Hail, Holy Queen and Our Mother!

In regards to the Assumption of Mary, I've always felt the composers of the reformed calendar for the Ordinary Form intended to give it an octave and just forgot to put it in. I say this because today's memorial, the Queenship of the Blessed Virgin Mary, occurs eight days after the Assumption and celebrates the Coronation of Mary as Queen of Heaven and Earth. This, of course, is the completion of the mystery of the Assumption. Thus, my claim that there's an unpromulgated octave here.

The truth of this being the completion of the mystery of the Assumption is even shown in the feast's history. While the Assumption (or under the title of the Dormition of Mary) is one of the oldest feasts to for our Lady, the Queenship is relatively new. It wasn't until 1954, that the feast was established by Pope Venerable Pius XII in his encyclical Ad Caeli Reginam. It is important to note, as he does, that the establishment of the feast is really a completion of the dogma of the Assumption which he proclaimed four years previously (Ad Caeli Reginam, 3).

However, although the feast wasn't established until 1954, Pius notes that its truth, namely that Mary is Queen of Heaven and Earth, had been present within the Sacred Liturgy since the establishment of the Church. He says, "The sacred liturgy, which acts as a faithful reflection of traditional doctrine believed by the Christian people through the course of all the ages both in the East and in the West, has sung the praises of the heavenly Queen and continues to sing them (26)." As I have said before, the Liturgy may be said to be the "arena" in which our beliefs are played out. As the old saying of the Church goes, "Lex orandi, lex credendi," - "The law of worship is the law of belief." The Church, and thus the Faithful will worship as they believe. Thus, the feasts which the Holy Church celebrates are an expression of the Faith which She holds. 

We can even see this in the personal lives of people, both within and without the Church. For those of us who hold the Faith, certain feasts hold a special significance to us to the extent that the doctrine or saint is dearer to our hearts. This is not to say personal devotion is elevated above the public Liturgy of the Church, for the Liturgy is so established by the Church to show which doctrines are most important. For example, while a person may have a special devotion to St. Anthony, his feast for the Universal Church remains a memorial, while the Paschal Triduum is always the highest of the Church's feasts, for its mysteries are central to the Faith. People need to celebrate those feasts as higher than their personal favorites, liturgically. 

Even outside of the Church, we can see that people "worship" as they believe. People give money to causes they believe in. They perform acts they believe are meritorious. While this is not worship in the literal sense, it carries enough similarity that I believe it can be used. Worship involves a certain submission to something higher. When people donate to a certain charity, they, in a sense, submit themselves to it. They give of themselves, to a greater or lesser extent depending on how much they believe in the cause. While it is not religious worship or belief (normally), it holds an analogous principle. 

This brings us to the importance of today's feast. Lex orandi, lex credendi. We praise Mary's Queenship because we believe her to be our Mother and our Queen. Eight days ago I discussed the importance of entrusting ourselves to Mary. This holds great merit in light of today's feast. The subjects of royalty entrust themselves to their king and queen. They depend on them to ultimately provide for their needs. It is to them that they bring their petitions and needs. So must it be for us in the ultimate order of things. 

Everything in our lives ultimately depends on God. It is through Him ultimately that all our needs and wants are provided. Therefore, it makes sense to entrust ourselves ultimately and fully to Christ, our King, and Mary, our Queen. It is on account of her Divine Motherhood that Mary is Queen and because of her role in our eternal salvation (Ad Caeli Reginam, 34-35). As Mother of Christ she is also our Mother, for Christ is the Head, and the Church is His Body. Therefore, Mary must also be Mother of the Church. When in need it is natural to run to our mothers for support and aid. A child naturally entrusts itself to its mother for its needs. 

Through Mary, Christ deigned to take on His humanity to redeem us. Therefore, it may be said that through Mary eternal redemption was wrought. She is not our Savior, but she had a necessary role in our salvation. "Mary is the Queen of all things, because she restores each to its original dignity through the grace which she merited (Ad Caeli Reginam, 36)." 

It is proper then to give ourselves to Mary as our Queen and Mother. She will intercede for us to Christ so that we may receive the grace necessary to not only be restored to our original dignity, but to be elevated beyond it. Not only that, but to the extent that we allow Mary to be our Mother, we will grow as brothers and sisters with all mankind (Ad Caeli Reginam, 49).

For these reasons, then, we must give ourselves wholeheartedly to the Queen of Heaven and Earth. She will sustain us and, "by her intercession, we may attain in the heavenly Kingdom the glory promised to your children (Collect for the Mass of the Queenship of Mary)." Then, we may enjoy with her the vision of the Holy Trinity for all eternity, and share the glory of Christ, in which she participates most perfectly. 

O Mary, conceived without sin, assumed into Heaven, and crowned as Queen, pray for us who have recourse to thee, and for those who do not have recourse to thee, especially the enemies of Holy Church and the souls entrusted to you.