Welcome to our 33 day Marian Consecration Retreat as we prayerfully anticipate the commencement of the Year of Mercy. Join us as we share the book 33 Days to Morning Glory: A Do-It-Yourself Retreat In Preparation for Marian Consecration by Fr. Michael E. Gaitley, MIC.

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Today's Reflection:

We never give more honor to Jesus than when we honor his Mother, and we honor her simply and solely to honor him all the more perfectly. We go to her only as a way leading to the goal we seek—Jesus, her Son.

—St. Louis Marie de Montfort

As much as Mary is our mother, she also is our queen. The "queen mother" perhaps. Often, I imagine Mary being the queen that every common villager loves, like Cinderella, but even more beautiful and kind. I envision her coming to the people from her castle on high. She glows with the light of Christ, and her smile blesses everyone whom she passes.

The people relate to Mary, and she makes them feel at ease. It is as if she wants them to recognize her as one of them. After all, she, too, used to walk to the well for water, cook on an open fire, and wash clothes in the stream. Mary tends to those in need. She feeds the hungry, visits the lonely, and comforts those who are sad. She listens to the prayers and petitions of each and every person that she encounters. She recognizes their great need for her Son, and she files all of their requests in her heart, to share with Him when she gets home. Even though the people’s problems may still remain at the end of her visit, she encourages them to “do whatever [the King] tells you,” and their hope is instantly restored (John 2:5).

When she returns to her castle at the end of a long day, she prepares to meet up with Jesus, her Son. She takes out a gold platter and begins arranging each villager’s needs, desires, hopes and dreams upon it. She lifts it gently, and presents it to Jesus. As St. John Paul II wrote, “she puts herself in the middle” of her Son and us (p. 96).

Jesus receives the people’s prayers through His mother, and He is delighted. He is happy to answer all of them, according to His Father’s will.

Mary’s work is never done. She listens to every Hail Mary and Memorare. She holds the hand of each person who prays the Rosary, and she breathes in the aroma of the lovely flowers placed before her statue in churches around the world. Mostly, she enters the hearts of all those who pray and show her devotion, and she points them to her Son. In turn, they grow closer to the King, because of the queen’s intercession.

To Ponder:

Since Mary’s role is “wholly oriented toward Christ,” how does this help you entrust your needs and intentions to her?

Let Us Pray:

Dear Lord, thank you for sharing your mother with us! Mary, thank you for always bringing us closer to your Son, Jesus. Amen.

Copyright 2015 Sarah Damm