(DAY 4 OF THE GREAT MARIAN NOVENA)
Scripture Reading: 1 Kings 2:19
Christians love to ask for the intercession of the Saint. No saint is called upon more often than Mary, the mother of Jesus. While every saint has at least some devotees within the Church, Mary is loved universally. Just about every Catholic has some sort of devotion to her thus making her by far the most popular saint to whom we pray to in times of need. However, this raises some questions for us: Why is she so special? Why is her intercession sought so much more than that of all the other saints?
The simple answer is that Mary’s intercession is more powerful than any other prayer. Her prayers are more effective than those of any other saints because Jesus our King, won’t refuse to grant her, her request since she will only ask in accordance with Jesus’ will.
To understand this, we have to understand the ancient kingdom of Israel, the one ruled over by King David and his royal descendants. In this kingdom, the queen was the king’s mother, not his wife, and she was called the queen mother (1 Kings 15:13, 2 Chronicles 15:16, Jeremiah 13:18). Now, in case the title “queen mother” isn’t clear enough, Scripture drives this point home for us with a woman named Bathsheba, the wife of King David and the mother of his successor Solomon. When David was king, Bathsheba would bow down to him and call him “my lord” (1 Kings 1:17, 31), but her position changed after her son ascended to the throne. When Solomon became king, he bowed down to her and gave her a seat at his right side, indicating her royal authority (1 Kings 2:19).
It may seem strange to us that the queen was the king’s mother rather than his wife, but that was Israel’s culture. The queen mother served as a link between the current king and his predecessor. As a result, the king’s mother held a very important position in ancient Israel, one unmatched by anybody else. St. Bernardine said “the greatness and dignity of this Blessed Virgin are such that God alone does, and can, comprehend it,”. when there is a king, the queen has absolutely no authority whatsoever except the quiet whisper in the king’s ear to influence a decision. Today, let us invite the Blessed Mother our Queen to whisper our requests into Jesus’ ear.
MASS: GREEN/WHITE Jonah 3:1-10; Ps 130:1-2.3.4.7bc-8(R.3); Accl: Lk 11:28; Gospel. Lk 10:38-42 ST. MARIA FAUSTINA (OPT MEM)
Prayer Points:
1. O God, You so lovingly offered us eternal life through Mary’s virginity; grant that we see the power of her intercession, for it was through her that we received the author of life, Jesus Christ, your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, forever and ever. Amen.
Exercise: Endeavour to invite more persons to join in this Novena. Take the prayers in Section B “THE GREAT MARIAN NOVENA PRAYERS AND INSTRUCTIONS”
Meditation: John 2:3