when we are offended perhaps by those closest to us and we wonder where we would be able to get the strength to forgive. When we know that God is asking of us not to be attached to our possessions, to be more generous, to include others in our circle and in our worldview, but we just cannot do so. That is the moment when we need to call onto God to help us because for us it seems impossible, but for God nothing is impossible.
We venerate the Virgin Mary as Queen of All Creation not because she dominates with power and might over everyone and everything, as our popular understanding of kingship and queenship would suggest. Rather, she is Queen of All Creation because in her life she was the servant of the Creator, as she summed up in her words to the Angel Gabriel: "Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord!" And therefore it is only fitting that she who was the Servant of the Creator and through whom all creation was renewed through the Son that she bore, is exalted as the Queen of All Creation, redeemed by the Son that she bore!
We venerate the Virgin Mary as Queen of All Creation not because she dominates with power and might over everyone and everything, as our popular understanding of kingship and queenship would suggest. Rather, she is Queen of All Creation because in her life she was the servant of the Creator, as she summed up in her words to the Angel Gabriel: "Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord!" And therefore it is only fitting that she who was the Servant of the Creator and through whom all creation was renewed through the Son that she bore, is exalted as the Queen of All Creation, redeemed by the Son that she bore!
One last thing: Elizabeth bearing a child, we said, became a sign, a confirmation for Mary. In my life I can think of many people who have been transformed in their life, and have therefore become a sign for me, at times of discouragement, that just as they have been transformed, with the power of God, then so can I. Today the Church is presenting us with the sign above all signs, Mary, the Mother of Jesus, who in her very own body and entire life has shown that what is impossible for man - is not only possible by God, but even done with greatness and slendour!
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