Mass Readings
Liturgical Readings for : Saturday, 22nd August, 2026Léachtaí Gaeilge
Next Sunday’s Readings
Feast of the Day : Aug 22; The Queenship of the Blessed Virgin Mary
C/f A short review of this feast can be found below today’s Readings and Reflection.
During the Middle Ages, Mary was venerated as queen of the angels and saints. Pope Pius XII prescribed the memorial for the universal Church at the close of the Marian Year 1955. It is placed on this date to stress the connection of Mary’s queenship with her Assumption to Heaven.
FIRST READING Isaiah 9:1-6
A Son is given to us
The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light;
on those who live in a land of deep shadow a light has shone.
You have made their gladness greater, you have made their joy increase; they rejoice in your presence as men rejoice at harvest time, as men are happy when they are dividing the spoils
For the yoke that was weighing on him,
the bar across his shoulders,
the rod of his oppressor, these you break as on the day of Midian.
For all the footgear of battle, every cloak rolled in blood, is burnt and consumed by fire. For there is a child born for us, a son given to us and dominion is laid on his shoulders; and this is the name they give him:
Wonder-Counsellor, Mighty-God, Eternal-Father, Prince-of-Peace.
Wide is his dominion in a peace that has no end, for the throne of David and for his royal power, which he establishes and makes secure in justice and integrity. From this time onwards and for ever, the jealous love of the Lord of hosts will do this.
The Word of the Lord Thanks be to God.
Responsorial Psalm Ps 112: 1-8 R/v 2
Response May the name of the Lord be blessed for evermore!
Or Alleluia!
1. Praise, O servants of the Lord, praise the name of the Lord!
May the name of the Lord be blessed both now and for evermore! Response
2. From the rising of the sun to its setting praised be the name of the Lord!
High above all nations is the Lord, above the heavens his glory. Response
3. Who is like the Lord, our God, who has risen on high to his throne
yet stooped from the heights to look down, to look down upon heaven and earth? Response
4. From the dust he lifts up the lowly, from the dungheap he raises the poor
to set him in the company of princes, yes, with the princes of his people. Response
Gospel Acclamation Lk 1: 28
Alleluia, alleluia!
Hail, Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee. Blessed are thou among women.
Alleluia!
GOSPEL
The Lord be with you. And with your spirit
A reading from the Gospel according to Luke 1:26-38 Glory to you, O Lord
You are to conceive and bear a son.
In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a town in Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man named Joseph, of the House of David; and the virgin’s name was Mary.
He went in and said to her, ‘Rejoice, so highly favoured!
She was deeply disturbed by these words and asked herself what this greeting could mean, but the angel said to her,
‘Mary, do not be afraid; you have won God’s favour.
Listen! You are to conceive and bear a son, and you must name him Jesus.
He will be great and will be called Son of the Most High.
The Lord God will give him the throne of his ancestor David;
he will rule over the House of Jacob for ever and his reign will have no end.’
Mary said to the angel, ‘But how can this come about, since I am a virgin?’
‘The Holy Spirit will come upon you’ the angel answered ‘and the power of the Most High will cover you with its shadow. And so the child will be holy and will be called Son of God. Know this too: your kinswoman Elizabeth has, in her old age, herself conceived a son, and she whom people called barren is now in her sixth month, for nothing is impossible to God’
‘I am the handmaid of the Lord,’ said Mary ‘let what you have said be done to me.’
And the angel left her.
The Gospel of the Lord Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.
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Gospel Reflection 22nd August, , Queenship of Mary Luke 1:26-28
During the Middle Ages, Mary was venerated as queen of the angels and saints. Pope Pius XII prescribed this memorial of the Queenship of Mary for the universal Church at the close of the Marian Year in 1955. It is placed on this date of 22 August, a week after the feast of the Assumption, to show its close association with that feast. It is a feast that celebrates Mary’s exalted place in heaven. Mary’s exaltation bears out the truth of Jesus’ saying, ‘those who humble themselves will be exalted’.
In today’s gospel reading, we find Mary humbling herself. In her conversation with the angel Gabriel, she shows an open, questioning, spirit. She asked herself what Gabriel’s greeting could mean. In response to Gabriel’s extraordinary news, Mary simply asked, ‘How can this come about, since I am a virgin?’ She didn’t claim to know everything. This kind of questioning, searching spirit that Mary displays is a sign of humility. It stands over against the attitude of those who claim to know more than they actually do. Mary’s humble spirit is finally and fully revealed in her surrender to God’s purpose for her life, even though she doesn’t understand it fully at this moment. ‘Let what you have said be done to me.’
These words reveal Mary’s willingness to allow God to have his way in her life, rather than insisting on her own way. In the Beatitudes, Jesus would declare those with such an attitude to be blessed, ‘Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.’ Indeed, Mary could be described as a woman of the Beatitudes. She shows us the path we are all to take. If we enter into her humble attitude, allowing God to have his way in our life, we too will be exalted by God. We recognise Mary’s queenship most fully when, like her, we give ourselves over to God’s gracious purpose for our lives.
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The Scripture Readings are taken from The Jerusalem Bible, published 1966 by Darton, Longman and Todd Ltd and used with the permission of the publishers. http://dltbooks.com/
The Gospel Reflection is available with our thanks from Reflections on the Weekday Readings : My Words Will Not Pass Away by Martin Hogan and published by Messenger Publications c/f www.messenger.ie/bookstore
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Feast of the Day: Aug 22, The Queenship of Mary
Mary’s Queenship is probably best seen as a consequence of her Assumption.
Patrick Duffy explains some of its perspectives.
Link with Assumption
The link between Mary’s Assumption and the feast of her Queenship is recognised in article 59 of the Vatican II Constitution on the Church Lumen Gentium: “The Immaculate Virgin… was taken up body and soul into heavenly glory when her earthly life was over, and exalted by the Lord as Queen over all things, that she might be the more fully conformed to her Son, the Lord of Lords (cf Rev 19:16) and conqueror of sin and death”.
Formerly on 31st May
The institution of this feast was requested at Marian Congresses in Lyons (1900), Fribourg (1902), Einsiedeln (1906); it was again requested after the institution of the feast of Christ the King in 1925. In the centenary year of the proclamation of the Immaculate Conception (1954), Pope Pius XII instituted the feast with his encyclical ‘Ad coeli reginam’. At that time it was celebrated on the last day of May. Since 1969 it takes place a week after the Assumption.
The antiphon of the Magnificat at Evening Prayer links Mary’s queenship with her acceptance of the motherhood of Christ:
“Blessed are you, O Virgin Mary, because you believed in all the things which were told you by the Lord: you will reign for ever with Christ”.
Many beautiful hymns
There are many well-known and beautiful hymns and prayers saluting Mary as queen: e.g. Ave Regina caelorum, Salve Regina and Regina Caeli.
Fifth Glorious Mystery of the Rosary
We also celebrate the ‘Queenship of Our Lady’ in the Fifth Glorious Mystery of the Rosary.
While Mary defends the Church,
neither height nor depth, neither men nor evil spirits,
neither great monarchs, nor craft of man, nor popular violence,
can avail to harm us;
for human life is short, but Mary reigns above, a Queen for ever.
(~ St John Henry Newman, Meditations and Devotions ~)
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Memorable Wisdom for Today
‘Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it done unto me according to thy word.’
~ Luke 1:38 ~
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