Crowning Our Blessed Mother, Why we honor Mary’s regal status as Mother of God during May
Dec 2, 2018 14:04:21 #
4/20/2017 Crowning Our Blessed Mother, Why we honor Mary’s regal status as Mother of God during May (Part 1)
Dr. Robert Fastiggi
https://www.osv.com/TheChurch/Mary/Article/TabId/660/ArtMID/13700/ArticleID/22043/Crowning-Our-Blessed-Mother.aspx
https://www.osv.com/TheChurch/Mary/Article/TabId/660/PID/13700/authorid/1410/Default.aspx?AuthorName=Dr.RobertFastiggi
In the Northern Hemisphere, May is a special month.
It represents the full arrival of spring and the blossoming of trees and flowers. The ancient Greeks dedicated May to Artemis, the god of fertility, and in ancient Rome May marked the festival of Flora, the goddess of flowers.
In medieval Europe, May was the time of various spring festivals, but it was also a sacred time for Christians, because it coincided with the paschal time between Easter and Pentecost.
By the 13th century, various local festivals and ceremonies in honor of Mary during May began to multiply.
It was also during the Middle Ages that the tradition of having a special 30-day devotion or month dedicated to Mary emerged. In some places, though, the month of Mary began with the feast of the Assumption (Aug. 15) and lasted until Sept. 14.
This reflected an earlier Byzantine tradition that celebrated August as the Marian month in association with the feast of the Dormition of the Mother of God (Aug. 15)
https://oca.org/saints/lives/2016/08/15/102302-the-dormition-of-our-most-holy-lady-the-mother-of-god-and-ever-v
In the West, however, May gradually became the favored time for celebrating the Marian month, and, by the 16th century, books appeared in support of this devotion.
In the 17th and 18th centuries, the Jesuits promoted May as the month of Mary, especially at the Gesù Church in Rome.
During the 19th century, the recognition of May as the month of Mary received papal support by means of special indulgences.
A Special Month
In his 1947 encyclical, Mediator Dei, Pope Pius XII praises
w2.vatican.va/content/pius-xii/en/encyclicals/documents/hf_p-xii_enc_20111947_mediator-dei.html
“the prayers usually said during the month of May in honor of the Blessed Virgin Mother of God,”
And he notes that such “exercises of piety which, although not strictly belonging to the sacred liturgy, are, nevertheless, of special import and dignity, and may be considered in a certain way an addition to the liturgical cult;
They have been approved and praised over and over again by the Apostolic See and by the bishops.”
(No. 182)
In his 1965 encyclical Mense Maio, Pope Paul VI provides enthusiastic endorsement of May as the month of Mary, writing in the introduction:
w2.vatican.va/content/paul-vi/en/encyclicals/documents/hf_p-vi_enc_29041965_mense-maio.html
“The month of May is almost here, a month which the piety of the faithful has long dedicated to Mary, the Mother of God.
Our heart rejoices at the thought of the moving tribute of faith and love which will soon be paid to the Queen of Heaven in every corner of the earth.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Queen_of_Heaven
For this is the month during which Christians, in their churches and their homes, offer the Virgin Mother more fervent and loving acts of homage and veneration;
And it is the month in which a greater abundance of God’s merciful gifts comes down to us from our Mother’s throne.”
History of May Crowning
Among the most beloved ways of honoring Mary during May is the annual May crowning.
In the Christian East, the practice of placing crowns on icons of Mary goes back to the first millennium.
In the Christian West, the crowning of images of Mary only became widespread during the 16th century.
Pope Clement VIII (r. 1592–1605) began the practice of crowning the image of Our Lady in the Basilica of St. Mary Major in Rome.
Subsequent popes continued this tradition and engaged in other crownings of Marian images. In his 1954 encyclical Ad Caeli Reginam, Pope Pius XII notes:
w2.vatican.va/content/pius-xii/en/encyclicals/documents/hf_p-xii_enc_11101954_ad-caeli-reginam.html
“The Roman Pontiffs, favoring such types of popular devotion, have often crowned, either in their own persons, or through representatives, images of the Virgin Mother of God which were already outstanding by reason of public veneration”.
(No. 33)
In the 17th century, a special rite for the crowning of images of Mary was composed, and by the 19th century this rite was inserted into the Pontificale Romanum.
https://sanctamissa.org/en/resources/books-1962/PontificaleRomanum.htm
In his Oct. 11, 1954, encyclical Ad Caeli Reginam, Pope Pius XII refers to the many depictions of Mary as Queen in Christian art: “
w2.vatican.va/content/pius-xii/en/encyclicals/documents/hf_p-xii_enc_11101954_ad-caeli-reginam.html
Mary as Queen in Art
Finally, art which is based upon Christian principles and is animated by their spirit as something faithfully interpreting the sincere and freely expressed devotion of the faithful has since the AD 431 Council of Ephesus portrayed Mary as Queen and Empress seated upon a royal throne adorned with royal insignia, crowned with the royal diadem and surrounded by the host of angels and saints in heaven, and ruling not only over nature and its powers but also over the machinations of Satan.
https://w2.vatican.va/content/pius-xii/en/encyclicals/documents/hf_p-xii_enc_11101954_ad-caeli-reginam.pdf
Iconography, in representing the royal dignity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, has ever been enriched with works of highest artistic value and greatest beauty;
It has even taken the form of representing colorfully the divine Redeemer crowning his mother with a resplendent diadem.” (No. 32)
The Council of Ephesus was held in 431, so the Church has a long tradition of portraying Mary as Queen in works of art.
In the Christian East, there are many icons of Mary, the Theotokos, crowned by angels.
Paintings of the Coronation of Mary were popular in Europe (especially in Italy) from the 13th through the 18th centuries.
Some of Europe’s most renowned artists
(Fra Angelico, Filippo Lippi, Velázquez, Rubens)
Are credited with magnificent paintings of Mary’s coronation in heaven. In these paintings, Mary is crowned as Queen before the Holy Trinity, and, in some cases, the theme of Mary’s assumption into heaven is combined with her coronation.
After May became officially recognized as the month of Mary in the 19th century, crownings of statues of Mary became more and more common in parishes, schools and homes.
These crownings of statues and images of Mary are expressions of popular piety and can take on a variety of forms.
They need to be distinguished from the formal Order of Crowning an Image of the Blessed Virgin Mary, which was revised by the Holy See in 1981 and can be found in the 1991 edition of The Rites of the Catholic Church.
This formal rite can only be celebrated by a bishop or a priest designated by him and “is fittingly held on solemnities and feasts of the Blessed Virgin Mary or on other festive days.”
(Order of Crowning an Image of the Blessed Virgin Mary, No. 9)
The Order of Crowning may be celebrated during Mass, during vespers or within a celebration of the word of God.
For the 1987-88 Marian Year, the U.S. bishops’ Committee on the Liturgy included a service for “Crowning an Image of the Blessed Virgin Mary” as part of a small book entitled “Celebrating the Marian Year:
Devotional Celebrations in Honor of Mary, Mother of God” (U.S. Catholic Conference, 1987).
The service contained is this book is intended for parish crownings of images of Mary alone or images of Mary with the infant Jesus.
It’s recognized as a rite that “may be used appropriately as part of May devotions to the Blessed Virgin Mary.”
(No. 55)
The rite includes prayers, Scripture readings and a litany of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
(End Part 1)
Dr. Robert Fastiggi
https://www.osv.com/TheChurch/Mary/Article/TabId/660/ArtMID/13700/ArticleID/22043/Crowning-Our-Blessed-Mother.aspx
https://www.osv.com/TheChurch/Mary/Article/TabId/660/PID/13700/authorid/1410/Default.aspx?AuthorName=Dr.RobertFastiggi
In the Northern Hemisphere, May is a special month.
It represents the full arrival of spring and the blossoming of trees and flowers. The ancient Greeks dedicated May to Artemis, the god of fertility, and in ancient Rome May marked the festival of Flora, the goddess of flowers.
In medieval Europe, May was the time of various spring festivals, but it was also a sacred time for Christians, because it coincided with the paschal time between Easter and Pentecost.
By the 13th century, various local festivals and ceremonies in honor of Mary during May began to multiply.
It was also during the Middle Ages that the tradition of having a special 30-day devotion or month dedicated to Mary emerged. In some places, though, the month of Mary began with the feast of the Assumption (Aug. 15) and lasted until Sept. 14.
This reflected an earlier Byzantine tradition that celebrated August as the Marian month in association with the feast of the Dormition of the Mother of God (Aug. 15)
https://oca.org/saints/lives/2016/08/15/102302-the-dormition-of-our-most-holy-lady-the-mother-of-god-and-ever-v
In the West, however, May gradually became the favored time for celebrating the Marian month, and, by the 16th century, books appeared in support of this devotion.
In the 17th and 18th centuries, the Jesuits promoted May as the month of Mary, especially at the Gesù Church in Rome.
During the 19th century, the recognition of May as the month of Mary received papal support by means of special indulgences.
A Special Month
In his 1947 encyclical, Mediator Dei, Pope Pius XII praises
w2.vatican.va/content/pius-xii/en/encyclicals/documents/hf_p-xii_enc_20111947_mediator-dei.html
“the prayers usually said during the month of May in honor of the Blessed Virgin Mother of God,”
And he notes that such “exercises of piety which, although not strictly belonging to the sacred liturgy, are, nevertheless, of special import and dignity, and may be considered in a certain way an addition to the liturgical cult;
They have been approved and praised over and over again by the Apostolic See and by the bishops.”
(No. 182)
In his 1965 encyclical Mense Maio, Pope Paul VI provides enthusiastic endorsement of May as the month of Mary, writing in the introduction:
w2.vatican.va/content/paul-vi/en/encyclicals/documents/hf_p-vi_enc_29041965_mense-maio.html
“The month of May is almost here, a month which the piety of the faithful has long dedicated to Mary, the Mother of God.
Our heart rejoices at the thought of the moving tribute of faith and love which will soon be paid to the Queen of Heaven in every corner of the earth.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Queen_of_Heaven
For this is the month during which Christians, in their churches and their homes, offer the Virgin Mother more fervent and loving acts of homage and veneration;
And it is the month in which a greater abundance of God’s merciful gifts comes down to us from our Mother’s throne.”
History of May Crowning
Among the most beloved ways of honoring Mary during May is the annual May crowning.
In the Christian East, the practice of placing crowns on icons of Mary goes back to the first millennium.
In the Christian West, the crowning of images of Mary only became widespread during the 16th century.
Pope Clement VIII (r. 1592–1605) began the practice of crowning the image of Our Lady in the Basilica of St. Mary Major in Rome.
Subsequent popes continued this tradition and engaged in other crownings of Marian images. In his 1954 encyclical Ad Caeli Reginam, Pope Pius XII notes:
w2.vatican.va/content/pius-xii/en/encyclicals/documents/hf_p-xii_enc_11101954_ad-caeli-reginam.html
“The Roman Pontiffs, favoring such types of popular devotion, have often crowned, either in their own persons, or through representatives, images of the Virgin Mother of God which were already outstanding by reason of public veneration”.
(No. 33)
In the 17th century, a special rite for the crowning of images of Mary was composed, and by the 19th century this rite was inserted into the Pontificale Romanum.
https://sanctamissa.org/en/resources/books-1962/PontificaleRomanum.htm
In his Oct. 11, 1954, encyclical Ad Caeli Reginam, Pope Pius XII refers to the many depictions of Mary as Queen in Christian art: “
w2.vatican.va/content/pius-xii/en/encyclicals/documents/hf_p-xii_enc_11101954_ad-caeli-reginam.html
Mary as Queen in Art
Finally, art which is based upon Christian principles and is animated by their spirit as something faithfully interpreting the sincere and freely expressed devotion of the faithful has since the AD 431 Council of Ephesus portrayed Mary as Queen and Empress seated upon a royal throne adorned with royal insignia, crowned with the royal diadem and surrounded by the host of angels and saints in heaven, and ruling not only over nature and its powers but also over the machinations of Satan.
https://w2.vatican.va/content/pius-xii/en/encyclicals/documents/hf_p-xii_enc_11101954_ad-caeli-reginam.pdf
Iconography, in representing the royal dignity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, has ever been enriched with works of highest artistic value and greatest beauty;
It has even taken the form of representing colorfully the divine Redeemer crowning his mother with a resplendent diadem.” (No. 32)
The Council of Ephesus was held in 431, so the Church has a long tradition of portraying Mary as Queen in works of art.
In the Christian East, there are many icons of Mary, the Theotokos, crowned by angels.
Paintings of the Coronation of Mary were popular in Europe (especially in Italy) from the 13th through the 18th centuries.
Some of Europe’s most renowned artists
(Fra Angelico, Filippo Lippi, Velázquez, Rubens)
Are credited with magnificent paintings of Mary’s coronation in heaven. In these paintings, Mary is crowned as Queen before the Holy Trinity, and, in some cases, the theme of Mary’s assumption into heaven is combined with her coronation.
After May became officially recognized as the month of Mary in the 19th century, crownings of statues of Mary became more and more common in parishes, schools and homes.
These crownings of statues and images of Mary are expressions of popular piety and can take on a variety of forms.
They need to be distinguished from the formal Order of Crowning an Image of the Blessed Virgin Mary, which was revised by the Holy See in 1981 and can be found in the 1991 edition of The Rites of the Catholic Church.
This formal rite can only be celebrated by a bishop or a priest designated by him and “is fittingly held on solemnities and feasts of the Blessed Virgin Mary or on other festive days.”
(Order of Crowning an Image of the Blessed Virgin Mary, No. 9)
The Order of Crowning may be celebrated during Mass, during vespers or within a celebration of the word of God.
For the 1987-88 Marian Year, the U.S. bishops’ Committee on the Liturgy included a service for “Crowning an Image of the Blessed Virgin Mary” as part of a small book entitled “Celebrating the Marian Year:
Devotional Celebrations in Honor of Mary, Mother of God” (U.S. Catholic Conference, 1987).
The service contained is this book is intended for parish crownings of images of Mary alone or images of Mary with the infant Jesus.
It’s recognized as a rite that “may be used appropriately as part of May devotions to the Blessed Virgin Mary.”
(No. 55)
The rite includes prayers, Scripture readings and a litany of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
(End Part 1)
Dec 2, 2018 14:05:18 #
4/20/2017 Crowning Our Blessed Mother, Why we honor Mary’s regal status as Mother of God during May (Part 2)
Dr. Robert Fastiggi
https://www.osv.com/TheChurch/Mary/Article/TabId/660/ArtMID/13700/ArticleID/22043/Crowning-Our-Blessed-Mother.aspx
https://www.osv.com/TheChurch/Mary/Article/TabId/660/PID/13700/authorid/1410/Default.aspx?AuthorName=Dr.RobertFastiggi
Purity of Youth
May crownings of statues and images of Mary need not follow this particular rite.
There is and has been a great deal of flexibility in how crownings of Marian images take place.
If a parish has an outside shrine dedicated to Mary, the May crowning will often include a procession of children singing hymns to the Blessed Virgin with one child chosen to place a crown on the head of the statue.
Flowers are usually part of the ceremony.
Sometimes the crown itself is made up of flowers, and all the children in the procession will place flowers at the base of the statue of Mary.
In addition to the hymn “Immaculate Mary, Your Praises We Sing,” the other favorite song for May crownings is “Bringing Flowers to the Rarest.”
This song contains these lines:
“Bring flowers of the rarest, bring flowers of the fairest ... / The praise of the loveliest Rose of the vale. / O Mary, we crown you with blossoms today …”
The involvement of children in these May processions and crownings is most appropriate.
Their innocence reminds the adults of the purity and innocence of the Virgin Mother of God.
For the children, the crownings help them develop a filial love and devotion to Mary as their spiritual Mother and Queen.
Such filial love of the Blessed Mother harmonizes well with the month of May, which is the month when Mother’s Day occurs.
Regional Differences
Prayer During May Crowning
Father, You have given us the mother of your Son to be our queen and mother.
With the support of her prayers may we come to share the glory of your children in the kingdom of heaven.
We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.
Amen.
— From the Order of Crowning an Image of the Blessed Virgin Mary
Crownings of Marian images in the month of May take place throughout the world.
For more than 35 years, the Schoenstatt Movement in Zimbabwe has led a nine-week novena in preparation for the annual May crowning of the image of Mother Thrice Admirable as Queen of Africa.
In Latin America, crowning images of Mary is very popular, and they take place in parishes, schools, villages and cities.
In some parishes, the crownings are scheduled for every Saturday of the month of May.
A different girl or young woman is chosen for each crowning, and sometimes the selection is made from among those who had recently made their quinceañera.
Some schools will hold art, song or poetry contests with the winners announced on the day of the crowning.
In some parts of the Southern Hemisphere, crownings of Mary take place in November, which marks the beginning of spring.
In other parts of Latin America, crownings of Marian images are not confined to May or November but occur on other Marian feast days, especially Dec. 12, the feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe.
In 2002, the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments issued a Directory on Popular Piety and the Liturgy that took note of May (or November) as the special Marian month.
The directory encouraged harmonizing the Marian month with the corresponding season of the liturgical year.
Because the month of May usually corresponds with the 50 days of Easter, “the pious exercises of this time would emphasize Our Lady’s participation in the paschal mystery (see Jn 19:25-27), and the Pentecost event (see Acts 1:14) with which the Church begins.”
(No. 191)
Mary’s Royalty
The tradition of the May crowning helps us appreciate Mary as our Queen who reigns now in heaven with Christ our King.
The regal status of Mary, however, represents the triumph of humility over pride and the exaltation of those who, like Mary, listen to the word of God and keep it in their hearts.
Mary is the icon of the Church that “has already reached that perfection whereby she is without spot or wrinkle.”
(Lumen Gentium, No. 65)
www.vatican.va/archive/hist_councils/ii_vatican_council/documents/vat-ii_const_19641121_lumen-gentium_en.html
When we crown Mary as Queen we pay homage to God “who has thrown down the rulers from their thrones but lifted up the lowly.”
(Lk 1:52)
When we gaze upon Mary as Queen we are sustained in our hope for the “unfading crown of glory” (1 Pt 5:4) that awaits all who follow Jesus as Lord.
Robert Fastiggi, Ph.D., is a professor of systematic theology at Sacred Heart Major Seminary in Detroit. He is former president of the Mariological Society of America.
The May crowning reminds us that Mary is honored by the Church as “Queen of the universe” (Lumen Gentium, No. 59).
www.vatican.va/archive/hist_councils/ii_vatican_council/documents/vat-ii_const_19641121_lumen-gentium_en.html
Mary’s royal status as Queen has deep scriptural roots.
Because Mary’s son, Jesus, is “King of kings and Lord of lords” (Rv 19:16), she shares in the status of the “Queen Mother” foreshadowed in the Old Testament.
The Queen Mother in ancient Israel not only possessed a crown (see Jer 13:18) and a throne (1 Kgs 2:19); she also possessed royal authority.
In 1 Kings 2:12-18, Adonijah approaches Bathsheba, the Queen Mother, to petition her son, Solomon, for a favor: “Pray ask King Solomon — he will not refuse you” (1:17).
In 2 Samuel 7:13, the prophet Nathan prophecies to David that God “will establish his royal throne forever.”
This prophecy is fulfilled at the Annunciation when the angel tells the Virgin Mary that she will conceive and bear a son who will be called “Son of the Most High,
And the Lord God will give him the throne of David his father, and he will rule over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.”
(Lk 1:32-33)
Mary is also greeted by Elizabeth as “the mother of my Lord.”
(Lk 1:43).
The word “Lord” (kyrios) carries not only a royal dignity but also the dignity of the Lord God.
Mary, therefore, is the Mother of Jesus, our Lord and God, and she shares in his royal dignity as the Mother of the King and the Mother of God.
The Book of Revelation also refers to the “woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars.”
(Rv 12:1)
While this woman represents Israel and the Church, she also represents Mary because she “gives birth to a son ... destined to rule all the nations with an iron rod.”
(Rv 12:5)
In Revelation 19:13-16, the one who rules with an iron rod is revealed as “the Word of God” and “King of kings and Lord of lords.”
In the “fuller sense” (sensus plenior), the woman of Revelation 12 is recognized by the Church as Mary who wears a crown of 12 stars.
In a homily given at Lourdes on Sept. 13, 2008, Pope Benedict XVI said:
“Let us now look at this ‘woman clothed with the sun’ (Rv 12:1) as she is described for us in Scripture.
The Most Holy Virgin Mary, the glorious woman of the Apocalypse, wears on her head a crown of 12 stars which represent the 12 tribes of Israel, the entire people of God, the whole Communion of Saints, while at her feet is the moon, image of death and mortality.”
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(Part 2)
Dr. Robert Fastiggi
https://www.osv.com/TheChurch/Mary/Article/TabId/660/ArtMID/13700/ArticleID/22043/Crowning-Our-Blessed-Mother.aspx
https://www.osv.com/TheChurch/Mary/Article/TabId/660/PID/13700/authorid/1410/Default.aspx?AuthorName=Dr.RobertFastiggi
Purity of Youth
May crownings of statues and images of Mary need not follow this particular rite.
There is and has been a great deal of flexibility in how crownings of Marian images take place.
If a parish has an outside shrine dedicated to Mary, the May crowning will often include a procession of children singing hymns to the Blessed Virgin with one child chosen to place a crown on the head of the statue.
Flowers are usually part of the ceremony.
Sometimes the crown itself is made up of flowers, and all the children in the procession will place flowers at the base of the statue of Mary.
In addition to the hymn “Immaculate Mary, Your Praises We Sing,” the other favorite song for May crownings is “Bringing Flowers to the Rarest.”
This song contains these lines:
“Bring flowers of the rarest, bring flowers of the fairest ... / The praise of the loveliest Rose of the vale. / O Mary, we crown you with blossoms today …”
The involvement of children in these May processions and crownings is most appropriate.
Their innocence reminds the adults of the purity and innocence of the Virgin Mother of God.
For the children, the crownings help them develop a filial love and devotion to Mary as their spiritual Mother and Queen.
Such filial love of the Blessed Mother harmonizes well with the month of May, which is the month when Mother’s Day occurs.
Regional Differences
Prayer During May Crowning
Father, You have given us the mother of your Son to be our queen and mother.
With the support of her prayers may we come to share the glory of your children in the kingdom of heaven.
We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.
Amen.
— From the Order of Crowning an Image of the Blessed Virgin Mary
Crownings of Marian images in the month of May take place throughout the world.
For more than 35 years, the Schoenstatt Movement in Zimbabwe has led a nine-week novena in preparation for the annual May crowning of the image of Mother Thrice Admirable as Queen of Africa.
In Latin America, crowning images of Mary is very popular, and they take place in parishes, schools, villages and cities.
In some parishes, the crownings are scheduled for every Saturday of the month of May.
A different girl or young woman is chosen for each crowning, and sometimes the selection is made from among those who had recently made their quinceañera.
Some schools will hold art, song or poetry contests with the winners announced on the day of the crowning.
In some parts of the Southern Hemisphere, crownings of Mary take place in November, which marks the beginning of spring.
In other parts of Latin America, crownings of Marian images are not confined to May or November but occur on other Marian feast days, especially Dec. 12, the feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe.
In 2002, the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments issued a Directory on Popular Piety and the Liturgy that took note of May (or November) as the special Marian month.
The directory encouraged harmonizing the Marian month with the corresponding season of the liturgical year.
Because the month of May usually corresponds with the 50 days of Easter, “the pious exercises of this time would emphasize Our Lady’s participation in the paschal mystery (see Jn 19:25-27), and the Pentecost event (see Acts 1:14) with which the Church begins.”
(No. 191)
Mary’s Royalty
The tradition of the May crowning helps us appreciate Mary as our Queen who reigns now in heaven with Christ our King.
The regal status of Mary, however, represents the triumph of humility over pride and the exaltation of those who, like Mary, listen to the word of God and keep it in their hearts.
Mary is the icon of the Church that “has already reached that perfection whereby she is without spot or wrinkle.”
(Lumen Gentium, No. 65)
www.vatican.va/archive/hist_councils/ii_vatican_council/documents/vat-ii_const_19641121_lumen-gentium_en.html
When we crown Mary as Queen we pay homage to God “who has thrown down the rulers from their thrones but lifted up the lowly.”
(Lk 1:52)
When we gaze upon Mary as Queen we are sustained in our hope for the “unfading crown of glory” (1 Pt 5:4) that awaits all who follow Jesus as Lord.
Robert Fastiggi, Ph.D., is a professor of systematic theology at Sacred Heart Major Seminary in Detroit. He is former president of the Mariological Society of America.
The May crowning reminds us that Mary is honored by the Church as “Queen of the universe” (Lumen Gentium, No. 59).
www.vatican.va/archive/hist_councils/ii_vatican_council/documents/vat-ii_const_19641121_lumen-gentium_en.html
Mary’s royal status as Queen has deep scriptural roots.
Because Mary’s son, Jesus, is “King of kings and Lord of lords” (Rv 19:16), she shares in the status of the “Queen Mother” foreshadowed in the Old Testament.
The Queen Mother in ancient Israel not only possessed a crown (see Jer 13:18) and a throne (1 Kgs 2:19); she also possessed royal authority.
In 1 Kings 2:12-18, Adonijah approaches Bathsheba, the Queen Mother, to petition her son, Solomon, for a favor: “Pray ask King Solomon — he will not refuse you” (1:17).
In 2 Samuel 7:13, the prophet Nathan prophecies to David that God “will establish his royal throne forever.”
This prophecy is fulfilled at the Annunciation when the angel tells the Virgin Mary that she will conceive and bear a son who will be called “Son of the Most High,
And the Lord God will give him the throne of David his father, and he will rule over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.”
(Lk 1:32-33)
Mary is also greeted by Elizabeth as “the mother of my Lord.”
(Lk 1:43).
The word “Lord” (kyrios) carries not only a royal dignity but also the dignity of the Lord God.
Mary, therefore, is the Mother of Jesus, our Lord and God, and she shares in his royal dignity as the Mother of the King and the Mother of God.
The Book of Revelation also refers to the “woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars.”
(Rv 12:1)
While this woman represents Israel and the Church, she also represents Mary because she “gives birth to a son ... destined to rule all the nations with an iron rod.”
(Rv 12:5)
In Revelation 19:13-16, the one who rules with an iron rod is revealed as “the Word of God” and “King of kings and Lord of lords.”
In the “fuller sense” (sensus plenior), the woman of Revelation 12 is recognized by the Church as Mary who wears a crown of 12 stars.
In a homily given at Lourdes on Sept. 13, 2008, Pope Benedict XVI said:
“Let us now look at this ‘woman clothed with the sun’ (Rv 12:1) as she is described for us in Scripture.
The Most Holy Virgin Mary, the glorious woman of the Apocalypse, wears on her head a crown of 12 stars which represent the 12 tribes of Israel, the entire people of God, the whole Communion of Saints, while at her feet is the moon, image of death and mortality.”
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(Part 2)
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