THE BLESSED
VIRGIN MARY |
QUEEN OF PEACE |
Through the centuries Mary, Mother of Jesus has been honored and loved by
Her children. This love for Her is best shown by various forms of devotion such as
pilgrimages, May processions, October and May devotions and Church feast days.
Locally in Regina, at Holy Rosary Cathedral, a Vigil of Reparation to the Sacred
Heart of Jesus and the Immaculate Heart of Mary was begun in January of 2000. Prior to Saskatchewan becoming a Province, the
territory had been consecrated to Mary under the title of ‘The Queen of the Holy
Rosary’ and later reaffirmed in 1933 by Archbishop McGuigan. People of the
province were consecrated to Our Lady’s maternal protection by the Bishops of
Saskatchewan on April 5,1933. Many churches were dedicated in honor of Our Lady under various titles. Fifty years later on May
29,1983 the Bishops rededicated the province to Our Lady. In a joint pastoral they
wrote: "With greatest confidence then, we…call upon all of you to renew the
place of Mary, the Mother of God, in your lives. She will always lead you to Her
Son." Mary is also the Patroness of the Diocese. |
| MARY OUR MOTHER |
Anna, an aged woman who conceived above
all hope was blessed and became the mother of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Mary is the
Immaculate Conception, through the grace of
God, she was born to Anna without the stain of original sin -- in accord with His plan of
our salvation. The Immaculate Conception was defined as a dogma in 1854 by Pope Pius IX
and is celebrated on December 8. An apocryphal source recounts that Mary’s parents
brought their three year old daughter to the Temple in Jerusalem to offer her to God, and
left her there to serve God. The feast of the Presentation originated in 543: at the
present time is celebrated on Nov. 21.Mary was a pious young Jewish maiden born of the House of David. As she was praying, the Angel Gabriel appeared to Mary and asked Her to become the Mother of God. By her "Fiat," "Behold the handmaid of the Lord, be it done to me according to Thy word" she opened the earthly door for Jesus to bring us to salvation. (Luke 1:38) Mary’s role is generally portrayed
as a gentle loving wife and mother. New Year’s Day, January 1, honors the role of Mary as the Virgin Mother of God, Her virginity, a sign of the divine nature of Her offspring and proof of Christ’s humanity. She was with Jesus at the wedding of Cana, when Jesus worked His first miracle, when He turned water into wine. She was with him through His Passion, crucifixion and death on the Cross. As His mother She stood by Him through suffering and death. Through our prayers and intercessions we know that She will be there in our time of need as Queen of Heaven and Earth. Mary lived with and through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus. How could She not understand our need to be loved and nurtured and bring us closer to Her Son, Jesus. At the foot of the cross, before Jesus died, He said to His Mother, "Behold, this is your son." Then He said to the disciple, "Behold, this is your mother." ( John 19: 26-27 ) Through this act She has also become our Mother. On the day of Pentecost, Mary was with the apostles in the upper room when the Holy Spirit descended upon them. He remains with us to guide us and to discern the will of God, until Jesus comes again, in glory. Descriptions of the last days of the
Virgin on earth differ. Some interpretations place Mary in Jerusalem and some at
Ephesus, or Her miraculous transportation into other places. Mary’s death has
been described as so gentle and swift that the favored title "Dormition" seems
to be favored instead of death. Mary was assumed into heaven. Her
extraordinary status in the eyes of God and the eyes of the Church was proclaimed for all
eternity. Though the Assumption would not be made an official dogma of the Church
until 1950 by Pope Pius XII, it is one of the greatest Marian feasts and has been
celebrated since the ninth century with a vigil of its own and a liturgy that quotes the
Apocalypse: " And there appeared a great wonder Some of the apparitions of our Lady that have been approved by the Church — Lourdes, Fatima and Guadalupe have special feast days set aside also. Medjugorje is an approved place of pilgrimage, though it has not been officially approved as being an authentic apparition site. |
| Our Lady Queen of Peace pray for us and for the whole world. |
Pictured most often with her husband Joseph and Baby Jesus, a true Mother
and a role model as an obedient servant of God. 
in the heavens: a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet,
and upon her head a crown of twelve stars." ( Rev 12 :1 )
The feast of the Assumption is August 15. On the octave of the Assumption,
August 22, the feast of the Coronation is celebrated and Mary is named Sovereign
Queen, Queen of Heaven and Earth.