Check This Out

Appreciating Mary and adoring Jesus

08/23/2023

Lk 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."

I am always very happy when we get to celebrate a feast of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Just like I feel I can never compliment my own mother, Raichel, enough, so, too, I feel a filial love and desire to heap praises on my spiritual mother, Mary. But I know this also raises the eyebrows of some of our Protestant friends, who cringe thinking we Catholics pay more attention to Mary than to Jesus. Indeed, some would say we even worship Mary.

But to Catholic ears to say we worship Mary sounds ludicrous and laughable, because it sounds the same as saying I worship my mother, Raichel. I can praise my mother Raichel while never forgetting for an instant that all she has, does, or ever will be is all thanks to God’s grace in her. Anything good in my mother is entirely the work of Christ. So, too, with Mary: she is entirely the work of Christ’s grace. Indeed, Mary is God’s masterpiece.

So, today we gratefully and joyfully celebrate the Queenship of Mary. That is, she is queen of heaven and earth, obviously not in some god-like way or in any way rivaling her Son, Jesus, but in a creaturely and perfectly human way. Just like Leonardo Da Vinci’s masterpiece, the Mona Lisa, is the main attraction in the Louvre Museum, and no one who visits the Louvre will ever miss seeing it, so too, Mary is the main attraction of all God’s masterpieces in heaven.

Hence, he displays her in a very prominent and public place, and there is no more prominent place than at Jesus’ right hand. That is why we read in Ps 45:10, “The queen [Mary] stands at your right hand arrayed in gold.” Again, let us repeat, everything Mary has, does, or ever will be is entirely the work of Christ. And Jesus wants everyone to see and admire his handiwork, so he displays her seated on his right hand. As if to say, “Hey, check this out!”

Our gospel from Lk 1 also highlights the queenship of Mary, but we cannot skim over it lightly. Rather, we have to examine it at close quarters. I believe this gospel passage demonstrates that Mary is the queen of the angels, that is, she ranks higher than the angelic hosts in heaven, even higher than the cherubim and seraphim, who are the angels closest to God.

The key to this interpretation is the interrogation of the Archangel Gabriel by Mary. When he arrives to announce that she will conceive and bear a son, Mary ask very reasonably, “How can this be since I have no relations with a man?” Now comes the critical part. Gabriel immediately explains himself, as if speaking to a superior officer, a lieutenant to a general. How do I squeeze that interpretation out of those verses?

Well, a little earlier in Lk 1, the same Gabriel had appeared to Zechariah, the priest offering incense in the Holy Place, and announced that his wife, Elizabeth, in her old age, would conceive a child. Zechariah, again quite naturally, inquires how this will be humanly possible. But in this case, Gabriel has no patience or tolerance for such insubordination. Do you recall his angelic reaction?

Lk 1:19-20 relate: “I am Gabriel who stand before God…But now you will be speechless and unable to talk until the day these things take place because you did not believe my words.” Did you catch that contrast? Mary can question Gabriel, but a priest cannot. The best explanation is that in the case of Mary, Gabriel is addressing a superior being, but in the case of Zechariah, Gabriel is addressing an inferior being, like the lieutenant talking to a private.

And with Gabriel’s contrasted reactions, we have moved from the Old Testament to the New Testament. How so? Zechariah represents the old dispensation, where angels ranked higher than humans. Mary, on the other hand, represents the new dispensation, where Jesus carries all humanity higher than the angels. Audacious as it sounds, we can command the angels, like I ask my Guardian Angel to wake me up at 4:30 every morning. And he does it.

That is why Jesus said in Mt 19:28, “You who have followed me, in the new age, when the Son of Man is seated on his throne of glory, will yourselves sit on twelve thrones.” But the throne on Jesus’ right hand belongs to Mary, Jesus’ masterpiece. After all, if I were Jesus, I would seat my mother on my right side, too.

Praised be Jesus Christ!