6. THE QUEEN AND ME
/Part 6 in the series, My Summer Vacation 2010.
It looked like Juan Diego took my plea seriously as he led me away from the town through a green pasture with the cutest little lambs frolicking around reminding me of Iona in Scotland; except here, there were lion cubs frolicking with them. Juan Diego hummed a merry little tune that quickened the pace of our steps. I wondered why he was always in a hurry. What was he rushing to do? I had forgotten that he could read my mind.
“I promised to get you back to your old life on earth before Creation Day on September 1st and there are still a few people who want to speak with you. People here don’t have to walk unless they want to; they know how to teleport. Walking takes precious time. We have to walk fast because they have packed your schedule so tight. If you would write more than one post a week we could also get more in.”
“Oh, I’m sorry;” I said, wishing too that I could teleport or write more.
When we reached the top of the hill I saw in the distance a large lake with a good sized beach on one side and majestic hemlock trees surrounding two thirds of its circumference. As we approached the shore I spotted a lovely young woman among a group of children. She looked up and walked toward Juan Diego and me until we were face to face, “Welcome, my name is Mary. We have a lot to talk about. Come and sit in my cabana.”
“Holy Mary, Mother of God!” I blurted out. Instinctively I knew that she was THE Mary, the original after whom billions of ladies, including my own mother, were named. “I am deeply honored to meet you!” I said with a bow. Seeing the Virgin Mary was like meeting an old pen pal. Yet I had so many questions for her.”
“Come, let us sit together.” She gently took my hand and walked me to her cabana by the lake. When I sat down, she said, “Ask me whatever you’d like.”
“How can you do all that people expect of you? You are the head of the Greek Navy and the queen of Mt. Athos; you intercede to your Son for billions of souls. You must never get a moment’s rest.” Taking a quick breath I added quickly (lest I forget the questions that I had been harboring for years) “How did you communicate with me on earth; are you an angel? Did you really never die? Tell me about that? How do you remain humble when you receive so much adoration? Did you know Jesus would rise after the crucifixion?”
“Is that all?” she responded with the patience and conviviality I would expect from a queen. Also, like a queen she stepped lightly over some of the questions. “My service to our God and to His people is pure joy but angels do most of the work.” she said with a smiling glance at Juan Diego who returned it with a nod. “I have regular meetings with my Son where I tell him about the most compelling cases. Then He sends angels on their missions in the same way He directed you.”
“Speaking of that, how shall I awake the sleeping souls?” I asked.
Mary replied, “Remember the passage, ‘Awake you who sleep. Arise from the dead. And Christ will give you light’? Reveal that which sits in darkness.”
“That sounds important,” I said, “but what is darkness?”
She smiled as if to remember how stupid I could be, and then replied patiently, “Darkness is anything that distorts or hides reality, or causes separation from God such as lies, pride and arrogance, pornography which distorts love, and drunkenness.”
“Stay awake, alert to anything that would separate you from God’s likeness, receive Christ’s light, then shine it, like a flashlight, on everything around you. When darkness falls upon you, whatever you do, do not fall asleep! Stay awake and wait for the light.” Then she fell quiet.
As if I was reading her mind, I heard her say in my heart, “as I stayed awake during the darkness of the gossips when I was pregnant, the darkness of fleeing to Egypt, the darkness of the crucifixion. Darkness lies. I knew that as long as I stayed awake, I would receive the light.”
Then she said out loud, “Dormition and assumption, was I sleeping, mmm? They called it sleeping because that’s what it looked like to them, but I only shut my eyes so I could better see the light that lead me here. It was such a gift for me to be able to bring my body with me.
The joy of living here is infinitely greater than what sleep gives. Remember, our dreams are not true; this is truth and reality. Enough with the lessons already! It’s time for my feast. Come, let’s dance together! We will continue to speak often when you go back, especially now that you know the sound of my voice. If you return to live here, we can have many more happy times together. Would you like to borrow a dress for my party?”
