Page:O'Donnell - Hail Holy Queen 04 - Why the Madonna?.djvu/7

 than by a concerted effort to make the nation conscious of the strength and glory of woman? Than by trying to revive a true appreciation of what she means to the family, to society, and hence to national life itself? Than by remembering that Mary is actually as close to us as our own mothers ever were, and by acting as if we were ever in her presence?

We have been wandering children, erring children, but the arms of Mary are always open to receive us, and she is always ready to intercede for us with her Divine Son, if we but have recourse to her. We need to return to God through love of the Mother of God, the queen of the heavenly realm, who is also queen of this earthly realm, the United States. When the picture of our queen is in our homes and in our schools, when it is carried among our personal belongings as a treasured possession, we shall be on the road back to God, and the forces of evil will be routed. And when we look at her image, let us call upon her holy name, let us beg her to help us, for as it was revealed to St. Bridget: "As the rebel angels flee from those who invoke the name of Mary, so the guardian angels draw nearer to those souls and protect them more carefully who pronounce her holy name with love and reverence."

So in an age that glorifies pictures, let us pull down the "pin-up" and put up the Madonna. The "pin-up" and all that it implies is of the earth, earthy. The Madonna and all that it connotes is of the spirit, spiritual. It is the only true portrayal of the dignity and charm of womanhood under the aegis of Mary, the Mother of God. If woman is uplifted, and also uplifts herself, we will have struck the first blow at a sensate culture that has engulfed the nation and the world. For in the sweetness of Mary, the Mother of God, woman will recapture the charm, the dignity, the beauty and the strength which has earned for her the title of "The Great Inspirer."