The Queenship of Mary
“What the Catholic Church believes about Mary is based on what it believes about Christ, and what it teaches about Mary illuminates in turn its faith in Christ.” (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 487)
This Tuesday we celebrate the Queenship of Mary, a memorial connected with last week’s feast of her Assumption. So how is this feast “based on” what we believe about Christ, and how does it illumine our faith?
Jesus told his apostles they would “sit on twelve thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel.” (Mt. 19:28) Because of their unique relationship to Jesus, as eyewitnesses of his life, death and resurrection, the Twelve remain in a unique relationship to the new Israel, the Church, which Jesus gathered.
Mary’s “Queenship” acknowledges her unique and abiding relationship to the whole Church because of her utterly unique relationship with Jesus. Mother of Christ, she is also Mother of his body, the Church.
Mary’s queenship also honors her integrity, freedom and purity. She never resisted or rejected God’s grace. She had nothing to be ashamed or afraid of. She cooperated so fully with God’s grace that she was queen of her own heart and mind. Her emotions and passions were shaped by her virtues, so that she did not have to fight disordered affections. Rather, she could rely on her emotions and passions as reliable guides to help her follow Jesus more closely. Her heart didn’t need corrective lenses or laser surgery to see clearly.
As Queen of our hearts, Mary points out to us a way to grow in virtue and the freedom it brings. Day by day, moment by moment, we too can shape our hearts and desires after the Heart of Jesus, her Son. No matter how many times we may have resisted or ignored God’s grace, right now God offers us the grace to give a yes. And each “yes” we give reclaims a portion of our hearts for freedom and for love, until our entire hearts and lives are brought under the gentle yoke of Christ.
Mary’s queenship over her own heart also makes her supremely free to love. There is no obstacle to keep her from coming “in haste” to our help (Luke 1:39). And so she is also a Mother of mercy and compassion, a Mother in our sorrows as well as the cause of our joy and hope, because in all things she points us to Jesus, the very center of her own pure heart. Following her example, and with the help of her prayers, may we also come to rule our hearts and obtain that “freedom of the children of God” (Romans 8:21) which was won for us by Jesus, Son of God, Son of Mary, and the King and center of our hearts.
-Fr. Tom
