Mary is queen of the angels and of all men who belong to the Lord.
Feast: August 22.
The title of Queen has been given to Mary Most Holy since the first centuries as an indication of her pre-eminence and of the power she receives from the One who is Almighty: her Son, Jesus Christ.
John Paul II, on July 23, 1997, spoke about the Virgin as Queen of the universe. He recalled that “from the fifth century, almost in the same period in which the Council of Ephesus proclaimed the Virgin ‘Mother of God’, the title of Queen began to be attributed to Mary. With this further recognition of her sublime dignity, the Christian people wish to place her above all creatures, exalting her role and importance in the life of every person and of the whole world”.
The Holy Father explained that “the title of Queen does not replace that of Mother: her queenship remains a corollary of her particular maternal mission, and simply expresses the power conferred on her to carry out this mission. (…) Christians look with confidence to Mary Queen, and this increases their filial abandonment to the One who is mother in the order of grace”.
“The Assumption favours Mary’s full communion not only with Christ, but with each one of us. She is close to us because her glorious state enables her to follow us on our daily earthly journey. (…). She knows everything that happens in our existence and sustains us with maternal love in the trials of life”.
REASON: Sacred Scripture teaches us that those who belong to Christ will reign with Him, and the Virgin Mary certainly belongs to Christ.
Romans 5:17
“For if, because of one man’s trespass, death reigned through that one man, much more will those who receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man Jesus Christ!”
II Timothy 2:12
“if we endure, we shall also reign with him; if we deny him, he also will deny us”
Mary Most Holy is queen of all creation
Although we will all reign with Christ, Mary Most Holy participates in His reign in a singular and pre-eminent way. This means that God has granted her His power to reign over all men and angels, and to overcome Satan.
Reasons why Mary Most Holy is Queen of all:
1- Because she is the mother of God made man, the Messiah, the universal King. (Col 1:16).
Saint Elizabeth, moved by the Holy Spirit, reveres Mary, not considering herself worthy of the visit of the one who is “Mother of my Lord” (Lk 1:43). Because of the kingship of her Son, Mary possesses a singular greatness and excellence among creatures, which is why Saint Elizabeth exclaimed: “Blessed are you among women and blessed is the fruit of your womb” (Lk 1:42).
The angel Gabriel told Mary that her Son would reign. She is therefore the Queen Mother.
Her kingdom is none other than that of Jesus, for which we pray “Thy Kingdom come”. It is the Kingdom of Jesus and Mary. Jesus by nature, Mary by divine design.
In 1 Kings 2:19 we see that the mother of the King sits at his right hand.
2- Because she is the perfect disciple who accompanied her Son from the beginning to the end, Christ grants her the crown. Cf. Rev 2:10. In Mary the words are fulfilled: “he who humbles himself will be exalted”. She said: “Behold the handmaid of the Lord”.
3- Because she is the co-redemptrix. Pope John Paul II, in the audience of 23-7-97, said that “Mary is Queen not only because she is Mother of God, but also because (…) she cooperated in the work of the redemption of the human race. (…). Assumed into heaven, Mary is associated with the power of her Son and dedicates herself to the extension of the Kingdom, participating in the diffusion of divine grace in the world”.
She participates in her Son’s work of salvation with her YES, in which she always remained faithful, being able to stand at the foot of the cross (cf. Jn 19:25).
Mary Most Holy, reigning with her Son, cooperates with Him for man’s liberation from sin. All of us, although to a lesser degree, must also cooperate in redemption in order to reign with Christ.
4- Because she is the most excellent member of the Church: by her mission and holiness.
The mission of Mary Most Holy is unique, for she alone is the mother of the Saviour.
“I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring: he shall crush your head while you strike at his heel.” -Genesis 3:15
Characteristics of the reign of Mary Most Holy:
a) Pre-eminence: “her honour and dignity surpass all creation; the angels take second place before your pre-eminence.” Saint Germanus.
b) Royal Power: which authorizes her to distribute the fruits of redemption. The Virgin Mary has not only had the highest degree of excellence and perfection after Christ, but also participates in the power that her Redeemer Son exercises over wills and minds.
c) Inexhaustible efficacy of intercession with her Son and the Father: God has established Mary as Queen of heaven and earth, exalted above all the choirs of angels and all the saints. Being at the right hand of her Son, she pleads for us with a Mother’s heart, and what she seeks she finds; what she asks, she receives.
d) Reign of Love and Service: Her reign is not one of pomp or arrogance like the kingdoms of the earth. Mary’s kingdom is that of her Son, which is not of this world and is not manifested with the characteristics of the world. Mary has all power as queen of heaven and earth and, at the same time, the tenderness of being Mother of God.
On earth she was always humble, the servant of the Lord. She dedicated herself totally to her Son and to his work. With Him, and submitted to Him with all her heart and all her will, she collaborated in the Mystery of Redemption. Now in Heaven, she continues to manifest her love and service in order to lead us to salvation.
Response to the separated brethren
There are those who reject the reign of Mary Most Holy, alleging that she cannot be queen since only Jesus is king.
These brethren do not understand the nature of the Kingdom. The kingdom of Mary Most Holy is not a kingdom apart from that of her Son. It is the same kingdom. Where Jesus reigns, Mary His Mother also reigns. It is a matter of two hearts eternally united in divine love. God has disposed that it should be so. Far from taking anything away from her Son’s reign, Mary fosters it. She is the most submissive, the most faithful in the kingdom and therefore also the most exalted.
Luke 1:48 “for he has regarded the humility of his handmaid; for behold, from now on all generations will call me blessed”
The Liturgical Feast
Pius XII, in 1954, instituted the liturgical feast of the Queenship of Mary when he crowned the Virgin in Saint Mary Major, Rome. On that occasion the Pope also promulgated the principal document of the Magisterium concerning the dignity and queenship of Mary, the Encyclical Ad coeli Reginam (Oct. 11, 1954).
John Paul II: June 19, 1983 in Poland
“The Kingdom of the Son is fully united to the Kingdom of his Mother… his Kingdom and hers are not of this world. But they are rooted in human history, in the history of the whole human race, by the fact that the Son of God, of the same substance as the Father, became man by the power of the Holy Spirit in Mary’s womb. And that kingdom is definitively rooted in human history through the Cross, at the foot of which stood the Mother of God as co-redemptrix. And it is in that event of the Cross and Mary at the foot of her Son that the Kingdom is founded and remains. All human communities experience Mary’s maternal kingdom, which brings them closer to the kingdom of Christ.”
Source: Corazones.org
