Queenship of Mary

Sometimes on major or very special feast days I find it hard to preach or now write a reflection. The beauty of the day speaks for itself. I am feeling this way today. How beautiful it is to know that the Queen Mother is my mother. How wonderful it is to serve her, to belong to her. What inexpressible joy it is to live in this truth. And how magnificent it is to know that this is not just the truth of my life but that of each of our lives. This morning I visited two elderly women who spoke to me only in Spanish. One was half blind the other was slipping with dementia. I anointed both women. Both were named Maria. Both were overjoyed at my unexpected visit. One was even crying. The Queen's daughters received the Sacrament on her feast day. After lunch I buried (funeral mass included) a woman who although never married raised two boys not her own but who mourned her today as their mother. Her name was Maria. The Queen's daughter is brought home to the palace to receive the reward of her labor on the feast of her Queen Mother. What joy! How beautiful is our Queen as she showers down such graces upon the children she has been given. The opening prayer at mass really sums up the gift of this feast. Father you have given us the Mother of your Son to be our Queen and Mother. With the support of her prayers may we come to share the glory of your children in the Kingdom of Heaven.