Aug 22 – Queenship of the Blessed Virgin Mary
Whoever, therefore, reverences the Queen of heaven and earth – and let no one consider himself exempt from this tribute of a grateful and loving soul – let him invoke the most effective of Queens, the Mediatrix of Peace; let him respect and preserve peace, which is not wickedness unpunished nor freedom without restraint; but a well-ordered harmony under the rule of the will of God; to its safeguarding and growth, the gentle urgings and commands of the Virgin Mary impel us.
– Pope Pius XII
Is 9:1-7
Lk 1:26-38
The people that walked in darkness has seen a great light…
The world is in a situation where there is tremendous struggles on how to navigate the darkness of war and uncertainty. Many a family has been torn apart by strife and separated by war. Nobody can understand why God permits these sufferings in the world. Yet amidst all these struggles, we can always turn to our Blessed Mother, whose feast of her Motherhood and Queenship we celebrate today.
Mary was a refugee from persecution as she had to stay in Egypt to protect her child. She had to live the life of a single mum because Joseph died early. She also had to see her son falsely accused and then being put to death in the most horrific manner of that time. She has gone through enough struggles in her life to understand that we all are facing a difficult time in the world. Despite all of these issues, she maintained an attitude of prayer. When viewed from this perspective, we can tell that the problems we face may not be as existential to our being as we think they are.
The Gospel of today reminds us that Mary accepted the will of God with a spirit of prayer. Each of us need to adopt an attitude of prayer in all the obstacles we encounter. This is not easy, but I believe that prayer needs to be done in a constant manner; it cannot be used only when we are facing struggles in life. Constant communication with somebody is the hallmark of a good friendship and Mary shows us how to do so — by having faith in the ability of Jesus to grant us what we need, and to journey with us along the way to our eternal reward. As we come to the start of the weekend, let us take time to enter into a spirit of reflection — to ask Mary to show us what it means to adopt a spirit of prayer and total trust in God’s providence for us.
(Today’s OXYGEN by Nicholas Chia)
Prayer: Dear Mother Mary, we pray for the grace to follow your example of humility amidst the challenges of the world.
Thanksgiving: We give thanks for all who show us what it means to be children of God.
OXYGEN 
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