A Reflection by Sr. Colleen Gibson, Coordinator of Pastoral Care, from the August issue of Give Us This Day
O God, who made the Mother of your Son
to be our Mother and our Queen,
graciously grant that, sustained by her intercession,
we may attain in the heavenly Kingdom
the glory promised to your children.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
God, for ever and ever.-Roman Missal
Soon after graduating from college, I found myself immersed as a yearlong volunteer in a trilingual parish. Dedicated to the Visitation, the parish brought together new immigrants and well-established neighbors to worship side by side. While each language group had their own Sunday liturgies, our shared celebrations were an amalgamation of Vietnamese, Spanish, and English. At daily Mass, a simple prompt to recite the Hail Mary would bring forth a symphony of praise as tongues as varied as the faces in the pews filled the packed basement chapel.
My job in this place was to visit our neighbors to see what the parish could do for them. I soon found that the Church expanded far beyond our walls and, as the year wore on, I also learned of Visitations I had never heard of: Our Lady of Guadalupe, of La Vang, Altagracia, Aparecida, Suyapa, and Częstochowa.
Every national group had their own unique devotion to the Blessed Mother. She had appeared to them in their own time and place and they, in turn, carried her in their hearts. For many, Mary was more than just the Mother of God; she was their mother, too. This woman who had borne the Prince of Peace was a queen in her own right.
Strong in spirit and steadfast in love, Mary’s queenship is a curious conglomeration of compassion, humility, and faithfulness. In her, God’s joy and goodness are made manifest, and through her, God’s love takes on flesh in Jesus Christ. As she herself proclaimed at the Visitation, “My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord, my spirit rejoices in God my Savior for he has looked with favor on his lowly servant.”
Mary’s Magnificat goes on to tell us the true glory of God’s goodness—a strength that tears down tyrants, a mercy that lifts up the lowly, and a richness that can only be found in the fulfillment of God’s promises.
She was faithful, and so provides us with a model of faith. Her queenship is not relegated to one group over another but is for us all, an echo of the royal call of our own baptism. Together, we cry out to her with one voice—though many and varied—as Children of God. Sustained by her intercession, we are united in Christ and walking this journey together; we are comforted to know that she carries us in her heart.
CREDIT: Sr. Colleen Gibson, from the August 2025 issue of Give Us This Day, www.giveusthisday.org (Collegeville, MN: Liturgical Press, 2025). Used with permission.