Homily for Friday of the 20th Week in Ordinary Time - the Queenship of Mary

For daily readings, see http://www.usccb.org/nab/082208.shtml

Mary, Queen of Vocations, pray for us!

Mary, conceived without sin, pray for us!

Mary, assumed into heaven, pray for us!

Mary, Queen of Heaven and Earth, pray for us!

JMJ

Today the Church marks the 8th day of the Assumption of Mary, body and soul into heaven, celebrated as a holy day of happy obligation on August 15th, last Friday. The Church marks this octave of celebration by announcing the Queenship of Mary. Just as the Lord Jesus through His Resurrection and Ascension to His Father's right hand now sits as King of Kings, the Lord of Heaven and Earth, so too His Blessed Mother, the one most closely bound to Him and the one to share most fully in the fruits of His victory of sin and death, now is seated forever as Queen of Heaven and Earth. This exaltation of Mary is the fifth glorious mystery of the Holy Rosary given for our daily meditation.

The Assumption of Mary body and soul into heaven shows clearly that Jesus intends to share his definitive victory of sin and death with his disciples, beginning with His closest disciple, His Mother. The Resurrection is not for Jesus alone, but is for everyone who is a member of His body, the Church. Our first reading from Ezekiel provides the basis of hope in a bodily resurrection, as it foretells a vision of dead bones coming back to life, having flesh come over them and spirit breathed into them. Just so, Jesus' resurrection is much more than an 'escape' from His body that kept Him bound to earth. Actually, just the opposite is true. There is no real 'resurrection' of the soul or spirit, since these are immortal anyway. Belief in the resurrection pertains specifically to the resurrection of the body. The redemption of a human body means it is forever transformed from a body subject to sin and death to a body that can never die again. When we die, it is true that our souls are subject to immediate judgment while our bodies return to the earth to await the Final Judgment of all things. The resurrection of Jesus' body, however, shows that it is not our destiny to be changed from humans to angels. The destiny Jesus marks out for us is a destiny that pertains to the redemption of our bodies, as foreseen by the prophet Ezekiel. This is why, of course, that Thomas was able to place his fingers in the nail holes in Jesus' hands, and to place his hand in Jesus' side. Mary's body, as we celebrated last week, is now redeemed like Her sons. Her redemption is the pattern the Church can and must follow. It is because Mary's victory is complete that we celebrate her crowning as Queen of Heaven and Earth. This does not mean of course, that Mary becomes a God. It means instead that she shares fully in the divine life offered to humanity. As such, she is the perfectly redeemed human person.

+m