Today is the octave of the Feast of the Assumption and the veneration of Mary as Queen. In many ways, titles like "lord", "king", "lady" "queen" are "parables": they are words taken from human experience and reality and used to point to mysteries of God and salvation, which we cannot adequately express. These titles may seem to belong to another age, another culture, an outdated political system, and therefore have little to say to us today. The same can be said of many, at least, of the parables of Jesus: Most of us have no experience of seeing a farmer going out to sow his seeds or of ten young women with oil lamps attending a wedding. Yet we all derive a lot of insight from reading and re-reading these stories. The same is true of single words which serve as parables. It is much more common for us to refer to Jesus as "Our Lord" than as "King" or to refer to Mary as "Our Lady" than as "Queen". Hence the Feast of Christ the King at the end of the liturgical year and today's celebration of the Queenship of Mary provide us with an opportunity to reflect on the consoling mystery and doctrine denoted by these titles.