TITLES  FOR  MARY 

 INTRODUCTION

The title of my homily is, “Titles for Mary.”

Today we’re celebrating Mary under the title of Queen.

As I was thinking about that, it hit me that some titles of Mary grab me and some don’t.

How about you? What titles of Mary grab you? What titles have no impact?

Mary - hey she’s been around for some 2000 years now  - and she entitled with many titles and she is pictured with many descriptions .

PLACES AND JOB DESCRIPTIONS

As I thought about titles, I realized - without enough time and reflection and second thoughts - that titles of Mary for  places don’t grab me.

For example, Our Lady of Częstochowa, Our Lady of Lourdes, Our Lady of Fatima, Our Lady of Guadalupe, Our Lady of Medjugorje, Our Lady of Montserrat, Our Lady of Knock - don’t grab me. 

Maybe if I was from one of these places, it might or it was the name of our church, then maybe.

Then when I thought about Pope Francis’ favorite title of Mary, Our Lady of the Knots - now that has some grab - in my opinion.

I get knots. I’ve had knots - like knotted rosary beads, like knotted shoe laces, like knotted appliance cords.

I began wondering: are there 2 kinds of people - those who are patient, calm, and have the ability to slowly unravel knots; and people who go ape with knots and start pulling at them only to make it worse  - as in shoe lace knots?

I get knots as a metaphor - that we people get our lives knotted up and it takes an effort to unravel the knots of life. Then - as with shoes - learning to tie our knots right and tight - we end up with less problems.

It was then that it hit me: find some more titles of Mary that have the energy and specificness as our Lady of the Knots.

Slowly they came:

Our Lady of Sorrows - people have swords that pierce their hearts.

Our Lady of Good Counsel - people need wisdom and good counsel.

Our Lady Help of Christians - of course.

Our Lady of Perpetual Help - why not go for it all? We need all sorts of help - and maybe it has appeal just because of that - or because we are all like kids needing mommy and we run even though we didn’t get a chance to tie our shoe.

LITANY OF LORETTO

I looked at the Litany of Loretto - and most titles didn’t grab me: like Queen of Angels, Queen of Prophets, Queen of Confessors, Queen of Martyrs. How about Mystical Rose, Tower of David, Ark of the Covenant? Nice but nope. Our Lady of Mercy? Virgin most prudent? Virgin most chaste? Yes to those three. Virgin Most Powerful? Yes. Seat of Wisdom? Yes. Refuge of sinners?  Yes. Gate of Heaven? Definitely.

How about some new Litany of Loretto entries like?

Mary, Opener of eyes.    Pray for us.

Mary, Opener of ears.    Pray for us.
Mary, Opener of minds.  Pray for us.
Mary, Opener of hearts. Pray for us.
Mary, Opener of hands.  Pray for us.

How about?

Mary, The One Who Opens Doors.  Pray for us.

Mary, The One Who Removes walls. Pray for us.

Mary, The One Who Is Not Afraid to Ask Questions.  Pray for us.

CONCLUSION

Conclusion: you have time on your hands, pick a title for Mary - one that grabs you - one that gives you wisdom, perpetual help, and unties your knots. Amen.