(DAY 5 OF THE GREAT MARIAN NOVENA)
Scripture Reading: 1 Kings 2:19
Beloved in Christ, when we say that Jesus is our king, we mean that he is our Davidic king. The Old Testament prophets said that God would one day raise up a new descendant of David to take up his throne once more (for example, Ezekiel 37:24-25). The New Testament identifies Jesus as that king. When the angel Gabriel told Mary that she would be the mother of the Messiah, he identifies his royalty as that of David, “the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David” (Luke 1:32). Mary “was reverenced and honoured uniquely by the King, she interceded to the King on behalf of his subjects, and the King honours her requests”. (- Scott Hahn)
Mary’s intercession is so powerful because she is our queen mother, and the king will never refuse the queen. Just like Solomon, Jesus too will never refuse his mother (unlike Bathsheba, she won’t ask for anything bad), and we actually see this play out in the New Testament. In the famous story of the Wedding at Cana, Mary noticed that the wine had run out, and mentioned it to Jesus (John 2:3). Jesus’ initial response implies that He didn’t want to grant her request. He said, “O woman, what have you to do with me? My hour has not yet come” (John 2:4). While his exact meaning is tough to pin down, it seems clear that at the very least, He didn’t want to help the situation because his “hour has not come yet.” Secondly, He did eventually grant her request (John 2:7-11), and because the text does not tell us what changed, we have to attribute his action here to Mary’s intercession. Even though at first he didn’t want to help out, he acquiesced and granted his mother’s request simply because she asked for it.
And with that, we see clearly that just like the Israelite kings of old, Jesus won’t refuse his mother. Like Solomon in the Old Testament, Jesus will do whatever she asks. However, we have to be careful here. Praying to Mary is not magical. when we pray to Mary, we should know that She will only request that which is to the Glory of her Son Jesus and for our good as her children. Nevertheless, she is a powerful intercessor with her Son, the most powerful One there is, and we should take advantage of that intercession as often as we can.
MASS: GREEN/WHITE Jonah 4:1-11; Ps 86:3-4.5-6.9-10(R.15); Accl: Rom 8:15bc; Gospel. Lk 11:1-4 ST. BRUNO, P. (OPT MEM)
Prayer Points:
1. Loving Lord Jesus, You have promised to give me victory over every form of challenge. Heavenly Father, please shield me from every form of satanic attack in the name of Jesus the Lord-Amen.
2. We fly to thy patronage, O holy Mother of God; Despise not our petitions in our necessities, but deliver us always from all dangers, O glorious and blessed Virgin. Amen.
Exercise: We shall observe 6am to 12 noon three days fast from Thursday 7th to Saturday 9th October (Optional consider your health and strength)
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 2:7-11