The Salve Regina

 Hail, holy Queen, Mother of mercy, our life, our sweetness, and our hope. To you do we cry, poor banished children of Eve; to you so we send up our sighs, mourning and weeping in this vale of tears. Turn, then, most gracious advocate, your eyes of mercy toward us; and after this our exile, show unto us the blessed fruit of your womb, Jesus: O clement, O loving, O sweet Virgin Mary.

This is a prayer sung at the end of Compline or Night Prayer. It is also the prayer that ends the recitation of the rosary. I think it used to be said at the end of Mass when I was a child. Today I want to share two thoughts that I am taking from Lawrence Cunningham's reflection on this prayer. He points out how it is a prayer centered on hope. Then, he says that since life is described as an exile, "one could call the Salve Regina a prayer of pilgrimage--life having a destination for which we long, a journey for which we need assistance, care, and direction."

Then we could remember that Mary's life recorded in the Gospels is one of travel: to Elizabeth; to Bethlehem, to Egypt, to Jerusalem, to, I think, wherever she could be with Jesus, and then to Calvary. So this prayer is asking Mary to accompany us on our own journey toward our final end. 

I hope this helps you to renew your love for this prayer; it helped me.