Parish Inaguration

Who is "Mary, Queen of Peace" and What does it mean to be a parish under her patronage?

Mary Queen of Peace Parish; How blessed we are as a parish to be honored with this name, but it also brings with it a challenge. How can we live as a family, honoring Our Lord and Savior through the intercession of His Holy Mother?

The history of the name "Mary, Queen of Peace" is not well defined. There are many papal encyclicals asking Mary to intercede for Peace. In 1917 Pope Benedict the XV added the avocation "Queen of Peace" to the litany of Loretto. Pope St. John Paul II had a special devotion to Mary, Queen of Peace. She is our intercessor with God to obtain the Spirit of love, unity, reonciliation and peace.

In artistic renderings she is often pictured with a dove and olive branches, symbols of peace. Most frequently she is  pictured with the baby Jesus, the Prince of Peace.

But why PEACE? Peace is an attitude or disposition of calmness. It is the hope and belief that God is in control and we are being protected. Who better to protect us and hold our parish family together than Our Mother, the Queen of Peace? She is our guiding force, a model of service and calmness amid chaos -- an example of complete trust.

We know too, that peace is a responsibility. Pope Paul VI famously taught, “If you want peace, work for justice.” We know that to experience the peace our Mother demonstrates, we must strive to live in community as she did, working for a God who, “Casts down the mighty from their thrones, and lifts up the lowly,” who “fills the hungry with good things, and sends the rich away empty,” (as we hear in the Mary’s Magnificat). Before peace comes discomfort, hard conversations, even harder decisions. But precisely within this tension, Mary Queen of Peace shows us the way to authentic, loving relationship.

Mary is the first disciple and our mother. She is seen as our refuge and shelter in time of need and the foundation of our church family.

In Mary, Our Queen of Peace we find love beyond all understanding. She was always totally open and accepting as she responded, "Let it be done into me."

Our new name is a blessing, but it is also the call for all of us to live our faith, not only remembering our roots and heritage, but EMBRACING our future together. We begin by PRAYING to deepen our relationship with God and our church family, INVITING the lost and disengaged to join us in SERVING the Kingdom. We seek to NURTURE in us the call to grow in holiness. And like Mary Our Mother we GO FORTH as disciples.

Mary Our Mother please instill in us a resurgence of faith, a spirit of love and a hope for peace. Mary Queen of Peace, guide our steps forward on this journey, putting God first as the center of all we do. Our lives are in your hands!