Pius XII established this feast in 1954. But Mary’s
queenship has roots in Scripture. At the Annunciation, Gabriel announced
that Mary’s
Son would receive the throne of David and rule
forever. At the Visitation, Elizabeth calls Mary “mother
of my Lord.” As in all the mysteries of Mary’s life, Mary is
closely associated with Jesus: Her queenship is a share in Jesus’
kingship. We can also recall that in the Old Testament the mother
of the king has great influence in court.
In the fourth century St. Ephrem (June 9)
called Mary “Lady” and “Queen.” Later Church fathers and doctors
continued to use the title. Hymns of the 11th to 13th centuries address Mary as
queen: “Hail, Holy Queen,” “Hail, Queen of Heaven,” “Queen of Heaven.” The
Dominican rosary and the Franciscan crown as well as numerous invocations in
Mary’s litany celebrate her queenship.
The feast is a logical follow-up to the Assumption and is now
celebrated on the octave day of that feast. In his 1954 encyclical To the
Queen of Heaven, Pius XII points out that Mary deserves the title because
she is Mother of God, because she is closely associated as the New
Eve with Jesus’ redemptive work, because of her preeminent
perfection and because of her intercessory power.
Comment:
As St. Paul suggests in Romans 8:28–30, God has predestined human beings from all eternity to share the image of his Son. All the more was Mary predestined to be the mother of Jesus. As Jesus was to be king of all creation, Mary, in dependence on Jesus, was to be queen. All other titles to queenship derive from this eternal intention of God. As Jesus exercised his kingship on earth by serving his Father and his fellow human beings, so did Mary exercise her queenship. As the glorified Jesus remains with us as our king till the end of time (Matthew 28:20), so does Mary, who was assumed into heaven and crowned queen of heaven and earth.
Quote:
“Let the entire body of the faithful pour forth persevering prayer to the Mother of God and Mother of men. Let them implore that she who aided the beginnings of the Church by her prayers may now, exalted as she is in heaven above all the saints and angels, intercede with her Son in the fellowship of all the saints. May she do so until all the peoples of the human family, whether they are honored with the name of Christian or whether they still do not know their Savior, are happily gathered together in peace and harmony into the one People of God, for the glory of the Most Holy and Undivided Trinity” (Vatican II, Dogmatic Constitution on the Church, 69).
“Let the entire body of the faithful pour forth persevering prayer to the Mother of God and Mother of men. Let them implore that she who aided the beginnings of the Church by her prayers may now, exalted as she is in heaven above all the saints and angels, intercede with her Son in the fellowship of all the saints. May she do so until all the peoples of the human family, whether they are honored with the name of Christian or whether they still do not know their Savior, are happily gathered together in peace and harmony into the one People of God, for the glory of the Most Holy and Undivided Trinity” (Vatican II, Dogmatic Constitution on the Church, 69).
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