Humble Mary Queen of Heaven

This year the liturgical celebration of the Nativity of Mary falls on a Sunday, and so unfortunately it could pass by unnoticed. Nonetheless, it is important to take every opportunity to reflect upon our Blessed Mother and to learn how to grow in sanctity from her. When he was dying on the cross Jesus gave her to us as our mother (John 19:25-26), but we need to remember that this wonderful mother is also the Queen of Heaven. While much can be said, one aspect to highlight is how ‘authentic’ Mary was throughout her life. Indeed, she was conceived without sin, “full of grace,” so that she could bring Jesus into the world. However, Mary was (and remains) a real person, enduring many cares and struggles, living a long life not knowing at any time what the future would bring, relying completely on God as she pondered so much mystery. Her humility is evident, beginning with her response to the angel at the Annunciation: she humbly said, “I am the handmaid of the Lord.” Mary never wavered from her humility even as her role unfolded, embracing who she was created to be, allowing the Lord to direct her throughout her life. While Mary did not need to grow in holiness since she was already full of grace, she nonetheless demonstrates an important aspect of holiness from which we can learn: to grow in holiness we must embrace who God has created us to be, and then grow in becoming more deeply ourselves in response to His grace. 

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Tradition teaches that at the culmination of her earthly service, at the moment of her death, Mary was assumed into heaven, and that after entrance into Heaven, she was crowned by God as Queen of Heaven. However, she has continued to intercede on our behalf as the loving mother that she is. No matter how honored she has been, she has always responded to God freely and authentically.* Mary’s holiness and importance to God’s salvific plan are beyond compare, and in this regard some reflections offered by St. Thérèse of Lisieux as she lay dying are quite appropriate to help us remain grounded in our understanding of Mary and of ourselves.

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​St. Thérèse strongly believed it would be doing Mary (and our understanding of her) a disservice if we over-emphasized her Queenship and subsequently neglected her humility and service of God. Of Mary, Thérèse stated that “we should not say unlikely things or things we do not know anything about.” She continued: “For a sermon on Mary… to do me any good, I must see her real life, not her imagined life. I’m sure that her real life was very simple. They show her to us as unapproachable, but they should present her as imitable, bringing out her virtues, saying that she lived by faith just like ourselves, giving proofs of this from the Gospel….” She continued, “We know very well that the Blessed Virgin is Queen of heaven and earth, but she is more Mother than Queen; and we should not say … that she surpasses all the saints in glory just as the sun at this rising makes the stars disappear from sight. My God! How strange that would be! A mother who makes her children’s glory vanish!”** It is no surprise that Thérèse, the Saint who had her “Little Way” (a way of humility and love), would emphasize the humility of Mary to aid our understanding of her. And how insightful to recognize that a mother would never want to overshadow her own children! Indeed, Mary’s humility was evident from the very beginning as she fully realized who God made her to be and the nature of her call, maintaining her humility throughout the course of her life. Yes, Mary is Queen of Heaven and her role in our salvation must never be understated, but we must also remember, as does our Mother, that being Queen of Heaven is but a role, and therefore it does not change her nature, but rather it brings to our attention what is most important. Mary, humble and lowly in life, remains humble and lowly, even with a crown. This is all the more reason we can call upon her with confidence.

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​I hope that we can take away from this reflection that we are made to be someone special by God. That is, we each have a unique personality and soul, accompanied by a call to holiness. To grow in holiness is to grow in authenticity, that is, to become more fully ourselves. Whatever it is we do is merely our role, a means to an end, (building the Kingdom with the desire to be with God forever); how we live it is what is most important. To be holy is a process which involves letting God reveal to us exactly who we are and who we are to Him. Additionally, we can learn from Mary, who though Queen, never directs us to herself possessively, but always humbly directs us to her Son. As we become more in touch with who we are created and called to be, we, too, will grow in humility, seeing more clearly that we must rely completely on God, the Giver of the gifts that aid us in directing others to Jesus according to our call. Each and every member in the Body of Christ is called similarly. How remarkable it is that in sharing this call we are really no different than our mother, the humble mother of Jesus Christ our Lord, who is also the Queen of Heaven. My heart tells me that she would be the first one to tell us so. 

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May we grow in love for our Mother Mary! May the humble Mother and Queen of Heaven inspire us to holiness! And may we be like Mary, who though a Queen, always humbly directs people to her Son Jesus! Let us meet in the hearts of Jesus and Mary! Peace! 

                       ©Michele L. Catanese

Notes:
* Mary was conceived without original sin so that she could be a fitting vessel for the Son she would freely assent to bearing, and as such, she was full of grace, as the angel stated; therefore she was incapable of sinning throughout her earthly life. This does not mean that she did not have sufferings and struggles. On the contrary, she suffered greatly in the depths of her heart. Because of what she did in accepting the difficult role of bearing the Son of God and all that came with it, Mary also received the honor of being assumed into Heaven upon her death. In other words, at the moment of death her body and soul were reunited. Tradition also has it that when she ‘arrived’ at the throne of God, Mary was crowned as Queen of Heaven, not deified, but honored since she is “blessed among all women,” having been tasked to undo the sin of Eve and therefore serve the Lord in a singular way. I am not intending to diminish how important it is that Mary is Queen of Heaven, only to help us keep in mind that as one who lived on this earth as we do, she was fully woman and lived most fully who she was called to be. That is what I mean by 'authentic.'
** This long quote comes from a book referred to as “The Yellow Notebook.” As she lay dying in the last year of her life, too weak to write, the words St. Thérèse spoke were written down by an attending sister. I have a copy of the book which contains her Yellow Notebook (which is literally falling apart), but which is now quite difficult to find: St. Therese of Lisieux: Her Last Conversations, translated from the original manuscripts by John Clarke, O.C.D.  Finally, at the end of her remarks quoted above, St. Thérèse added something so beautiful, I must share it: “What the Blessed Virgin has more than we have is the privilege of not being able to sin, she was exempt from the stain of original sin; but on the other hand, she wasn’t as fortunate as we are, since she didn’t have a Blessed Virgin to love. And this is one more sweetness for us and one less sweetness for her!” Page 162, ibid.
Images:
1. My photo; beautiful bougainvillea in modern Nazareth, Israel.
2. My photo; statue of Mary as Queen of Heaven with the child Jesus, also crowned. This setting was in a cupola of a church in the Holy Land, Israel. (Note the large scapular in her right hand.)
3. My photo; I took this photo of an original photo of St. Thérèse of Lisieux which was displayed as part of an exhibition in Notre Dame Cathedral, Paris. I believe this original was taken on the day she pronounced her final vows in the Carmel of Lisieux. She took the name "Thérèse of the Child Jesus and the Holy Face." (My photo was taken in 2013, so it was prior to the fire.)
4. Painting; Monet's Garden, by Claude Monet. I had to include flowers in a garden since St. Thérèse called herself "a little flower in the garden of the Lord;" this is why we often refer to her as "The Little Flower." It also fits with our common call as members of the Body of Christ; we are all flowers in His garden.
5. Icon; Mother of God Asking for Humility, by Fr. William Hart McNichols. Should you wish, you can purchase a copy of this icon in one of many various mediums by going to https://fineartamerica.com/featured/mother-of-god-asking-for-humility-143-william-hart-mcnichols.html
​Remember, I do not get any remuneration for endorsing Fr. Bill's work. However I do get the joy of being able to share such beautiful iconography and drawings with all of you. 

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