A second time he sent other servants, saying,
'Tell those invited: "Behold, I have prepared my banquet,
my calves and fattened cattle are killed,
and everything is ready; come to the feast."'
Today's memorial feastday, honoring the Queenship of Mary -- her "coronation" -- falls on the octave of the solemn feast of the Assumption. It completes the week of celebration which we can imagine occurs in Heaven. It is well beyond mortal sight but within our vision of faith. As Mary's devotees not yet raised from the dead, we are on the farthest edges of the vast crowd that mill around the coronation altar. If we hear anything it's our songs of praise in this distant land; it's not angelic or saintly shouts of exultation. We can see only the tinsel tiaras and awkward crowns we place upon our statues of the Virgin. But we believe that the Virgin has been crowned in the very presence of Almighty God. There is the thrill of being there, communicated by faith.
We also celebrate Mary's coronation with the fifth of the Glorious Mysteries of the rosary. Franciscans call our seven-decade chaplet not a rosary but a "Crown," for the final mystery of that series honors both her Assumption and Coronation.
This weekday Mass will be, in most Catholic churches, a quiet event. Perhaps those parishes which are named "The Queenship of Mary" might make a bigger event of it. (A google search finds three in the United States.)
Finally, this octave event fits handily with the beginnings of today's gospel. The announcement of a wedding comes in the form of an invitation, "Come to the feast!"
Mary's coronation, as the final mystery of the rosary, invites us to contemplate what must happen next -- the Judgement, and the Bliss. Our faith promises a Day of Reckoning and we must shudder at the thought. But it also promises Communion with the Saints and we rejoice in the thought. In that day we will join in the gladness of eternity, grateful that what we have heard and expected has come to pass.
Where she has gone, we hope to follow.
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I love to write. This blog helps me to meditate on the Word of God, and I hope to make some contribution to our contemplations of God's Mighty Works.
Ordinarily, I write these reflections two or three weeks in advance of their publication. I do not intend to comment on current events.
I understand many people prefer gender-neutral references to "God." I don't disagree with them but find that language impersonal, unappealing and tasteless. When I refer to "God" I think of the One whom Jesus called "Abba" and "Father", and I would not attempt to improve on Jesus' language.
You're welcome to add a thought or raise a question.