Our Mother, the Virgin Mary
a Reflection by Fred Schaeffer, OFS

"It becomes you to be mindful of us, as you stand near him who granted you all graces, for you are the Mother of God and our Queen. Help us for the sake of the King, the Lord God and Master who was born of you. For this reason, you are called full of grace. Remember us, most holy Virgin, and bestow on us gifts from the riches of your graces, Virgin full of graces." St Athanasius, Bishop and Doctor (lived 298-373).

From the Catechism of the Catholic Church, Paragraph 783 we already know that "Jesus Christ is the one whom the Father anointed with the Holy Spirit and established as priest, prophet, and king. The whole People of God participates in these three offices of Christ and bears the responsibilities for mission and service that flow from them."

From the above, we learn that we are priest, prophet and king as the last sentence in CCC 783 indicates, an awareness that comes to us through our Baptism. And St. Athanasius in his beautiful prayer to the Virgin Mary, confides that we are a Royal people, because the Lord God is King, and, Mary is our Queen.

We are eager to pray the Holy Rosary daily, a prayer consisting of the Apostle’s Creed, the Our Father (6), and the Hail Mary (53); and some “Glory Be’s”, but unfortunately, so many do not pray the Rosary. We are in a time when the Rosary is a wonderful prayer during this Coronavirus Pandemic that can do so much good. These prayers come directly from Jesus and Mary and they are Biblical as well. So they are the best and most efficacious prayers in existence.

The most valid prayer to Mary and her Divine Son, is the Holy Rosary. The "Our Father", "Hail Mary", and "Glory Be," that make up the Rosary, are Gifts from Heaven. The "Our Father" is the prayer of Jesus to His (and our) Father; the "Hail Mary" is Archangel Gabriel's manner of addressing the Holy Virgin as he brought the announcement that a Son would be born to her and that she was to call him, Jesus. And, the "Glory Be" is also a very old prayer from 529 or perhaps older.

Let us then set aside 20 minutes every day to pray the Rosary, or better yet, a half an hour while meditating on each Decade, using perhaps Scriptural verses or Sacred Images to keep your mind on Mary and her Son. If you prefer to pray the Franciscan Seven-decade Rosary, then pray that, but DO pray the Rosary.

Let us often spend time with God and listen to His voice as He speaks to us in our hearts!

Peace and Good,

Fred S. Schaeffer, OFS

May 5, 2020

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