Mary knows how to give a queen’s reward!

The great German attack on Amiens (France) in the spring of 1918 was unsuccessful. On April 24, 1918, the Bavarian division I was serving as a chaplain made a last attack, which resulted in many casualties. Exhausted from combat and the heavy losses, we retreated from the front and stopped in the destroyed village of Clairoux, France. Many soldiers sought shelter in the heavily damaged church.

Then the month of May arrived. Outside, the meadows were covered with daffodils. I looked for a suitable place to say Mass and celebrate the month of Mary. In the afternoon, some soldiers came to tell me that they were leaving the church and would find another place to stay. We could celebrate the month of Mary in the church! I invited the soldiers to join in the ceremony and asked them to go pick some flowers to decorate the altar of the Immaculate, whose statue had been found intact.

When I entered the church towards evening, I could not believe my eyes. The Queen of May was surrounded by a sea of daffodils I was moved to tears. In the evening, the church was packed. General D. of Munich was there with his troops. We sang the well-known hymn: "Maria zu lieben ist allzeit mein Sinn" (To love Mary is always my desire). Every night, we repeated this devotion.

In the middle of May, we received the immediate order to leave and go fight in Noyon. The battle was terrible. Our men returned covered in sweat and dust. A soldier came up to me with a huge bouquet of daffodils. "Mr. Chaplain," he said, "take this bouquet to the Queen of May. She protected me in an extraordinary way. This is a token of my gratitude."

"But tell me, how many of our men fell? None?" - "No, not one!" - "And how many are wounded?" - "Not one, Sir!"

I often remember that month of Mary in 1918 and I have to admit that Mary knows how to give a queen’s reward!

L. Brem

Military chaplain in the German army, Collection of Marian Stories, 1986

(see "Ein Mutterherz fur alle," A.M.WEIGL)