The Coronation

"A great sign appeared in the sky, a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet and on her head a crown of twelve stars."

Revelation 12:1

My favorite mystery of the Rosary is the Coronation (the Crowning of Mary, Queen of Heaven and Earth). I love it! I think I find it particularly great because there's something inside of me, no matter how tough I act, that has just always wanted to be a princess. I have this one friend who had a lot of princess things as we were growing up. One of the things I remember about her house is playing the game "Pretty Pretty Princess" over and over. I really loved it because I got to wear sparkly jewelry and pretend I was a princess.

When we got older she had a sticker on her car that said, "Auburn Princess" (I think). I have always admired the confidence of women who were aware of their relation to the Father and said things like, "I'm a princess because I'm a daughter of the King."

Well, I think this is why I love the Coronation so much. Mary is crowned our Queen Mother, and I am reminded of my identity as a princess. In Mary's crowning I am reminded of my own destiny, "to receive the unfading crown of glory," as Saint Peter promises in his First Letter.

There is something really beautiful and innocent about a young girl's desire to be a princess. She doesn't seek ambition. She doesn't desire wealth. She desires to be splendidly arrayed, but not so that she can rule over others. She longs to be looked on with admiration. She longs to be beautiful in body and soul, content to be loved perfectly and unconditionally. She longs to be blameless, spotless, radiant, as she stands before her Lord and Lover.

This Spring I had the privilege of singing in a friend's wedding with my lovely sisters. The responsorial psalm was selected from the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary. My sister Amanda sang beautifully, and I must admit every time she sang I could not help but cry thinking about how our destiny is Mary's. It went a little something like this:

R. The queen stands at your right hand arrayed in gold.

V1. The queen takes her place at your right hand in gold of Ophir.

V2. Hear, O daughter, and see; turn your ear, forget your people and your father's house.

V3. So shall the king desire your beauty; for he is your lord.

V4. They are borne in with gladness and joy; they enter the palace of the king.

Beautiful! Our Lady, Queen of Heaven and Earth, pray for us.

Regina caeli, laetare, alleluia:

Quia quem meruisti portare, alleluia,

Resurrexit, sicut dixit, alleluia,

Ora pro nobis Deum, alleluia.

Guade et laetare, Virgo Maria, alleluia.

Quia surrexit Dominus vere, alleluia.

Camera

Gah! I am trying to decide what camera to invest in. I want a digital SLR camera, but I am so confused about the choices: Canon, Nikon, Pentax...

I have read approximately 7,000 reviews and I still have no clear ideas about what I want other than a camera that allows me to take beautiful, high-quality, true-to-life images.

Do you take pictures? Do you own an SLR? Any thoughts, opinions, or advice?