What I Know About the Queenship of Mary

These are the things I know:

• I know it is not like present-day queens such as England’s Queen Elizabeth.
• I also know that I can’t understand the Queenship of Mary without understanding the Kingship of Jesus!
• One more thing I know is that I can’t understand the Kingship of Jesus (Christ the King) without understanding what Jesus said and did as he faced death.

Let me explain.

Kingship of Jesus – A King Unlike Any Other King (Luke 23:26-49)

The kingship is often misunderstood. His disciples tried to make him a king. Pilate clearly did not understand. The crowds tried to make him a king as they understood it. Pilate mockingly asked, “Are you a king?”

To understand Christ the King we must remember what he did at his last meal. He washed the feet of disciples, something a lowly servant did for his master. Then he pointedly asked them, “Do you understand what I have done? I, your Lord and Master (King?), have washed your feet. I want you to wash one another’s feet in love.” He even added, “Do this in memory of me!”

Only in the days after Pentecost would they realize what he meant by “Do this in memory of me.” His kingship is not about getting but of giving. It is not about being served but of serving. “I come not to be served but to serve.” It is about serving, helping, loving… even unto death on a cross no less.

He turned everything upside down! He is a servant king!

The Queenship of Mary – A Queen Unlike Any Other Queen

What do we learning about Mary’s queenship from the kind of king Jesus was? Mary is a servant queen.

When Mary said, “Yes,” she said yes to being the servant revealing love as Jesus revealed love in both his life and death.

• Mary served God’s Good News by literally opening herself to bear this humble servant king.
• Mary served God plan by immediately going out to serve her kinswoman.
• Mary served God plan by turning a stable into a home for Jesus.
• Mary served God’s plan by nurturing the fragile life entrusted to her in her womb

 

Mary served God’s plan by pondering so many things in her heart

• Letting go of her son as he began his public mission
• Standing at the foot of the cross in his final act of service
• Agonizing with the confused disciples in the upper room

She spent her life pondering all these things in her heart. She is a servant queen … serving God’s plan. All this became finally and fully clear to her in her Assumption.

Things to Ponder in Our Hearts

• How important is it for us to know the details of how we serve God’s plan?
• Can we live our faithful service even when we do not understand?

If we can our lives in service of God’s will, we truly celebrate the servant queenship of Mary.