Today we celebrate the feast of the 'Queenship of Mary'. We are invited to reflect on the role of Mary in the salvation of the world. The Annunciation account reflects the uniqueness of Mary as the Angel Gabriel addressed her as "Hail" which means "O favoured One" recognizing what God has done to her in choosing her to be Mother of the Messiah (Lk.1:31).

The phrase "The Lord is with you" expresses the assurance of God's presence and assistance to the one chose to fulfil God's plan. (Judg 6:12).

The focus of the message by Angel Gabriel is on the miraculous conception and the two-fold identity which was announced in two stages. Firstly, Jesus' identity as the Messiah, a descendant of David. The second one refers to Jesus as the Son of God (Lk.1:35). In Mary's obedient acceptance of the mission to receive Jesus, she thus became the first believer.

To believe in Jesus' identity as Messiah and the Son of God is to accept all that Jesus' mission implied. Our discipleship of Jesus as the suffering Messiah and obedient Son of God demands a total involvement in listening to God's promptings through the Holy Spirit and to respond by carrying out God's will - 'Yes' like Mary's total 'yes' to God's plan and her immediate response in visiting Elizabeth.