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The Church Added the Sancta Maria
Third preposition: She was crowned by her Divine Son with Whom she had stood under His Cross on Calvary and finally, by Whom she was taken Body and Soul into heavenly glory. All of this is locked up in the verb crowning or the noun coronation. I believe that it more than instructive to recall that up to the sixteenth century there were many Litanies of Our Lady. I never counted them - all I know is there were quite a few. But in the sixteenth century, remember, it is during the 16th century that the Church added what we now call the second part of the Hail Mary, remember? It had only been the Ave Maria up to the Name, Jesus. But in the 16th century the Church added the Sancta Maria - the Holy Mary up to, the close and especially, at the hour of our death. Amen. And the reason, as we recall, is to make sure that the tragic Nestorian heresy that had plagued the Church in the early fifth century and which penetrated Protestantism in the, the sixteenth century: that those who would remain believing Catholics would have no doubt that Mary is Mother of God. Because, you see, the first part of what we call the Hail Mary - let's say it together; "Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee. Blessed are thou among women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. All of that is veneration, praise. There is not one word of invocation. Ah! The Church wanted to make sure that those who were believing Catholics would not only venerate Mary, but also invoke her. And that is why from the sixteenth century on every believing Catholic goes on: Holy Mary Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now, and at the hour of our death. Amen. There is not a single prayer of invocation of Mary in all of world Protestantism, anywhere, anywhere. Pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death. Amen. There is not a single prayer of invocation of Mary in all of world Protestantism. Anywhere. Anywhere. Let's make sure we know what we believe, when we believe in Mary as the one who was the Mother of God and whom then, we should invoke to obtain from her what we need.
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She Is the Queen-Mother
We repeat the question. Why is Mary honored as Queen? Because, well, She deserves to be honored as Queen. Could you be more specific? Sure! Our Lady was thus honored in Heaven on her Assumption because she conceived and gave birth to Jesus Christ the King of the Universe. She is the Queen-Mother. Why is Mary to be honored as Queen? Because She cooperated with her Son, always of course under His authority, listen, in establishing the Kingdom of God on earth and we must add and the Triumphant Church, the Kingdom of Heaven. Except for Her there wouldn't be a Church. There wouldn't be a Mystical Body for the best of reasons - there wouldn't have been a Jesus Christ! And there can be no Mystical Body without a Head! We repeat the question. Why is Mary to be honored as Queen? Because on Calvary She was appointed by her Son to be the Queen-Mother of the Church. Because on Pentecost Her presence and prayers obtain - the Church tells us - the Descent of the Holy Spirit sent by her Son as King to sanctify the Kingdom that he had founded. Finally, because in her Assumption she was reunited with her Son, He, in body and soul: She in body and soul to reign with Him always, always under Him, nevertheless, we may use the preposition with Him, as Queen.
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How Marys Queenship Affects Our Lives
We have one more important and practical question to answer. How should have Mary's Queenship influence our own spiritual lives? It is now almost two thousand years of devotion to Our Lady that those who believe in the Divinity of Her Son have paid His Mother. The Faithful have known Mary has powerful influence over Her Son. I would summarize these two millennia of Marian devotion, in another words, how Mary's Queenship has over the centuries affected the lives of all authentic Catholics. I'd summarize this. It has to be in seven words: Learning, Honoring, Thinking, Speaking, Invoking, Imitating and Promoting. How are we to put into practice our Faith in Mary's Queenship as the Mother of the King of all creation?
Honoring Mary
Second: Honoring Mary. This means we do something outside ourselves to show our homage to the Queen of the Universe. Like what? Like wearing medals. Like what? Like having statues. Like what? Like having images, and in general any symbolic representation. Again back to my own novitiate - you wouldn't dare turn in a paper unless on the top of the left corner was A.M.D.G., Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam; To the Greater Glory of God. And on the top right corner, B.V.M.H., and the Greater Honor of the Blessed Virgin Mary. If I had not done that faithfully during my two years of novitiate, I'm absolutely sure I would never have been allowed to take my vows. I'm happy to report I still do it. But be sure, I have to tell myself, Hardon, do you know whom you're writing to, take another sheet of paper. Honoring Mary, showing that we recognize we are creatures of flesh and she, listen to this, in Heaven has a pair of human eyes.
Thinking of Mary
Third: Thinking of Mary. If there is one faculty over which our wills have control, let's be sure we know it is the faculty of thinking. We can either stop thinking or start thinking. I've seen it; I can prove it. We can think about A or B or if we want to, Z. And we can skip; think about A for a moment then skip to M and back to K. Third, thinking of Mary. Putting her, and I would like to add, keeping her on our minds. It's only logical to think about someone whom we deeply venerate.
Speaking to Mary
Fourth: Speaking to Mary; meaning that we have the rare privilege - of course we have to call on the resources of Faith to realize what we're doing but we're doing it here on earth (in case nobody told you) we're not in Heaven yet, not yet. She is. Isn't that marvelous! Honest! We can talk to her, our Queen in Heaven and share with her our inmost thoughts and we having a bodily voice, and now we got to change, remind ourselves, and she has bodily ears. Father, you're allowing your piety to get the better of your judgment. No I'm not. Don't you dare call me a pious simpleton: This is Faith!
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Invoking Mary
Fifth: Invoking Mary. This, again, is the logical consequence of our realizing who she is. How much power - to go back to Pope Pius XII's description of Mary's Queenship - it's the authority, it's the power she's got; that for us (on a very earthy level) is what her Queenship should mean to us. You want to get something done, you want to reach the top. So, you either write or call up somebody who knows somebody, who knows somebody else - who still knows somebody else who, finally, can get word to the one who's in charge. Invoking Mary, because we believe she has such power, and Christ has made sure over the centuries, we realize how much power she's got. By whom have most of the attested miracles in Catholic Christianity for two thousand years been performed? By whom? By His Mother. And all of this we know, the miracles, for example, now for almost a hundred years at Lourdes, some astounding physical, marvelous works, like the one described by Alexis Carrel, the Nobel Prize winner - his little book, Voyage to Lourdes. One of his patients, quite some distance from Lourdes, dying of terminal cancer, insisted on going to Lourdes. He didn't have the heart to let her go alone. He was a complete unbeliever, shall we say, made the mistake of going with her. This is the man who was honored by the whole world for the discovery of the suture of arteries and veins; I would not be speaking to you here this afternoon except for Alexis Carrel. Had to have my veins opened and sewn from my heart surgery seven years ago. And then when a genius in surgery describes what he saw happening before his eyes: It just happened! The woman flesh came back to normal in front of his eyes.
Imitating Mary
Sixth: Imitating Mary. This is the highest honor we can pay to Mary as Our Queen - striving to pattern our lives on hers. We could go down the Litany of Our Lady and repeat the virtues by which she is invoked but I'll explain especially imitating Our Queen.
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Marys Absolute Trust in God
Then, as Elizabeth told her, imitating Mary's absolute trust in God. Trust in God means many things, but it surely means that God keeps the future closed to our eyes. All we have to do live with is our past and the fleeting present. Mary, no more than we, during her stay on earth could read the future. She trusted.