All Generations Will Call Me Blessed

Coronation of the Blessed Virgin Mary by Fra Angelico

Today is the feast of the Queenship of the Blessed Virgin Mary.  I first want to recommend two books to you if you would like to get to know Our Lady and her role better.  The first is Scott Hahn's Hail, Holy Queen in which he beautifully looks at Mary's role in salvation history through Scripture.  Next, is my favorite book on Our Lady, not to mention one of my favorite books, period - Fulton Sheen's The World's First Love.  This book is simply great.  Read it!

Mary is the greatest of all creatures, being preserved from the stain of all sin by God's grace that she may be the Ark of the New Covenant in bearing the Son of God, Jesus Christ.  She alone has this unique role in salvation history to be the Mother of the King.  As Dr. Hahn mentions in his book about Our Lady, in ancient times, those who ruled kingdoms were the King and the Queen Mother.   The queen was not the wife of the king but rather was his mother.   Throughout Scripture there are many instances that foreshadow Mary's queenly role or point directly to it.  When we honor Our Lady Jesus is immensely pleased.  As St. Louis de Montfort said, "We never give more honor to Jesus than when we honor his Mother, and we honor her simply and solely to honor Him all the more perfectly."  Jesus loves his Mother who has also become our Mother by grace.  Because of her 'yes' to the Holy Spirit, the Lord came into the world to save us from our misery.  Mary always points us to her Son - her final words in Scripture even being "Do whatever He tells you."  Tota pulchra Maria - you are all beautiful Mary - how appropriate that the Lord would bestow such beauty upon her and crown her as the Queen Mother.  Mary, Queen of Heaven, pray for us.

"...at your right hand stands the queen in gold of Ophir...I will cause your name to be celebrated in all generations..." - Psalm 45

"My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has regarded the low estate of his handmaiden.  For behold, henceforth, all generations will call me blessed..." - Luke 1:46-48

 

More reading on Mary's Queenship:
Knowing Mary Through the Bible: Mary's Queenship in Revelation 12

You Can Do This for FREE

John Paul the Great Catholic University is offering a FREE online learning program on the teachings of the Church called "Pillars of Catholicism" beginning August 20th.  This is a great way for you to learn solid information from a great school at absolutely no cost, so be sure to mark down August 20th in your calendar and go to the website to access the videos.  This endeavor was embarked upon for the following reasons as stated on the website:

Marking the 50th anniversary of the Second Vatican Council, Pope Benedict XVI has declared..."The Year of Faith" [beginning Oct. 11, 2012]. In particular, the Holy Father is calling upon all Catholics to confront what he identifies as one of the most difficult challenges the Church faces today: "religious illiteracy." That is, a lack of understanding about what Christians really believe.

To address this problem, Pope Benedict has called upon Catholics to spend the year studying the Catechism of the Catholic Church, the official compendium of all Catholic teaching. Pillars of Catholicism is our response to the Holy Father's challenge.