First Reading: Ruth 1:1,3-6,14-16,22
Once in the time of the judges there was a famine in the land; so a man from Bethlehem of Judah departed with his wife and two sons to reside on the plateau of Moab. Elimelech, the husband of Naomi, died, and she was left with her two sons, who married Moabite women, one named Orpah, the other Ruth.
When they had lived there about ten years, both Mahlon and Chilion died also, and the woman was left with neither her two sons nor her husband. She then made ready to go back from the plateau of Moab because word reached her there that the LORD had visited his people and given them food. Orpah kissed her mother-in-law good-bye, but Ruth stayed with her.
Naomi said, “See now! Your sister-in-law has gone back to her people and her god. Go back after your sister-in-law!” But Ruth said, “Do not ask me to abandon or forsake you! For wherever you go, I will go, wherever you lodge I will lodge, your people shall be my people, and your God my God.” Thus it was that Naomi returned with the Moabite daughterin-law, Ruth, who accompanied her back from the plateau of Moab. They arrived in Bethlehem at the beginning of the barley harvest.
Responsorial Psalm: Ps 146:5-6,7,8-9,9-10
R. Praise the Lord, my soul!
Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob,
whose hope is in the LORD, his God,
Who made heaven and earth,
the sea and all that is in them.
R. Praise the Lord, my soul!
The LORD keeps faith forever,
secures justice for the oppressed,
gives food to the hungry.
The LORD sets captives free.
R. Praise the Lord, my soul!
The LORD gives sight to the blind.
The LORD raises up those who were bowed down;
The LORD loves the just.
The LORD protects strangers.
R. Praise the Lord, my soul!
The fatherless and the widow he sustains,
but the way of the wicked he thwarts.
The LORD shall reign forever;
your God, O Zion, through all generations. Alleluia.
R. Praise the Lord, my soul!
Gospel Reading: Matthew 22:34-40
When the Pharisees heard how Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, they came together. One of them, a teacher of the Law, tried to test him with this question, "Teacher, which is the most important commandment in the Law?"
Jesus answered, "You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and the most important of the commandments. But after this there is another one very similar to it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. The whole Law and the Prophets are founded on these two commandments."
Memorial of the Queenship of the Blessed Virgin Mary
At the end of the Marian Year in 1954, Pope Pius XII established this feast with his encyclical, Ad Caeli Reginam. Mary is Queen because of her divine maternity and because of her association with Jesus' redemptive mission. Today's feast is linked with that of the Assumption, celebrated eight days earlier, and it highlights Mary's spiritual motherhood in the Church. Her queenship is one of love, exercised in hearts, and reminds us that "if we persevere, we also shall reign with him" (2 Tm 2:12) as members of Christ's "royal priesthood" (1 Pt 2:9). Mary as queen is the eschatological icon of the Church in glory.At the end of the Marian Year in 1954, Pope Pius XII established this feast with his encyclical, Ad Caeli Reginam. Mary is Queen because of her divine maternity and because of her association with Jesus' redemptive mission. Today's feast is linked with that of the Assumption, celebrated eight days earlier, and it highlights Mary's spiritual motherhood in the Church. Her queenship is one of love, exercised in hearts, and reminds us that "if we persevere, we also shall reign with him" (2 Tm 2:12) as members of Christ's "royal priesthood" (1 Pt 2:9). Mary as queen is the eschatological icon of the Church in glory.
Introduction
“From this day on, all generations will call me blessed,” sings Mary. What does it mean, to call Mary, the humble virgin, blessed? It means nothing else than to be filled with admiration and to adore the marvel which God worked in her, to read from her that God looks to the humble one and lifts her up, that God’s coming into this world does not seek the heights but the depths, that God glory consists in making great what is small. To call Mary blessed means, together with her to ponder admiringly the ways of God, who lets his Spirit blow where he wants, to obey him and with Mary humbly to say: “As you have spoken, so be it.” (Bonhoeffer)
Entrance Antiphon
The queen stands at your right hand arrayed in cloth of gold. (Ps 44:10)
Opening Prayer
Lord our God,
the unpretentious mother of your Son
wanted to be nothing more
than your humble servant.
Allow us to honor her as our model and queen
of sincere, deep faith
and unassuming faithful service
of your plans with your Son and the world.
May her prayers imbue us with her spirit.
We ask this through her Son,
Jesus Christ our Lord.
Prayer over the Gifts
Lord our God,
in all simplicity we place before you
these signs of bread and wine.
May we learn from your Son and his mother
to accept any task you assign to us
and to say wholeheartedly
”Be it done to me as you say.”
We ask this through Christ our Lord.
Prayer after Communion
Lord our God,
with Mary we rejoice today
that you did great things in her and for her.
May our generation praise her and you
by living for your Son
and for our neighbor far and near
with a spirit of service and dedication
and with great and trusting faith.
We ask this through Christ our Lord.
