The Coronation of Mary as Queen of Heaven and Earth, the Fifth Glorious Mystery,
Saint Francis de Sales posed this question: “What son would not bring his mother back to life and would not bring her into paradise after her death if he could?”
By Maria V. Gallagher
I grew up in a household that took royalty seriously. My mother routinely referred to my father as “King,” and it was clear that she was queen of the family. My sister and I pretended to be princesses and, in our make-believe world, it appeared as if our two-bedroom apartment was our castle.
So it was natural for me to embrace the idea that the Mother of Jesus was also Queen of the Universe. It seemed a logical title to bestow on the woman who bore and raised the King of Kings and Lord of Lords.
August Queen
In this month when we celebrate Mary’s Assumption into Heaven (Aug. 15) and Coronation as Queen of Heaven and Earth (Aug. 22), I am delighted to meditate on the Fourth and Fifth Glorious Mysteries of the Most Holy Rosary.
I am struck with wonder and awe when I think about Mary rising, body and soul, into the eternal Paradise. A number of saints have offered explanations about how such a magnificent event could have occurred.
For instance, St. Francis de Sales, a patron of writers (and therefore one of my favorite saints), noted that it would be wrong to question whether Jesus had observed the Fourth Commandment, which requires that children honor their parents.
Saint Francis de Sales posed this question: “What son would not bring his mother back to life and would not bring her into paradise after her death if he could?”
Similarly, St. Alphonsus once wrote, “Jesus did not wish to have the body of Mary corrupted after death, since it would have redounded to his own dishonor to have her virginal flesh, from which he himself had assumed flesh, reduced to dust.”
Dogmatic certainty
In defining the dogma of the Assumption, the 20th century pontiff, Pope Ven. Pius XII, wrote in 1950:
Hence the revered Mother of God, from all eternity joined in a hidden way with Jesus Christ in one and the same decree of predestination, immaculate in her conception, a most perfect virgin in her divine motherhood, the noble associate of the divine Redeemer who has won a complete triumph over sin and its consequences, finally obtained, as the supreme culmination of her privileges, that she would be preserved free from the corruption of the tomb and that, like her own Son, having overcome death, she might be taken up body and soul to the glory of heaven where, as Queen, she sits in splendor at the right hand of her Son, the immortal King of the Ages.
Glorious Encounters
In my new Marian Press book, Glorious Encounters with Mary: A Guide to Living the Mysteries of the Rosary, I explore how to build a stronger relationship with the Blessed Mother by pondering how the Glorious Mysteries might apply in our own lives.
While probably none of us will ever experience this, we might have encountered what seemed to be a slice of Heaven on earth when a particular prayer of ours was answered.
As I write in the book:
I wholeheartedly believe that, every so often in this life, we experience a taste of heaven — as delicious as any of the cakes prepared with love and affection by your mother, grandmother, or someone else close to you. It is in these moments when we feel God’s tenderness in a deep and profound way. It is as if He has stopped whatever He was doing as Master of the Universe, placed His attention squarely on us, and enwrapped us in a big bear hug. At these times, there seems to be no escaping His love — nor do we want to. We just wish the moment could last forever.
In her position as Queen, Mary can intercede for us with our Lord, bringing to Him our most precious prayer intentions. So let us turn to Mary with renewed fervor, knowing that she is eager to help us to draw closer to Jesus, the King of our hearts.
Our Lady, Queen of Heaven, pray for us!
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