I noticed recently that there was a diversity of description of the Memorial which occurs on the eighth day after the Solemnity of the Assumption of the BVM. In the Divine Office it is described as "Our Lady, Queen and Mother" while in the Roman Missal the title given is "The Queenship of Mary." The significance of this is perhaps incidental since in the Collect we pray: "O God, who made the Mother of your Son to be our Mother and our Queen, graciously grant that, sustained by her intercession, we may attain in the heavenly Kingdom the glory promised to your children." Nevertheless, this difference has prompted me to reflect on the significance of our Lady under those respective titles.
Occurring eight days after the Assumption of the BVM the memorial teases out the significance of that mystery. We see a similar dynamic in the Octave Masses after Christmas - Mary Mother of God and Easter Sunday - Divine Mercy Sunday. On each occasion the former teaches us of the event itself, and the latter speaks of the implications of the feast for us. As we heard in the Collect for the Queenship of Mary the glory of the Assumption is also held out to us. We hope and pray to become as Our Lady is. The dual title of Queen and Mother connect this feast day with other liturgical feasts so that we can deepen our insight and appreciation of the present mystery. In terms of Queen, we can look at: Our Lady, Help of Christians, the Immaculate Heart of the BVM, Our Lady of Mount Carmel, the Assumption of the BVM, the Nativity of the BVM, the Most Holy Name of Mary, Our Lady of the Rosary, the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary and the Immaculate Conception; in terms of Mother, we can look at: Mary, the Holy Mother of God, The Presentation of the Lord, the Annunciation of the Lord and Mary, Mother of the Church. Some feasts reflect both aspects such as Our Lady of Guadalupe, Our Lady of Lourdes and Our Lady of Fatima.
When we contemplate of our Lady as Queen, I propose, we understand her in the glory realized in her glorious Assumption and Coronation as Queen of Heaven, as we pray in the last two glorious mysteries of the rosary. Her queenship is prophesied at the Annunciation when the angel Gabriel tells her: "And now, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you will name him Jesus. he will be great, and will be called the Son of Most High, and the Lord God will give him the throne of his ancestor David. he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end." (Lk 1: 31-33) The glory is depicted in the last book of the Bible: "A great portent appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head crown of twelve stars." (Rev 12: 1) This is similar to the image imprinted on the tilma of Our Lady of Guadalupe. The Queenship of Our Lady is intimately connected with her motherhood since: "She was pregnant and was crying out in birth pangs, in the agony of giving birth." (Rev 12: 2) Nevertheless, the aspect stresses how God raises her up and gives her the highest place in his heavenly kingdom: "... for he has looked with favor on the lowliness of his servant. Surely, from now on all generations will call me blessed; for the Mighty One has done great things for me, and holy is his name" (Lk 1: 48-49) and "blessed is she who believed there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her by the Lord" (Lk 1: 45).
When we contemplate Our Lady as Mother, we can understand her suffering as well as moments of uncertainty or confusion: "... and a sword will pierce your own soul too" (Lk 2: 35), "Child, why have you treated us like this? Look, your father and I have been searching for you in great anxiety" (Lk 2: 48), "Then his mother and his brothers came to him, but they could reach him because of the crowd" (Lk 8: 19), "His mother said to the servants, 'Do whatever he tells you' " (Jn 2: 5) and "When Jesus saw his mother and the disciples whom he loved standing beside her, he said to his mother, 'Woman, here is your son.' Then he said to the disciples, 'Here is your mother'." (Jn 19: 25-27)
The last reference is an important one in helping us to understand the connection between suffering and glory. The Entrance Antiphon for the Memorial is derived from Psalm 45: "... at your right hand stands the queen in gold of Ophir" (Ps 45: 9) This reminds us that the queen in question is not the spouse of the king but is in fact his mother. However, we know from the trial of Jesus in front of Pilate that: "My kingdom is not from this world. If my kingdom were from this world, my followers would be fighting to keep me from being handed over to the Jews." (Jn 18: 36) Thus, Jesus, enthroned on the Cross and crowned with thorns has his mother stand at his rights side at the foot of the Cross, arrayed in sorrow. The prophecy of Simeon is fulfilled. It is only through the Resurrection of her Son that Our Lady will find her own prophecy fulfilled from the Magnificat: "He has shown strength with his arm; he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts. he has brought down the powerful from their thrones and lifted up the lowly; he has filled the hungry with good things" (Lk 1: 51-55) The story concludes in eternity as the mother, united with her Son, joins him in his risen glory and is arrayed in gold, seated at his right hand. We can now more clearly see the contrast between the first Eve and the second. The first Eve started in Paradise and through disobedience ended in exile and disgrace, while the second begins in lowliness and humility, and through obedience, ends in glory and majesty.
What about us? What about the Church? We can be mindful of the Psalm 45: "The princess is decked in her chamber with gold-woven robes; in many coloured robes she is led to the king; behind her the virgins, her companions, follow." (Ps 45: 12-15) This psalm which is described as an "Ode for a Royal Wedding" can be applied to the Church which is presented to Christ, the Bridegroom and heavenly King. The relationship between the Church and Christ is described by St Paul as an analogue to marriage: "This is a great mystery, and I am applying it to Christ, and the church." (Eph 5: 32) St Paul is anxious to present the bride Church to her heavenly husband: "... Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, in order to make her holy by cleansing her with the washing of water by the word, so as to present the church to himself in splendor without a spot or wrinkle or anything of the kind - yes, so that she may be holy and without blemish." (Eph 5: 25-27) This state of affairs will only come in the heavenly realms: "For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. The last enemy to be destroyed will be death." (1 Cor 15: 25-26) That is when the bride, which is the Church, will be presented to the heavenly bridegroom in the fulfillment of God's plan of salvation: "Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the fist earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride for her husband" (Rev 21: 1-2) and, "Then one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls full of the seven last plagues came and said to me, 'Come I will show you the bride, the wife of the Lamb'....'." (Rev 21: 9)
My conclusion is that we can only understand the mystery of our Blessed Mother if we contemplate her as Queen and Mother and do so in the context of the Church. The preface from the Solemnity of the Assumption sums this up admirably: "For today the Virgin Mother of God was assumed into heaven as the beginning and image of the Church's coming to perfection and a sign of sure hope and comfort to your pilgrim people; rightly you would not allow her to see the corruption of the tomb since from her own body she marvelously brought forth your incarnate Son, the Author of all life."
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