The Fifth Glorious Mystery
The Crowning of the Blessed Virgin
By May/June 2009
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Queen of Peace
“Then a great and mysterious sight appeared in the sky. There was a woman, whose dress was the sun and who had the moon under her feet and a crown of twelve stars on her head. She was soon to give birth...Then she gave birth to her son...who will rule over all nations...” Revelations 12:1-5
“Peace is what I leave with to you; it is my own peace that I give you. I do not give it as the world does. Do not be worried and upset, do not be afraid.” John 14:27
Reflection
Mary, the Mother of Jesus, is honoured as the Queen of Heaven, as the Queen of Peace. Our Lady is also an image of our Church. Mary brings us to her Son; so, too, we encounter Jesus through our Church. She invites us to accept the peace that her Son offers us: “Peace I leave you, my peace I give you.” Throughout history, Mary has appeared to people in their suffering. She comforts them, calling them to pray and to follow her Son. “Do whatever he asks of you,” she says to us, repeating her words spoken at the wedding at Cana.
Mary has many names. She is Our Lady of Guadalupe who spoke to Juan Diego in 1531 in Mexico in his Nahuatl language, proclaiming a church with a place for native peoples. She is Our Lady of Aparecida, appearing in 1717 to poor fishermen in Brazil in the image of an African woman. She is Our Lady of Lourdes who spoke to Bernadette in France in 1858 at a time of great poverty. She is Our Lady of Fátima, appearing to children in Portugal in 1917 during the Great War of Europe. She is Our Lady of Medjugorje, speaking in 1981 to those peoples living in Yugoslavia, a country of many ethnic divisions. Mary represents God’s consolation to people crying out in pain.
What image of Mary is most dear to my heart? How can I work to promote peace in my family, in my community, and in the world?
Mission Call
Throughout the world, missionaries encounter great devotion to Our Lady. People seek Mary because she is a woman, she embodies what many women live, feel, think, suffer, and rejoice. There are many churches named after Our Lady. She is honored with processions; her image is crowned with flowers. During Mary’s feast days, when we walk with the people in a procession, praying the rosary, our hearts change, we are touched by the Divine. We feel the peace that Mary, Queen of Peace, offers us through her Son Jesus. Peace be with you!
As we pray this decade of the rosary, let us thank God for the gift of Mary, for her “Yes” to God to become the mother of Jesus. Let us pray for all women and their concerns. Let us pray for our Church, that it may lead people to Jesus, as Mary does. Let us pray for an end to all war and conflicts and for everlasting peace in our world.
Amazon Word
Many of the native communities in Roraima Diocese have chosen Our Lady of Guadalupe as their patron saint, as she is patroness of the indigenous peoples of the Americas. During my first brief two-month stay in a Makuxi village, I slept in the small church with its thatch roof, mud walls, and earthen floor. I would hang my hammock between two rafters at night, sleeping under the image of Our Lady of Guadalupe and listening to the bats swoop in and out. In the morning, the village children would stop at the church window to greet me. I visited families during the day and at night there was prayer and singing. It was a very peaceful time spent in the village, under the watchful eye of Guadalupe.
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