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In the Christian religion it is believed that God first spoke to our first parents, Adam and Eve. When our first parents sinned, God promised them a Redeemer. Out of their descendants God selected certain individuals through whom He revealed Himself and His plan of salvation. He then selected Abraham to be the Father of His chosen people. It was from his lineage that a Redeemer was to come and save the world from its sins. Through the ages God continued to reveal Himself through the patriarchs and the prophets in preparation for the coming of the promised Redeemer: Jesus Christ, the Son of God.
The revelations delivered to the patriarchs and the prophets were therefore only partial revelations given to pave the way for Christ our Savior. It was through Christ that God’s full and final revelation was to come. In his letter to the Hebrews St. Paul said: “God, who, at sundry times and in divers manners, spoke in times past to the fathers by the prophets, last of all, in these days hath spoken to us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the world” (Heb. 1:1-2). Christ is, therefore, the Light of the World and the bearer of God’s full revelation.
A personal website of Mr. Romeo Maria del Santo Niño, O.P.
August 24, 2024 Edition
THE QUEENSHIP OF MARY
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The Doctrine
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Four years after defining the dogma of Mary's Assumption, Blessed Pope Pius XII issued an encyclical, Ad Caeli Reginam, proclaiming Mary as the Queen of Heaven. This did not define a dogma but was like a sequel to the Dogma of the Assumption. Those who pray the Rosary should be familiar with this, for the fourth glorious mystery (The Assumption) is followed by the fifth glorious mystery (The Coronation of Mary as Queen of Heaven).
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This doctrine, which teaches that Mary was crowned Queen of Heaven after her bodily assumption, is also a consequence of Mary's divine motherhood. Since she has been intimately associated with Christ in the work of redemption, it is only right that she also shares, in a subordinate way, the royal dignity of her Son. Just as Christ is regarded as our Lord and King (Apoc 19:16), Mary is hailed as our Lady and Queen.
Coronation of the Virgin
Oil Painting by Diego Velázquez (1599-1660)
Image source link: commons.wikimedia.org
Support from Sacred Tradition
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The Bible does not explicitly state that Mary reigned as Queen of Heaven after her bodily assumption. The only text that seems to hint at it is the one we read in the Book of Revelation: "And a great sign appeared in heaven: A woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars" (Rev 12:1). However, belief in the queenship of Mary is strongly supported in Sacred Tradition.
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Through the centuries, the Church Fathers, the saints, and even ordinary people did not hesitate to call the Virgin Mary Queen long before Blessed Pope Pius formally proclaimed her Queen of Heaven. For example:
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St. John Damascene (A.D. 676-750), First Sermon on the Assumption, second to the last paragraph: "We, too, approach thee to-day, O Queen; and again, I say, O Queen, O Virgin Mother of God, staying our souls with our trust in thee, as with a strong anchor."
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Hermannus Contractus (A.D. 1013-1054) – mathematician, astronomer, musician, chronicler and poet, wrote the song Hail Holy Queen Enthroned Above, which is still being sung in Church today:
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Hail, holy Queen enthroned above,
O María.
Hail, Queen of mercy and of love,
O María.
Triumph, all ye Cherubim;
Sing with us, ye Seraphim.
Heav'n and earth resound the hymn:
Salve, Salve,
Salve, Regína.
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St. Alphonsus Maria de Liguori (A.D. 1676-1787) – a modern era Doctor of the Church – in The Glories of Mary, Part I, Chapter 1, Section 1, p. 25: "The Holy Church justly honors the great Virgin Mary, and would have her honored by all men with the glorious title of queen, because she has been elevated to the dignity of mother of the King of Kings."
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While the idea of Mary's queenship was well accepted in the Catholic Church, many Protestants are surprised and alarmed by this doctrine. Why, they ask, should Mary be honored as Queen of Heaven? She wasn't even the wife of Christ, and she is inferior to the angels. Why put her on par with Jesus?
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The practice among the Jews is different from the practice in other countries, such as Great Britain. In the Davidic line of kings, the queen is usually not the wife of the king but his mother. This avoided the difficulty of having too many queens in the kingdom when the king had many wives. In the kingdom of King Solomon, who had 700 wives, the queen was his mother, Bathsheba. The Queen Mother, also known as the Gebirah, was an important person in the royal court and often participated in the affairs of the king (as in 2 Kgs 24:12, 15). She sat on a throne and wore a crown (Jer 13:18). She was influential to the king and was often sought by the people to be their advocate or intercessor (as in 1 Kgs 2:12–20). Because Christ descended from the House of David, it was fitting that His mother Mary be crowned Queen of His kingdom.
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By nature, Mary is inferior to the angels. But the angels are inferior to her in dignity and closeness to the three Divine Persons. Mary has a special relationship with the Blessed Trinity that the angels do not have. She is the daughter of the Father, the mother of the Son, and the spouse of the Holy Spirit. This is why even the angels call her "Lady." The name "Mary" (or Miriam in Hebrew) was not just a name but also a Hebrew word that means "lady." Thus, when the Angel told her, "Fear not, Mary, for thou hast found grace with God" (Luke 1:30), the Angel was also properly addressing her with the title that was rightfully hers.
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Catholics are sometimes criticized for elevating Mary to be on par with Jesus because Mary is not equal to Christ but rather subordinate to Him. But one might wonder if our Lord Himself would not have honored His Queen Mother as much. See how King Solomon treated his queen mother: "Then Bathsheba came to king Solomon, to speak to him for Adonijah: and the king arose to meet her, and bowed to her, and sat down upon his throne: and a throne was set for the king's mother, and she sat on his right hand" (1 Kgs 2:19). (Italics added.) Would King Solomon outdo Christ in honoring His mother? It is not too far-fetched to imagine Mary sitting on a throne alongside her Son and reigning over His heavenly kingdom. For the Bible says that even the saints will reign in God's kingdom (2 Tim 2:12), and the Apostles will rule as judges over the twelve tribes of Israel (Luke 22:28–30).
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