Aug
02
2014
By Anonymous (not verified)
Saint Francis of Assisi had his conversion and heard his call from the Cross of Christ in the little Portiuncula chapel just outside of Assisi. Its full name? It was originally the Church of Santa Maria degli Angeli - that is, Holy Mary, Queen of the Angels, whose feast we celebrate on Aug. 2. The Franciscan missionaries in California named the town of Los Angeles after the chapel, and she remains the patroness of the cathedral in Los Angeles (and of the city of Los Angeles itself) to this day.
But how can a human being, no matter how holy, be Queen of the angels? They're ageless, purely spiritual, incredibly powerful. Indeed, the devil and his angels fell in part because of his pride. According to tradition, God revealed part of the plan of the Incarnation to the angels, indicating that they would one day serve beneath human beings-Jesus, the Eternal Son of the Father incarnate, and Mary, His Mother. The devils disagreed. War broke out in heaven, and the cosmic conflict had its beginning.
Our Lady is Queen of the Angels because her Son is the Creator of all things, the rightful Lord of heaven and earth. She is holy enough to prompt an angel to greet her with the words "Hail, full of grace! The Lord is with you." She, a human being, lower than the angels by nature but infinitely higher by grace, is given the rule over that vast, mysterious civilization. Countless angels serve the Lord God of hosts. Innumberable, immortal spirits of light are ever at His beck and call, and so, of course, at hers, as well.
So in some sense the holy angels have been in her service from the time of their trial by God. They fought to defend her honor, her rightful place at the side of her Son in the kingdom of heaven. They accepted her as Queen before she was even born, showing us what it means to truly be consecrated to the service of Mary, the Mother of God.
Let us ask the Queen of Angels to send her angels down to help humanity in this time of great turmoil. Let us ask her intercession that the holy angels triumph over the devil and his forces in this present darkness, so that peace and love rule the earth for a time.
But how can a human being, no matter how holy, be Queen of the angels? They're ageless, purely spiritual, incredibly powerful. Indeed, the devil and his angels fell in part because of his pride. According to tradition, God revealed part of the plan of the Incarnation to the angels, indicating that they would one day serve beneath human beings-Jesus, the Eternal Son of the Father incarnate, and Mary, His Mother. The devils disagreed. War broke out in heaven, and the cosmic conflict had its beginning.
Our Lady is Queen of the Angels because her Son is the Creator of all things, the rightful Lord of heaven and earth. She is holy enough to prompt an angel to greet her with the words "Hail, full of grace! The Lord is with you." She, a human being, lower than the angels by nature but infinitely higher by grace, is given the rule over that vast, mysterious civilization. Countless angels serve the Lord God of hosts. Innumberable, immortal spirits of light are ever at His beck and call, and so, of course, at hers, as well.
So in some sense the holy angels have been in her service from the time of their trial by God. They fought to defend her honor, her rightful place at the side of her Son in the kingdom of heaven. They accepted her as Queen before she was even born, showing us what it means to truly be consecrated to the service of Mary, the Mother of God.
Let us ask the Queen of Angels to send her angels down to help humanity in this time of great turmoil. Let us ask her intercession that the holy angels triumph over the devil and his forces in this present darkness, so that peace and love rule the earth for a time.
Traditional Prayer to Our Lady, Queen of the Angels
August Queen of Heaven,
sovereign queen of Angels,
you who at the beginning
received from God
the power and the mission to crush the head of Satan,
we beseech you humbly,
send your holy legions so that,
on your orders and by your power,
they will track down demons,
fight them everywhere,
curb their audacity and plunge them into the abyss.
Who can be compared to God?
Oh good and tender Mother,
you will always be our love and our hope.
Oh divine Mother,
send the Holy Angels and Archangels to defend me
and to keep the cruel enemy far from me.
Holy Angels and Archangels defend us,
protect us.
Amen.
If you consecrated to Jesus through Mary or completed the Consoling the Heart of Jesus retreat, we'd love to hear your story. Please take a moment and share your journey below. If you have pictures, we'd love to see them, too. Just email them to [email protected]!
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