Our Lady, Our Queen, Our Mother, Our Example

Homily of Most Rev. Charles John Brown, D.D., Apostolic Nuncio to the Philippines

September 8, 2021 | Holy Mass for the 65th Anniversary of the Canonical Coronation of the Virgen de los Remedios, Patroness of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of San Fernando

Four years ago, on September 8, 2021, the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of San Fernando celebrated the 65th Anniversary of the Canonical Coronation of the Virgen de los Remedios. The event was a significant occasion for the Archdiocese of San Fernando in Pampanga, the principal patroness of which is the Virgen de los Remedios. His Excellency, Most Rev. Charles John Brown, D.D., Apostolic Nuncio to the Philippines, presided over the celebrations, which included liturgical and re-enactment events. In his homily, Archbishop Brown emphasized the importance of putting God’s word into concrete acts of charity. Below is the full transcript of his homily.

My dear brothers and sisters in Christ:

As I said at the beginning of the Mass, what a joy, what a deep joy it is to be here with all of you in the Archdiocese of San Fernando, for the 65th Anniversary of the Canonical Coronation of this beautiful image of Our Lady, Mother of God. Our Lady, who was crowned on this day in 1956 by the then Apostolic Nuncio to the Philippines, †Egidio Cardinal Vagnozzi. He came here and crowned Our Lady, in a time of great difficulty for the Church and for society in the Philippines—in which there was division and dissension. Due to the inspiration of your bishop at the time (†Bishop Cesar Maria Guerrero), this coronation became a means of reconciliation for the people of Pampanga. That is what we celebrate this morning, so early, here in this beautifully renovated and beautifully newly consecrated church, here in the Archdiocese of San Fernando.

Our Lady is the Morning Star, and now, as dawn is breaking across the Philippines, here we are as the children of Mary, the devotees of Our Lady, near her beautiful image, La Virgen de los Remedios, praying to her, looking to her, bringing of all of our petitions, and all of our needs to Mary. Knowing that she is a tender mother who loves us, who watches us, who hears our prayers, and presents them to her Son, Jesus.

True Blessedness

In the Gospel today (Luke 11:27-28), Jesus was with His people, and someone in enthusiastic love for Jesus cried out, “Blessed is the womb that carried you and the breasts at which you nursed.” “Blessed is this one who gave birth to you,” but Jesus then responds as we heard in the Gospel, “Blessed are those who hear the word of God and observe it.”

“Blessed are those who hear the word of God and observe it.” Now, brothers and sisters, this is not meant by Jesus as any kind of disrespect or distance from His mother, whose womb gave birth to Him, whose breasts nursed Him. Instead, Jesus is focusing us on another aspect of Our Lady when he says, “Blessed are those who hear the word of God and observe it.” That term “observe it.” What does it mean in the Gospel? “Blessed are those who hear the word of God and keep it,” guard it, protect the Word of God, who hold to the Word of God. This is a way of describing exactly what Mary did.

The Word of God, Will Not Fail

Remember brothers and sisters, we celebrate at the Annunciation on March 25—how the angel came to the village of Nazareth, and the angel Gabriel said to this village girl, this simple girl, this girl who was certainly a teenager when she received the message of the angel—the angel said to her, “The holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; and the Holy One to be born will be called Son of God. And your cousin, Elizabeth, in her old age, has conceived a son. She, Elizabeth, who everyone thought was barren, is now in her sixth month of pregnancy,” (cf. Lk. 1:35-36). Then, the angel says this to her. These are words that are so important for us, “Nothing is impossible with God.” “Nothing is impossible with God” (Lk. 1:37). Those are the words of the Archangel Gabriel to Our Lady.

If you look at those words in the Gospel, the phrase that the angel says to Mary, which we translate in English as “nothing is impossible with God.” What does the angel actually say in the original language of the Gospel, which is Greek? The angel says, “No word from God will ever fail.” (ὅτι οὐκ ἀδυνατήσει παρὰ τοῦ Θεοῦ πᾶν ῥῆμα.) We translate that as “nothing is impossible for God,” but the angel said, “No word from God will ever fail.” So, there’s a reference to the Word, the Word of God, it will not fail. Then let's think about what Mary says to the angel in response, “Let it be done to me according to thy word” (Lk. 1:38).

So, let's think now about what Jesus said about Mary. “Blessed are those who hear the word of God and guard it, protect it, observe it.” The angel says to her, “No word of God will ever fail.” Mary says, “Let it be done to me according to thy word.” Then in Saint John's Gospel, what do we read? “The Word became flesh and dwelt among us” (John 1:14).

So, this emphasis on the Word becoming Flesh in the womb of Mary. Mary's total obedience to God's plan, her total openness to God meant that God, the Word, could become flesh in her womb. God enters human existence by becoming a Divine Person in the womb of the Blessed Virgin Mary. So, there's no one who fulfills those words that we heard in the Gospel today more completely than Mary, who heard the Word of God, received the Word of God, and observed it, kept it, protected it in her body—and it became flesh. Then nine months later, is born in Bethlehem as Jesus, our Savior. Mary is the perfect example of hearing the Word of God in the most profound way, and allowing that Word of God to take flesh in her body as a child in her womb.

Putting God’s Word in Flesh in Our Lives

Now, all of us follow the Word of God in a different way than Mary. We, however, listen to the Word of God and need to give flesh to the Word of God in the way in which we live our lives. Not as Mary did by receiving the Word of God in our bodies and giving birth to the Son of God, but by enfleshing in our lives the teaching of Christ as it comes to us in the Catholic Church—the teaching of reconciliation and love, the teaching of prayer and adoration, all the things that Pope Francis is constantly exhorting us to do. To be true disciples of God, not just hearers of the Word of God. Not just ones who hear the Word of God on Sunday, but ones who put the Word of God into practice every day of our lives. That is what it means to be a Christian. That is what Pope Francis is exhorting us and asking us to do. Not simply be listeners, but be doers. 

That is what Mary shows us more than anyone, and that is why we crown Mary. We crown Mary because she was this humble girl in the town of Nazareth, not an important person, but because of her total availability to God, the history of the world changed. Why are we together this morning in the Archdiocese of San Fernando, praying in front of her image? We are here because in Nazareth, she said “yes”. She said “yes” to God, and we need to do the same thing in our lives by saying “yes” to His Word, and putting His Word into practice.

For that reason, now, Mary, the humble girl of Nazareth is crowned in heaven as Queen of Heaven and Earth. That is what we celebrate and renew in this commemoration of the 65th Anniversary of her Coronation.

Our Lady, Our Queen, Our Mother, Our Example

In the Magnificat, Mary says, “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 thrones but lifted up the lowly…” (Luke 1:46ff).

That is what we celebrate today, in this coronation of the La Virgen de los Remedios. We celebrate this beautiful disciple of God, this girl who said “yes” to God—this girl who went from humility to triumph through obedience to God's will in her life.

So, she is our Queen. She is our mother. She is our example of what it means to be a follower of Jesus; and here in the Archdiocese of San Fernando, as I said at the beginning, this tradition of devotion to La Virgen de los Remedios has always been associated with charity, with solidarity, with love for the poor. That's what it means to put His Word into practice.

Jesus tells us, asks us, “Whatever you do to the least of my brothers and sisters, you did it to me” (Matthew 25:40). Remember, Mother Teresa of Calcutta always tells us that the gospel, following Jesus is very simple, because there are only five words in English to remember, which you can remember on the fingers of your hand:  1) you, 2) did, 3), it, 4), to, 5) me.

That's what La Virgen de los Remedios teaches us. That if we're going to be not only listeners to God, listeners of His Word, but putting His Word into practice. It means being charitable, it means being generous, it means being ones who go to the periphery, to help those who are less fortunate than ourselves.

Conclusion and Exhortations

So, as you can tell, for me as your Apostolic Nuncio here in the Philippines for the last nine months, it gives me so much happiness to be part of this commemoration also. Because I go back and think about the former Apostolic Nuncio †Egidio Cardinal Vagnozzi, who came here 65 years ago. It's been 70 years of diplomatic relations between the Holy See, the Vatican and the Philippines; and 65 years since your first nuncio came to your diocese, your archdiocese, to crown Our Lady.

So, brothers and sisters, let's ask Our Lady to intercede for us. Let's be really devoted to her. Let's remember that she is, as I said, an example to us of what it means to be one who hears the Word of God and puts it into practice in the most profound way possible.

Our Lady, La Virgen de los Remedios, pray for us. Bring us to Jesus. Answer our petitions and help us to be holy and filled with love.