Catherine and the Hail Holy Queen

     Her name was Catherine. I did not know her, but was asked to visit and bring Jesus to her, in Holy Communion. She resided in a nursing home and dying of stomach cancer.

     Although I had visited and ministered to dying people in the past, I was taken aback when I walked into Catherine’s room. She was very frail and weak and quite emaciated from the disease.  Cancer had taken its toll, and she was, for the most part, bedridden. She spoke very softly and I needed sit close to her in order to hear. It seemed clear to me that death was not far off and that her suffering was intense.


     I introduced myself, and we shared the usual small talk about ourselves and our families. I don’t really remember any of that, and it almost seemed unimportant in her present state. Our conversation turned toward her suffering and its intensity. I gently reminded her, to unite her suffering with Jesus’ and not to waste a bit of it.  I assured her that God was taking her suffering and using it for her own salvation, as well as for her loved ones. We then spoke about God and heaven. She seemed comforted by my words.  I then asked if she wanted me to pray with her. What happened next, I will never forget.

     Catherine asked if I would pray the ‘Hail Holy Queen.’ “Certainly,” I replied, although it was a prayer that I usually only prayed at the conclusion of the rosary. I assumed it must be one of her favorite and so I proceeded to pray: “Hail, holy Queen, Mother of Mercy (O Mary, please ask your Son, Jesus to have mercy on Catherine), our life, our sweetness and our hope! To thee do we cry, poor banished children of Eve. (Oh Mother Mary, you who untied the knots of Eve, untie the knots that have banished up from paradise, and most especially for your daughter Catherine) To thee do we send up our sighs, mourning and weeping in this valley of tears! (Take Catherine’s sighs. Take her tears to Jesus!) Turn, then, O most gracious Advocate, thine eyes of mercy towards us (Please Mother of Mercy, please!), and after this, our exile(please free her from her exile soon and bring her home to heaven), show unto us the blessed fruit of thy womb, Jesus (Let Catherine soon see the fruits of her suffering – her union with your Son, Jesus). O clement, O loving, O sweet Virgin Mary. (Please Mary. Please!)

     I finished praying the prayer, aware that I had prayed it as never before. I knew I was standing on holy ground. I was touched deeply, in the recesses of my soul. I gave Catherine, Jesus, in Holy Communion and she welcomed Him into her heart . . . Her dear sweet Jesus – she was one with Him in her suffering and now one in body and soul. Catherine depended on Christ’s grace to sustain her through her agony and clung tightly to Him. I left that day grateful to God that He had given me the honor of meeting Catherine. I beseeched God to take Catherine to Himself sometime soon. I learned that she died later that week, and I thanked God for His mercy.

     Since that day, the ‘Hail Holy Queen,’ has become one of my favorite prayers. I pray it when I feel burdened by life and an ‘exile in this valley of tears’ -- times when I feel a deep longing and yearning for heaven -- my true home. When I pray it, I often think about Catherine and ask that she intercede for my particular intention. I also thank her for revealing to me the richness of the ‘Hail Holy Queen,’ -- a gift that I will cherish until I too see the ‘fruit of our Mother’s womb, my dear sweet Jesus!’ Until then, like Catherine, I will depend on the graces of the sacraments, most especially the Holy Eucharist, to sustain me on my journey.