From the earliest centuries of the Catholic Church,
Christians have addressed suppliant prayers
and hymns of praise to the Blessed Virgin Mary,
and the hope they have placed in the Mother of the Saviour
has never been disappointed.
They have looked upon Her as Queen of Angels,
Queen of Patriarchs, Queen of Prophets, Queen of Apostles, Queen of Martyrs, Queen of Virgins.
Because of Her eminence, She is indeed entitled
to the highest honors that can be bestowed upon any creature. Saint Gregory Nazianzen called Her Mother of the King of the entire universe, and the Virgin Mother who brought forth the King of the entire world.
His Holiness Pope Pius XII, in his Encyclical Letter of October 11, 1954, “On the Royal Dignity of the Blessed Virgin Mary and the Institution of Her Feast”, ordaining its celebration throughout the world every year on May 31st,
reminds us of what Pope Pius IX had said of Mary:
“Constituted by the Lord as Queen of Heaven and earth,
and exalted above all the choirs of Angels
and the ranks of the Saints in heaven,
standing at the right hand of Her only-begotten Son,
Our Lord Jesus Christ,
She petitions most powerfully with Her maternal prayers,
and obtains what She seeks.”
And when Christians reflected upon the intimate connection
that exists between a mother and a son,
they readily acknowledged the supreme royal dignity
of the Mother of God.
But the Blessed Virgin Mary should be called Queen,
not only because of her Divine Motherhood,
but also because God has willed her to have
an exceptional role in the work of our eternal salvation.
Now, in the accomplishing of this work of redemption,
the Blessed Virgin Mary was most closely associated
with Christ.
God, by making all through His power,
is Father and Lord of all, so the blessed Mary,
by repairing all through her merits,
is Mother and Queen of all;
for God is the Lord of all things,
because by His command He establishes each of them in its own nature,
and Mary is the Queen of all things,
because she restores each to its original dignity
through the grace which she merited.
Pius XII, in his Radiomessage to Fatima, Bendito seja (AAS 38. 266):
"He, the Son of God,
reflects on His heavenly Mother the glory,
the majesty and the dominion of His kingship,
for, having been associated to the King of Martyrs
in the unspeakable work of human Redemption
as Mother and cooperator,
she remains forever associated to Him,
with a practically unlimited power,
in the distribution of the graces which flow
from the Redemption.
Jesus is King throughout all eternity by nature and by right of conquest: through Him, with Him, and subordinate to Him, Mary is Queen by grace, by divine relationship, by right of conquest, and by singular choice [of the Father]. And her kingdom is as vast as that of her Son and God, since nothing is excluded from her dominion."
He is king by nature, as God;
she is Queen by "divine relationship"
that is, by being the Mother of God.
In fact her relation to her Son is greater
than that of ordinary Mothers of Kings.
For she is the Mother of Him who is King by very nature, from all eternity, and the relationship is exclusive,
for He had no human father.
Still further, the ordinary queen-mother gives birth
to a child who later will become king.
The son of Mary is eternally king, by His very nature.
For "just as Christ, because He redeemed us,
is our Lord and king by a special title,
so the Blessed Virgin also is our queen,
on account of the unique manner in which she assisted
in our redemption, by giving of her own substance,
by freely offering Him for us,
by her singular desire and petition for,
and active interest in, our salvation."
Hail Holy Queen !
Hail holy Queen, Mother of Mercy, our life, our sweetness and our hope, to thee do we cry, poor banished children of Eve, to thee do we send up our sighs, mourning and weeping in this valley of tears. Turn then most gracious advocate, thine eyes of mercy toward us,
and after this our exile,
show unto us the blessed fruit of thy womb, Jesus.
O clement, O loving, O sweet Virgin Mary!
Pray for us O holy Mother of God, that we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.
