September 2—The Martyrs of September

“Liberty, Equality, Fraternity” was the motto of the French Revolution. It sounds fine, till one remembers that it only applied to those who agreed with the revolutionaries. For those who disagreed, especially men and women in the service of the Catholic Church, there was no freedom, no fairness, and no brotherhood. In 1790, the revolutionary government required clerics to take an oath that denied the pope authority over the French Catholic Church. Many did, but those who refused were punished quite violently. That was the case with the Martyrs of September.

In 1792 those clerics, as well as men and women religious, who refused to take the oath were rounded up and imprisoned in closed-down convents and monasteries in Paris. In September “Vigilance Committees” were set up and mobs were sent to the prisons. Once there, they pulled out the inmates and brutally murdered them. September 2 and 3 saw the martyrdoms of 191 bishops, priests, religious men, women, and laity. By the end of 1792 the number of clergy martyred was 1500. They were beatified by Pope Pius XI in 1926.

Facing death with love is heroic, but that does not mean martyrs want to die. We all have a natural love for life, even for those who are willing to die for their faith. But when we are called to stand up for what is right, good, true, loving, and beautiful, then death, and even torture, may be a necessary witness before others. Are we able to stand up for what is right, what is good, what is true, what is loving, and what is beautiful in witness to the name of Christ and his bride, the Church? There is no scandal when we show our love for Jesus and his Church.

August 22--The Queenship of Mary

The fifth Glorious Mystery celebrates Mary as Queen of Heaven and Earth. We may wonder why this is so, since in contemporary kingdoms a queen is the consort of the king. However, in ancient Israel the queen was not the consort of the king, but rather his mother! The Hebrew word was Gebirah, “Queen Mother” or “Great Lady”. The queen mother played an important role in establishing her son on the throne, such as Bathsheba did for Solomon. However, Mary did not seek the throne for Jesus. She serves Jesus and points to Jesus as the true king.

The Gebirah also influenced the kingdom because of her status as queen mother. In Israel, the queen mother would sometimes rule in the place of her son. Our Queen Mother, Mary, never rules in place of Jesus, but he does follow her wishes, as he did at the wedding feast at Cana, when Mary commanded the servants to, “Do whatever he tells you.” (Jn. 2:5) The queen mother also interceded on behalf of the subjects of the kingdom. She was their advocate. Mary, THE Queen Mother, is our advocate as well, interceding on our behalf. We pray in the Hail Mary: “Pray for us sinners now, and at the hour of our death.” 

Mary is acknowledged as Queen of Heaven and Earth because of her role as Mother of God. She was the first disciple of Jesus. She leads us to him. Jesus honors her as his mother and gave her to us to be our mother: “Then he said to the disciple, ‘Behold, your mother.’” (Jn. 19:27) Just as John took Mary into his home, we need to take Mary into our homes, so she may bring us to her son, the King. Mary, our Queen, pray for us.

August 15--Feast of the Assumption of Mary

Praise be to God for our Blessed Mother Mary, who, because of her role as Mother of God, first disciple of our Lord Jesus Christ, was assumed body and soul into heaven at the end of her life!

This dogma was defined on November 1, 1950 by the Venerable Pope Pius XII: “By the authority of our Lord Jesus Christ, of the Blessed Apostles Peter and Paul, and by our own authority, we pronounce, declare, and define it to be a divinely revealed dogma: that the Immaculate Mother of God, the ever Virgin Mary, having completed the course of her earthly life, was assumed body and soul into heavenly glory.”

As evil came into the world through the sin of Eve, salvation came into the world through the obedience of the New Eve, Mary. It was through Mary’s cooperation that God effected salvation. She proclaimed the grace of salvation when she visited her cousin Elizabeth:

“My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord; my spirit rejoices in God my savior, for he has looked upon his handmaid’s lowliness; behold, from now on will all ages call me blessed. The Mighty One has done great things for me and holy is his name. His mercy is from age to age to those who fear him. He has shown might with his arm, dispersed the arrogant of mind and heart. He has thrown down the rulers from their throne but lifted up the lowly. The hungry he has filled with good things; the rich he has sent away empty. He has helped Israel his servant, remembering his mercy, according to his promise to our fathers, to Abraham and to his descendants forever.” (Lk 1:46-55)