The Queenship of Mary
Next Tuesday, August 22, is the feast of the Queenship of Mary, celebrated exactly one week after the Feast of the Assumption. As Pope Pius XII taught when declaring Mary’s assumption into heaven, this feast reminds us that our bodies, in whatever state of growth or decline, are temples of the Holy Spirit and, like Mary’s, meant to share eternal life with God in heaven. These bodies of ours are “Holy objects precious to God the Father.”
This being true, what is the purpose of this additional feast? I believe it is to remind us that Mary, daughter of the Father, spouse of the Holy Spirit, and mother of Our Lord, continues to have work to do in the drama of the salvation of all people.
On the cross Jesus gave us to her, so that she would be mother to us. She is our mother, and this feast should remind us that she is the Queen Mother. From this place so richly deserved for her, she surrendered to God in the “yes” of the Annunciation. She becomes our holy intercessor before the Triune God.
From this position, as so many saints have noted, she exercises her ministry of mercy. Pleading on our behalf, she pours out on us the many blessings Jesus her son gives her so that we can truly call her “Mother of Mercy.” While the Assumption teaches us that our bodies are meant to share in God’s glory, celebrating her as queen teaches us that she is continuing to work on our behalf so that we might know the fullness of God’s mercy in our lives.
As we stumble along, seeking to be faithful to Jesus, we need the queen’s loving, motherly care, enveloping us with the merciful grace of Jesus. Without it, we stumble and fall and have no strength to get up. With it, we may stumble and fall, but the merciful grace Mary seeks for us raises us up to push on in faith and love with hope.
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