# O Mary, Mother of the Church
*2015-08-22*

> Bill Young reflects on the feast of Our Lady of Queenship and shares Pope Paul VI’s beautiful prayer “O Mary, Mother of the Church,” asking Mary to unite all Christians as one family.

## Feast of Our Lady of Queenship

Good morning, I’m Bill Young. Today is Saturday, August 22, the feast day of Our Lady of Queenship. In honor of this feast we are doing a marathon of prayers to Our Lady, and this is the eighth prayer in the series.

## Prayer by Pope Paul VI

O Mary, Mother of the Church, written by Pope Paul VI:

Virgin Mary, Mother of the Church, to you we entrust the whole Church. You, who were chosen as mother of the Beloved Disciple, our Divine Son, at the moment of His redemptive death, remember the Christian people who turn to you. Remember all children; sustain us in our prayers to God. Keep our faces steadfast, strengthen our hope, increase our love. Remember all who suffer. Unite all Christians into a single family, a temple of light without shadow or stain, and lead us to your Only‑Begotten Son, the Mediator of our reconciliation with the Father, that He may grant us mercy in our shortcomings and keep us far from discord. Fill our hearts with the joy of love, that the whole Church may always raise a hymn of praise and thanksgiving to God—a hymn of mercy, a hymn of joy, and exultation—because the Lord has done great things through you. O Clement, O Loving, O Sweet Virgin Mary, Amen.

## Reflection

In this prayer we ask Mary to be the unifying mother who brings every Christian into one family, free from division and filled with the light of Christ. By invoking her intercession we recognize her role as the Mediatrix of all graces, the one who leads us to her Son and helps us grow in hope, love, and gratitude.

*May Mary, Mother of the Church, draw us together as one family in Christ.*