Mary’s reign in our lives …

TODAY’S HOLIDAY , he invites us to lift our eyes and meditate on the Queen of all creation: the Virgin Mary. On this day, we can meditate on the words of St. Jose maria: “May God, our Lord, grant that the same faith may burn in our hearts and from our lips a song of thanksgiving, because by, that the Holy Trinity chose Mary as the mother of Christ – she entrusted each of us under her protective cloak, like all of us. She is therefore the Mother of God and our Mother “[1]. The feeling of being protected under her cloak fills us with confidence in adversity and joy in success. We can expect from Mary the Queen her attentive intercession in difficulties and we happily offer her the first fruits of our struggles and love.

However, celebrating Mary’s reign in our lives can also bring us some restlessness. We usually emphasize our freedom and independence rather than emphasize the rule that someone else can have over our lives. Therefore, we can come to believe that in order to maintain a good relationship with our Mother, it is necessary to give up oneself. However, if we think a little deeper, we can realize that just as there is a kind of domination that takes away our freedom, there is another kind of domination that, on the contrary, takes us, it makes us happy and releases the energies that lead us to our best version. It is the dominion of love, with which we open ourselves to the will of another person and which leads us to our own fulfillment.

“We joyfully share the beauty of having Jesus as our king; his lordship of love turns sin into grace, death into resurrection, fear into trust “[2]. The kingdom of Christ means the transformation of our lives: it lifts us up and makes us God’s children. In a sense, it also happened to the Virgin Mary. By accepting to be the Lord’s servant, her existence was completely changed. She did not become smaller, but quite the opposite: with her yes to God’s will, she became God’s Mother and will eventually be the Mother of all Christians. We can ask her to help us say yes to God’s plans, which are much bigger and more ambitious than we can imagine. As Saint Josemaría wrote: “You have never felt as absolutely free as you do now that your freedom is woven out of love and detachment, out of certainty and uncertainty: because you don’t rely on yourself in anything, but on God” in everything.

TO BE IN OUR LIFE it showed Mary’s reign, it is necessary to first cleanse ourselves of everything that could separate us from her. “I will sprinkle clean water on you to cleanse yourself, “announces the prophet Ezekiel, “from all your spots and from all your idols I will cleanse you “(Ez 36, 25). To approach Mary and the dominion of her love means to open ourselves to inner purification so that we are able to receive the graces of her Son without any obstacles.

The term “purification “in terms of worship and liturgy means to purify a person or object so that they are worthy of God. Therefore, the first act of purification in our life is the water of baptism, which brings us from a state of separation from God to God’s son ship. It is beautiful to think that one of the tasks of the Virgin Mary is to purify us so that we are able to maintain our original connection with the Holy Trinity. Sometimes it will be her tears that cleanse us from the wounds of our sins, other times she will pour into our souls the balm of her tenderness when we are most despondent; and in moments of joy she will cleanse us with a mixture of her scents, which give our soul the deep presence of God.

This task of purification requires a daily effort to purify our soul in order to be able to perceive God’s reign. Saint Josemaría once asked one of his sons: “You have a desire to correct yourself, to purify yourself, to mortify yourself, to treat our Lord more, to increase your piety, without theatricality and external things, naturally? “[4]. “Pros the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit and your heavenly Mother to allow you to know yourself and cry over the many impure things that have passed through you and left such a big mark behind… – And without closing your eyes to your wretchedness, say to him: Jesus, give me love, which will be like a purifying fire, where my poor body, my poor heart and my poor soul will burn and cleanse themselves of all earthly miseries… And when I am emptied of myself, fill me with yourself: let me cling no more to anything down here; may only Love ” hold me forever.

PURIFICATION it is the first step to be able to enjoy the freedom that the Virgin Mary wants to give us with her reign. When Jesus gave her to us as Mother, he entrusted her with a very specific task: to forge in us a new heart that is able to have the same feelings as her Son. This is how Mary helps us fulfill the prophetic words of Ezekiel in each of us: “I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove the heart of stone from your body and give you a heart of flesh. I will put my spirit within you and cause you to walk in my ordinances, keep my sayings, and fulfill them “(Ez 36, 26-27). Isn’t the main task of a good mother to gradually cultivate the sensitivity of her children to enjoy this world and give glory to God?

The reign of the Virgin Mary therefore consists in the fact that she spreads the infinite Love of her Son on the cross all over the world. She learned from him that the true kingdom is not based on privileges or honors. “There is a general, common idea of a king or queen: it would be a person with power and wealth. However, this is not a kind of kingdom of Jesus and Mary. Let us think of the Lord: Christ’s kingdom and royalty is interwoven with humility, service, love: it is above all service, help, love. It is precisely love for us, help in all our needs “[6]. Mary exercises her reign by watching over us and offering us her maternal protection. But in order to receive this love and pass it on to those closest to us, we need a new heart that pulsates with service. The Virgin Mary wants to break the shell of our selfishness, which leads us to close ourselves in, so that we can open ourselves to the graces of her Son and the needs of all people. Like the servants in the parable at the wedding of the king’s son, our Mother never tires of inviting all men and women to discover that only when we try to do God’s will, our existence becomes a great celebration. “I have already prepared the feast, the oxen and fodder cattle are being slaughtered and everything is ready; come to the wedding! “(Mt 22, 4).

We can end this time of prayer by addressing our Mother with a few words of Saint Jose maria: “Saint Mary, Regina apostolorum, Queen of the Apostles, Queen of all those who desire to proclaim the love of your Son: you, who have so much understanding for our wretches, ask forgiveness for our lives; for what could have been fire in us and was only ashes; for the light that stopped enlightening; for salt that has lost its taste “. Mother, help us to have a heart as free and pure as yours.