The following is probably just about the shortest blog I have ever written; however, to compensate for this, its heartfelt intensity is ‘searing’ the paper as I write.

It was evening and getting late, and I was not feeling all that well, a little jaded, a little low.  All at once I clasped hold of the Miraculous Medal I have worn around my neck for many years and my thoughts turned to Mary, the Mother of God and our Most Gentle Queen and Mother.  She is the Queen of Heaven and Queen of Our Hearts.  And thoughts then began to chase themselves through my brain.  The ‘session’ did not last too long, and at its end, I jotted down my recollections of the whole experience.  What follows is a virtual log of those thoughts – reproduced almost verbatim:

May is the Month of Our Blessed Lady – the month when we honour her and her place on earth, in heaven and in our hearts.

Life on earth is often not very easy; we are often troubled by doubts and worries that are many times difficult to explain properly to others, even those closest to us.  In one of our most beautiful prayers to Mary we refer to it as a ‘Vale of Tears’.  It is when we consider situations such as these that we may, at the same time, reflect on just how great a friend we have in Mary.  From her high place in heaven she listens to us and if we ask her to help, with sincerity that comes from the heart, she will always be there for us.

Mary is so holy – so pure – so feminine – so motherly –so helpful – so considerate of all of us, with our puny problems.

Mary is so great an advocate – she can advise and help us in all our most worry-some situations, if only we acknowledge her greatness and ask for her help.  If she cannot act for us herself, she will always ask her Son, Jesus, and we know that Jesus will not refuse his Mother.

Mary is most highly favoured by God; she is the Mother of God’s only Son, Mother of Our Saviour and the greatest woman ever to have lived here on earth.

She has revealed herself to her children on many occasions – we think of Lourdes and Fatima – as perhaps the most famous of her apparitions, but there are many others, not least to Saint Catherine Labouré, an appearance that brought about the inauguration of the Miraculous Medal.  These manifestations of the Blessed Virgin are important in themselves, but even more important is the reason that underlies them – and the reason is simple.  She comes to us in such way, and with no uncertainty, with just one aim in mind: she wishes to bring all of us nearer – closer – to her beloved Son, Jesus.

What more can one say?

Socius