Our Faith

August 19, 2022 | catholicnewsherald.com

“Coronation of the Virgin” by Diego Velázquez (1635-1636) on display at the Prado Museum in Madrid

Queenship of Mary

On Aug. 22, we celebrate the feast of the Queenship of Mary. In this feast, particularly cherished by the popes of modern times, we celebrate Mary as the Queen of Heaven and Earth.

In his papal encyclical “Ad Coeli Reginam,” Pope Pius XII proposed the traditional doctrine on the Queenship of Mary and established this feast for the universal Church.

Pope Pius IX said of Mary’s queenship: “Turning her maternal heart toward us and dealing with the affair of our salvation, she is concerned with the whole human race. Constituted by the Lord Queen of heaven and earth, and exalted above all choirs of angels and the ranks of saints in heaven, standing at the right hand of Her only-begotten Son, Our Lord Jesus Christ, she petitions most powerfully with Her maternal prayers, and she obtains what she seeks.”

And Pope Pius XII added the following: “We commend that on the festival there be renewed the consecration of the human race to the Immaculate Heart of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Upon this there is founded a great hope that there will rejoice in the triumph of religion and in Christian peace...

“Therefore, let all approach with greater confidence now than before, to the throne of mercy and grace of our Queen and Mother to beg help in difficultly, light in darkness and solace in trouble and sorrow...

“Whoever, therefore, honors the lady ruler of the Angels and of men – and let no one think themselves exempt from the payment of that tribute of a grateful and loving soul – let them call upon her as most truly Queen and as the Queen who brings the blessings of peace, that she may show us all, after this exile, Jesus, who will be our enduring peace and joy.”

— Catholic News Agency

Daily Scripture readings

AUG. 21-27

Sunday: Isaiah 66:18-21, Hebrews 12:57, 11-13, Luke 13:22-30; Monday (The Queenship of the Blessed Virgin Mary): 2 Thessalonians 1:1-5, 11-12, Matthew 23:13-22; Tuesday (St. Rose of Lima): 2 Thessalonians 2:1-3a, 14-17, Matthew 23:23-26; Wednesday (St. Bartholomew): Revelation 21:9b-14, John 1:45-51; Thursday (St. Louis, St. Joseph Calasanz): 1 Corinthians 1:1-9, Matthew 24:42-51; Friday: 1 Corinthians 1:1725, Matthew 25:1-13; Saturday (St. Monica): 1 Corinthians 1:26-31, Matthew 25:14-30 AUG. 28-SEPT. 3

Sunday: Sirach 3:17-18, 20, 28-29, Hebrews 12:18-19, 22-24a, Luke 14:1, 7-14; Monday (The Passion of St. John the Baptist): 1 Corinthians 2:1-5, Mark 6:17-29; Tuesday: 1 Corinthians 2:10b-16, Luke 4:3137; Wednesday: 1 Corinthians 3:1-9, Luke 4:38-44; Thursday: 1 Corinthians 3:18-23, Luke 5:1-11; Friday: 1 Corinthians 4:1-5, Luke 5:33-39; Saturday (St. Gregory the Great): 1 Corinthians 4:6b-15, Luke 6:1-5 SEPT. 4-10

Sunday: Wisdom 9:13-18b, Philemon 9-10, 12-17, Luke 14:25-33; Monday: 1 Corinthians 5:1-8, Luke 6:6-11; Tuesday: 1 Corinthians 6:1-11, Luke 6:12-19; Wednesday: 1 Corinthians 7:25-31, Luke 6:20-26; Thursday (The Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary): Micah 5:1-4a, Matthew 1:1-16, 18-23; Friday (St. Peter Claver): 1 Corinthians 9:16-19, 22b-27, Luke 6:39-42; Saturday: 1 Corinthians 10:1422, Luke 6:43-49

Our faith

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Pope Francis

The elderly can save humanity, unite generations

Pope Francis dedicated his general audience talk to the urgent need for young and old to come together so older people can share their faith and wisdom about the world.

“Let’s think about dialogue, about the alliance between old and young,” he said, as well as make sure this bond is not broken. “May the elderly have the joy of speaking, of expressing themselves with young people and may young people seek out the elderly to receive the wisdom of life from them.”

The pope continued his series of talks on old age and reflected on how reaching a ripe old age is a reassurance of eternal life in heaven.

In fact, “the image of a God, who is watching over everything with snowwhite hair, is not a silly symbol, it is a biblical image, it is a noble image, even a tender image,” the pope said. To depict God the Father as venerable in age and authority “expresses God’s transcendence, his eternity and his constant care for this world and its history,” the pope’s talk said.

The vocation for every older man and woman, the pope said, is to bear witness to the faith and to the wisdom acquired over the years.

“The witness of the elderly is credible to children. Young people and adults are not capable of bearing witness in such an authentic, tender, poignant way, as elderly people can,” the pope said.

He said it is also very compelling when the elderly bless life as it comes their way and show no resentment or bitterness as time marches on and death nears.

“The witness of the elderly unites the generations of life, the same with the dimensions of time: past, present and future, for they are not only the memory, they are the present as well as the promise,” the pope said.

“It is painful and harmful to see that the ages of life are conceived of as separate worlds, in competition among themselves, each one seeking to live at the expense of the other,” he said.

An alliance between the elderly and young people “will save the human family,” he said. “There is a future where children, where young people speak with the elderly. If this dialogue does not take place between the elderly and the young, the future cannot be clearly seen.”

Humanity, even with all its progress, still seems “to be an adolescent born yesterday,” which needs “to retrieve the grace of an old age that holds firmly to the horizon of our destination.”