Hearth & Altar

Ezekiel sees the glory of the Lord returning to the temple from the east - the same direction it left. The noise of its coming was like many waters. The earth shone. He fell on his face. The glory entered and filled the inner court and God said: this is my throne, this is where I will place the foot of my feet. I will dwell here among you forever.

The glory returns to the house that received it. Mary received the glory of God in her body - made her body a dwelling for the Word - and called herself the handmaid of the Lord. Today the Church calls her Queen. The crown is the promise kept: whoever humbles herself will be exalted.

Jesus says in the Gospel: the greatest among you must be your servant. Whoever exalts himself will be humbled. Whoever humbles himself will be exalted. The Queenship of Mary is the feast of what this looks like when carried all the way through.

• For our family, that we would take the servant-queen's example into our household - that the greatest among us would be the one who serves the rest, we pray to the Lord.
• On the feast of the Queenship of Mary, for her intercession over our family through these Thirty Days, we pray to the Lord.
• For all who bear heavy burdens others have laid on them without lifting a finger to help - for the quiet servants in our family and parish - we pray to the Lord.
• Under the Immaculate Heart of Mary, for the grace to crown her image today and mean it, we pray to the Lord.

Today: crown Mary's image. If you have a statue of Our Lady at home, crown her with a wreath of flowers - real or paper - that the children make together. Place it on the statue and say: Mary, you are our Queen.

For small children: let them place the crown. That is enough.

Tell your children: Mary's queenship is the opposite of the kind of greatness Jesus warned about in the Gospel. She is the servant-queen, crowned not for seeking the crown but for refusing to.

Today is Saturday of Our Lady's Thirty Days. A simple practice for the season: every Saturday through September 15, say one decade of the Joyful Mysteries together. Let the children lead when they are ready. The Joyful Mysteries trace the path of the servant who said yes and was taken all the way to the crown.