Mary Immaculate, Queen of heaven and earth

The Latin Church using the Novus Ordo Mass honors Mary today under the title of the Queen; those praying the Missal of St John XXIII would be celebrating feast of the Immaculate Heart of Mary. Either way, we are at the 8th day since the great solemnity of the Assumption.

The teaching is that Jesus, the King, Second Person of the Trinity, the human face of the Invisible God, exercises His kingship –given Him by God the Father– over the cosmos as servant, teacher, mediator, healer, Savior of the world. There are more Christological images to note which are quite beautiful and necessary to understand the complete package of what it means to be an adopted Son and Daughter of God through Baptism. Recall, what is said of Mary reflects directly back to her Jesus.

Jesus is Lord, His mother is Queen. We follow.

In a democratic and ideological society such as ours, regal images are hard to accept for some people with good reason. Yet, in the spiritual realm, the noble images given in our Liturgy are not crowns of money, power and fame but of a spiritual nature: service, love and humility. Because of the inheritance given in Baptism we share squarely in the divine life. Sacred Scripture reveals to us that adhering to Jesus till the end we will receive a crown of glory (1 Peter 5:4); crowns of gold will be given to “the 24 ancients (Rev 4:4).”

Mary is the new Eve, the Mother of God, Mother of the Church, Refuge of Sinners, and thus Queen above all queens. Mary as the Queen Mother wear a crown like no other. Her crown is not made of gold and precious stones; no her crown is  a crown of twelve stars (Rev. 12:1), and the only crown made up of stars mentioned in the Bible.

What is the crown of stars? The tradition tells us that her crown is given directly by God Himself: the Divine Majesty bestowing on His creature a crown of stars with cosmic importance reflecting the brilliance of God Himself. Hence we believe that the stars of the crown guide in the darkness of night, and through the dark times in our lives.

We Christians think biblically: we have 12 gates of the Temple, 12 tribes of Israel, and 12 apostles. Mary, given to the Church by the Lord from the Cross. The Queenship means for us that she the Queen of the Church: the Church Militant (on earth), the Church Suffering (in purgatory) and the Church Triumphant (in heaven). BUT this power exercised in relation to what God has given.

Mary as Queen intercedes for us with her Son, the King.