On the day of 22 August
The commemoration of the Virgin Mary as Queen, who bore the Son of God, the prince of peace whose reign will have no end, and is hailed as Queen of heaven and Mother of mercy by the Christian people.

**Saint/Feast of the day segment copied from the USCCB page.

"The Blessed Virgin Mary should be called Queen...because God has willed her to have an exceptional role in the work of our eternal salvation." --Pope Pius XII

Reading 1: Ezekiel 37:1-14

Reading this now and hearing it in the time that Ezekiel was prophesying are hugely different things. At the time, people were just thinking about the restoration of their homeland. Maybe they were thinking a little bit about the resurrection of the body, but I don't know if that idea had entered into the Jewish religion yet. My footnotes assure me that "This vision is a prediction of the restoration of Israel under the figure of a resurrection from the dead; it is not concerned with the doctrine of resurrection itself. " Even so, even if it is not concerned with the doctrine of resurrection, it certainly brings it to mind for the modern reader. I'm convinced that it intends to makes me think about the resurrection and restoration of spirit and mind that God can make occur in anyone who prays and asks for it.

Gospel: Matthew 22:34-40

I read a story once about my patron saint, Zita. When she was a little girl, apparently the only discipline and direction that she needed from her mother was the reminder of what God would want her to do. For example if she was bad, her mother would tell her "this would make God unhappy." If she was good, "This will make God happy." This reading always makes me think about this. Jesus is asking us to consider God before anything else. Zita makes it look easy.