Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word.

22 AUGUST (Lk 1,26-38)

Jesus is the King of the universe. He conquered his kingship, and true throne on the cross. “Regnavit a ligno Deus”. The Psalm sings the day of his enthronement, the day of his glory. It is a song that must be wisely meditated and piously interpreted.

My heart overflows with a good theme; I address my verses to the King; My tongue is the pen of a ready writer. You are fairer than the sons of men; Grace is poured upon Your lips; Therefore God has blessed You forever. Gird Your sword on Your thigh, O Mighty One, In Your splendor and Your majesty! And in Your majesty ride on victoriously, For the cause of truth and meekness and righteousness; Let Your right hand teach You awesome things. Your arrows are sharp; The peoples fall under You; Your arrows are in the heart of the King’s enemies. Your throne, O God, is forever and ever; A scepter of uprightness is the scepter of Your kingdom. You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness; Therefore God, Your God, has anointed You With the oil of joy above Your fellows. All Your garments are fragrant with myrrh and aloes and cassia; Out of ivory palaces stringed instruments have made You glad. Kings’ daughters are among Your noble ladies; At Your right hand stands the queen in gold from Ophir. Listen, O daughter, give attention and incline your ear: Forget your people and your father’s house; Then the King will desire your beauty. Because He is your Lord, bow down to Him. The daughter of Tyre will come with a gift; The rich among the people will seek your favor. The King’s daughter is all glorious within; Her clothing is interwoven with gold. She will be led to the King in embroidered work; The virgins, her companions who follow her, Will be brought to You. They will be led forth with gladness and rejoicing; They will enter into the King’s palace. In place of your fathers will be your sons; You shall make them princes in all the earth. I will cause Your name to be remembered in all generations; Therefore the peoples will give You thanks forever and ever. (Cf. Psalm 45 (44) 1-18).

Every king is always accompanied, followed by his Queen. Who is the Queen of Jesus Christ? It is his Blessed Mother, the ever Virgin Mary. He is the one who constituted her Queen of the angels and saints, of heaven and earth. Supreme over all his creation. This is a title that belongs only to her. Never might anybody else inherit it. He would never live up to so great and sublime dignity.

In the sixth month, 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, favored one! 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.

The Virgin Mary has been made great, very great, sublime, and placed above all creatures by the Lord. All must bow down before her. All can access to the Son passing through her heart. She is the voice of creation that begs its Creator. She is the heart through which we love our God and Lord. She is also the hearing through which the voice of God reaches the depths of our being. She is everything to us before Christ Jesus, because that is what her beloved Son established.

The Virgin Mary is full of grace. The Son pours all in the womb of the Mother because in this breast of grace and mercy we all draw from every heavenly gift. It is as if Jesus Christ wanted to rule the world by means of his Mother. He conferred her this very high honour. We must rejoice, exult, and gladden up for this mystery accomplished in her. Other than Queen, Jesus constituted her our Mother. We do not go to her as her subjects, we have recourse to her as children. Our Mother is the Queen of the Universe. Such a great honour could not have been given us. God truly loves us.

Virgin Mary, Queen of the Angels and Saints, Our Mother, come to our rescue.