The Coronation of Mary as Queen of Heaven and Earth

Last updated on: August 25, 2019 at 5:30 am by Ben Hartford

The Coronation of Mary as Queen of Heaven and Earth 2019-08-25T05:30:00-04:00 Ben Hartford

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And a great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars.

The Revelation of Saint John 12:1

The Coronation of the Virgin by Diego Velazquez

Hail Holy Queen!
Diego Velázquez, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

In the ancient Levant, the queen of the nation was not usually the wife of the king, but the king’s mother. Most of the kings had multiple wives, so the position of honor went to the king’s mother. The people that Saint John was writing to understood this when reading his Revelation written in A.D. 99 and would have accepted the queenship of Mary implicitly.

If our Lord honors his Mother above all women – which we can safely assume, given his perfection and the Ten Commandments – who are we to say she is anything but exalted in Heaven? If you have a difficult time with this teaching, imagine somebody coming to you in order to borrow something. You’re standing around, shooting the breeze, y’all are old friends. “So, yeah, if I could get your lawn mower for the weekend, that’d be awesome. By the way, I saw your mom three times this weekend, but I ignored her. But don’t worry, I did it so I could be better friends with you.” Allowing for a lack of monstermother on your part, you would likely be offended, right? You might still let homeboy borrow the lawn mower, but it would go a lot better if, when he saw your mother, he asked her to ask you about the mower. Then, when he show ups, you are already inclined to allow it. You might even just tell your mother to let him come grab it anytime.

That’s Mary, except times 82 (one of the best numbers ever).

Theotokos, Mother of God, guide us in love to accept the teaching of your Son’s Bride, the Holy Church. Let us be filled with the Holy Spirit so that we may love the Father and see your Son’s image in every person we meet. Through Christ we pray. In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

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