Memorial of the Queenship of the Blessed Virgin Mary
The Octave, that is, eighth day, after the 15 August Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, is upon us in today’s Memorial of the Queenship of Our Lady.
Established by Pope Pius XII in 1954, this memorial commemorates the ever-glorious Blessed Virgin Mary as the queenly mother of the King of kings and Lord of lords (cf. Revelation 19:16), our savior, brother, and friend, Jesus Christ.
For prayer, it might be appropriate to reflect a bit upon Mary’s joyful song of gratitude to her and our Almighty Father, that is, her Magnificat.
Specifically, a few lines stand out from chapter 1 of Luke’s gospel:
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.
Notice about whom the canticle is sung. She’s not singing about how great she is … although, Mary certainly is great! Her joyful song is all about: how God has been the cause of her rejoicing; how God has lifted her from her low state; how God has deigned that she have a special place; and how God Himself has accomplished all this.
And what is Mary’s response?
The Mighty One has done great things for me,
and holy is his name.
Would that our prayer each morning were similar to that of the young Jewish maiden from Nazareth!
In other words, let us pray:
Lord, help me to be filled with the knowledge of how good you have been to me. And then, having been filled with this knowledge, let my heart overflow with gratitude for you and what you have accomplished in and for me.