😎🐫🎤 Christ’s peace and presence be with you. While having dinner with my parents last Friday, I learned some interesting history about our family. I imagine just about every family has some things they do, which they think are completely normal until someone from outside of the family is like, “What are you doing?” We have a few of these things in our family. Some stories of my girls’ experiences with non-family members reactions to our family traditions and sayings crack me up, but the one we discussed last Friday was a prayer.
The customary Catholic before meal payer is: “Bless us, O Lord and these Thy gifts, which we are about to receive from Thy bounty, through Christ our Lord. Amen.”
At the end of that prayer, our family adds an additional prayer. “Queen of Peace, pray for us.” Growing up, I thought those two prayers were all one prayer. Prayer before meals with Catholic, non-family members, I realized they didn’t pray the last part of the prayer. It took me 58 years to ask why we add “Queen of Peace, pray for us.” to our meal prayer. I received an interesting answer. My parents said that was how they learned the prayer and it went back to their grandparents. It was a generational thing. It was a prayer for peace during WW I. Through our generations, I guess our family felt it was important to continue to pray for peace.
Turns out that in a letter dated 05/05/1917, during WW I and feeling all his other avenues had been exhausted, Pope Benedict XV ordered the invocation, “Queen of Peace, pray for us!” to be added universally to the Litany of Loreto. (see link below)
Just eight days later, on 05/13/1917 Mary first appeared to Lúcia, Jacinta, and Francisco in Fatima, Portugal. Mother Mary spoke with the three children, scheduled future return visits with them in the same location, AND asked them to “Say the Rosary every day, to bring peace to the world and an end to the war.” (see link below)
I’m really glad I asked the question. Praying this prayer means even more to me now. Will you join in this prayer for peace and add “Queen of Peace, pray for us!” to all of your meal prayers? I pray that you will and also ask others to do the same. We need peace in this world and it can start with me and you.
Bless others and be blessed.
Shelly :0)
If the Lord has touched you in some way with His message today, I ask that you pay it forward by sharing this message, so that you and He may also bless others. Click subscribe to receive your message every Wednesday via email.
#VinceGill&JennyGill – Let There Be Peace On Earth
Third Day Devotions 