QUEEN OF CONFESSORS

(1) MARY, you are the Queen of Confessors, that is, the saints who in the various positions and states of life persevered in the confession of the faith and in the practice of virtue, and who proved themselves to be true and faithful followers of Jesus, not by the death of martyrdom, but by a holy life. You are their Queen because you fulfilled most perfectly the duties of religion, of your state in life, and of the love of your neighbor, and made the most excellent profession of Jesus Christ. The Gospel speaks of how fervently you fulfilled your religious duties at the presentation of your Child in the temple and at your celebration of the Passover in the temple of Jerusalem. After Jesus, you practiced the virtue of prayer more perfectly than all the saints. The Evangelist records how you "kept in mind all these words, pondering them in your heart". How beautifully you praised God in your "Magnificat" when at the visit to Elizabeth you exclaimed: "My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior!"

Queen of Confessors, help me to fulfill conscientiously all my religious duties according to God's will. Let me find contentment in prayer. I wish to regard it as the first and most necessary requisite for salvation, for without it I cannot live a virtuous life and die a holy death. But help me especially to be fervent in the reception of the sacraments—to go to confession and to receive Holy Communion as often as possible.

(2) MARY, with far greater fervor than the confessors you fulfilled the duties of your state of life. In your single life you watched carefully over your virginal purity. All the virtues were outstanding in you: purity, humility, meekness, detachment, poverty, obedience, piety, fervent love of God, burning zeal for His glory, perfect submission to His adorable will, charity for your neighbor, and patience in every trial.

No mother among the saints ever fulfilled her duties with such devotedness as you did. You were devoted to your husband Joseph. At his word you hastened into Egypt and back again. You were devoted to Jesus and took care of His wants from early morning till late at night. How painfully you sought Him for three long days! Even after He had begun His public life, you were a faithful Mother to Him; and though you could not accompany Him everywhere, your heart was always with Him. You suffered contempt and torture with Him in your soul during His holy Passion.

In your widowhood the Mass, Holy Communion and the Real Presence of your Son were the heart and soul of your very existence. You merit the title of Our Lady of the Blessed Sacrament not only because you have given us the Eucharistic Christ, but also because you were the most devoted lover and adorer of Jesus in the Holy Eucharist. You often' visited the holy places sanctified by, the sufferings of your Son and there prayed to God to have mercy on men. Your eyes were continually directed to things above; your only desire was to be one with Jesus, your Son.

Queen of Confessors, help me to be faithful in fulfilling the duties of my state of life as God wills. Let me be content with my state and patiently bear its hardships, for I am not in this world to enjoy a life of ease, but to merit heaven.

(3) MARY, the confessors mindful of His words, professed faith in Jesus also by a sincere and active love for their neighbor: "By this will all men know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another" (John 13,35). Inflamed with the most sincere love towards their fellow-men, they were ever intent upon doing them good in body and soul. But your lobe for your neighbor was even greater than that of the confessors. Your greatest service to mankind was the gift of the Savior, from whom we have received salvation and every grace we need to attain it. Your intimate part in the plan of redemption associated you with your Son, and hence you share His charity for the souls of men. You showed this charity hot only in your lifetime; you show it now in heaven by continually pleading to God for the children entrusted to you by Jesus on the cross.

Queen of Confessors, help me to imitate your spirit of charity toward my neighbor, for your loving Son receives every act of charity to others as if done to Himself. Only if I love my neighbor can I be regarded as His true disciple and your loving child.

Through Your mercy, O Lord, and the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary, may Your Church increase in the number of the faithful and ever shine forth in the manifold light of virtue. Through Christ our Lord. Amen. (Feast of Our Lady, Queen of the Apostles, Sat. after the Ascension)