The Queenship of the Blessed Virgin Mary
Scripture:
1 Thessalonians 1:1-5, 8b-10
Matthew 23:13-22
Reflection:
Today we celebrate the Queenship of Our Blessed Mother. As I write this reflection, some of the pilgrims at World Youth Day (about 10,000 of them) are participating in a Marianfest at the Love and Life Center in Madrid. I pray that these young people will experience Mary’s love for them and develop a devotion to her. There is so much we can learn from the Mother of God.
Mary was very young when the angel came to her with the Lord’s invitation to bring Jesus into the world. At World Youth Day, many of the pilgrims are also young and it’s so exciting to know that they are also being commissioned to bring Jesus to the world, each back to his or her own country, city or town, neighborhood, school and family.
I bet Mary is smiling in heaven right now as she sees 400,000+ of her children coming together to worship her Son; excited to meet their brothers and sisters from around the world (some reports say 1.5 million!). What an amazing experience for these young people. Surely this must be a foretaste of heaven! And what an awesome testament this could be to the whole world!!!
I say "could be" because sadly, today’s media doesn’t think that 1.5 million people gathering joyfully and peacefully is something to cover. Rather, they write about the 5,000 who gathered to protest the Pope’s visit to Madrid. Still, a significant event is happening, and our young people are being strengthened with the truth and empowered to make a difference in our world in the future.
Our daughter Julie, Sr. Cecilia Rose, is helping at the Love and Life Center along with 47 other Sisters of Life, the Knights of Columbus, and many, many volunteers. We pray for all involved in World Youth Day and praise God for Mary who showed us by her life the power of giving God our total "yes".
Janice Carleton and her husband Jim live in Portland, OR and partner with Passionist Fr. Cedric Pisegna in Fr. Cedric Ministries. Janice also leads women’s retreats. She is the mother of 4 grown children and grandmother of 4. Visit Janice’s website at http://www.jcarleton.com/ or email her at janice@frcedric/org