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Queen of Heaven, rejoice!
The composer of this traditional hymn is unknown, but one legend says that the sixth-century Pope St. Gregory the Great heard angels chant the first three lines one Easter morning in Rome while he walked barefoot in a great reli- gious procession. He then added the fourth line himself.
O, Queen of Heaven, rejoice! Alleluia! For he whom you merited to bear, alleluia, has arisen as he said, alleluia!
Pray for us to God, alleluia! Rejoice and be glad,
O Virgin Mary, alleluia!
For the Lord has risen indeed, alleluia!
Let us pray:
O God, who, through
the resurrection of your Son, our Lord Jesus Christ,
vouchsafed to fill the world with joy, grant, we beseech you,
that through his virgin mother, Mary, we may lay hold
of the joys of everlasting life. Through the same Christ our Lord.
—Regina caeli
IN GOD’S PRESENCE, CONSIDER . . .
Imagine being with Mary when she receives the news that Jesus is risen! Might he perhaps have appeared to her, before all the others, in an encounter so private that it wasn’t recorded in the Gospels?
CLOSING PRAYER
At the Cross, Blessed Mother, you wondered, “Is there any sorrow like my sorrow?” (Lam 1:12). Now at the empty tomb you can rightly ask, “Is there any joy like my joy?”
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