Turning to Mary

Aug 21

As a young college student in the late 16th century, Francis de Sales suffered a great sense of hopelessness as he struggled with recent Protestant ideas about predestination. Francis was saddened to think that perhaps God had predestined him to eternal abandonment in hell. For months, he experienced what has been called the “darkness of the soul” and a temptation to despair. When everything seemed beyond hope, Francis entered a church dedicated to Our Lady of Good Deliverance and knelt in front of a statue of the Virgin. He began to pray the Memorare: “Remember, O most gracious Virgin Mary that never was it known that anyone who fled to your protection or implored your help was left unaided…” Immediately, his gloom and discouragement were transformed. Joy and hope filled his soul. Francis had begun his journey of conversion.

Today is the feast of the “Queenship of the Blessed Virgin Mary.” This is a feast that celebrates Mary’s own journey in life and in death. Pope Benedict XVI reflected that “the small and simple young girl of Nazareth became Queen of the world!” Our Lady followed Christ “in His Incarnation; in His earthly life; in His Passion and death; and finally in the glory of His Resurrection and Ascension into Heaven (sermon on Mary, Mother of God).” This event in the life of Mary and the Church (and the Fifth Glorious Mystery) increases hope in our own resurrection and eventual glorification in heaven.

Throughout the summer, themes of joy and hope have been promoted in countless political circles as our nation prepares for a presidential election this fall. We have all been bombarded by TV commercials and social media speeches promising the answers to our problems and a way out of our struggles and setbacks.

As Christians, we know that Jesus is the only answer. He is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. He is our hope. The Virgin Mary is the model of those who hope in the Lord. She is the image of what we can achieve. St. Paul reminded us that we are to be hope for others. He wrote: “For what is our hope, or joy, or crown of glory? Are not you that hope, in the presence of our Lord at his coming (1 Thessalonians 2:19)?” The great Marian theologian St. John Damascene summarized this hope when he said, “Mary’s crown is the promise of our crown.”

Like Francis de Sales and many of the great saints, we, too, may struggle with disappointment, sorrow, and anxiety. We need encouragement and hope to help us find true peace and joy. In the Mass, the Church has added a petition after the praying of the Lord’s Prayer.

In this “embolism” the Church pleads: “Deliver us, Lord, from every evil, graciously grant peace in our days. That, by the help of your mercy, we may be always free from sin and safe from all distress, as we await the blessed hope and the coming of our Savior, Jesus Christ.”

On this feast of her Coronation as Queen, we look to Mary as the first disciple of her Son, as the greatest member of the Church. She is the one who believed, who waited, who watched, who persevered, and who gives us hope. May Mary, Queen of Heaven lead us to our own crown of glory.