THE QUEENSHIP OF MARY - 22 AUGUST

 

ALL SAINTS CELEBRATED IN AUGUST

Saints celebrated on the 22nd of August

Marian Feast Days 

O glorious Virgin, Mother of God, blessed among all nations, worthy of praise and the greatest of praise, intercede for me with thy beloved Son. O honoured Lady, Mother of the King of Angels and Archangels, assist and deliver me from every difficulty and danger.

O Blossom of the Patriarchs, the Virgins and the Angels, Hope of Glory, Beauty of Virgins, Admiration of the Angels and Archangels, remember me, and forsake me not, I beseech thee, at the terrible hour of my death. O Star of the Sea, Gate of Heaven, Temple of God, Palace of Jesus Christ, Harbour of Safety, Power of all Nations, Pearl of all Sweetness, Hope of the Faithful; O Queen who shelters the guilty, who surpasses in radiance the Virgins and the Angels, thy presence gives joy to all the hosts of Heaven.

Therefore, O Mother of Mercy, I place in the protection of thy holy hands my going out, my coming in, my sleeping, my waking, the sight of my eyes, the touch of my hands, the speech from my lips, the hearing of my ears, so that in everything I may be pleasing to thine own beloved Son. Amen.

THE QUEENSHIP OF MARY 

Pius XII established this feast in 1954. But Mary’s queenship has roots in Scripture. At the Annunciation, Gabriel announced that Mary’s son would receive the throne of David and rule forever. At the Visitation, Elizabeth calls Mary ‘mother of my Lord.’ As in all the mysteries of Mary’s life, Mary is closely associated with Jesus: Her queenship is a share in Jesus’ kingship. We can also recall that in the Old Testament the mother of the king has great influence in court.

"HAIL, HOLY QUEEN"

In the fourth century St Ephrem (June 9) called Mary ‘Lady’ and ‘Queen’. Later Church fathers and doctors continued to use the title. Hymns of the 11th to 13th centuries address Mary as queen: ‘Hail, holy Queen,’ ‘Hail, Queen of Heaven,’ ‘Queen of Heaven.’ The Dominican rosary and the Franciscan crown as well as numerous invocations in Mary's litany celebrate her queenship.

A FOLLOW-UP TO THE ASSUMPTION

The feast is a logical follow-up to the Assumption and is now celebrated on the octave day of that feast. In his 1954 encyclical To the Queen of Heaven, Pius XII points out that Mary deserves the title because she is Mother of God, because she is closely associated as the New Eve with Jesus’ redemptive work, because of her preeminent perfection and because of her intercessory power.

(Courtesy of “St William of York”)