In the month of May the Church honors Mary as the queen of Heaven. Why this title? To understand, we first need to look to God; specifically, to the second person of the Trinity, Jesus Christ. Since our Lord is God, he is of course omnipotent, omnipresent, and infinite. However, we can also call him King. In Matthew’s Gospel we read that our Lord was born of the line of King David and that he, as Messiah, is to be the King of the Jews. In John’s Gospel, our Lord specifically references his kingdom: “ Jesus answered, ‘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. But as it is, my kingdom is not from here’” (John 18:36). Now, if Christ is king of heaven, who is the queen of heaven?
To understand who the heavenly queen is, we can look at the Bible’s historical context from ancient Near East kingdoms. In Mariology: A Guide for Priests, Deacons, Seminarians, and Consecrated Persons, Dr. Edward Sri points out that in kingdoms like Egypt, Assyria, and Ancient Israel, kings typically practiced polygamy and had many wives.As a result, the queen was not one of the king’s many wives but his mother, because he only had one! Sri points out that the mother of the king was given special “preeminence” and received the title “Gebirah,” which means “Great Lady” (468). Therefore, if Christ is King of heaven, then his mother is queen.
Sri also notes that as the Gebirah, the king’s mother was influential in all affairs pertaining to the kingdom. The Gebirah had the special power and privilege of helping her son guide and govern his kingdom. According to Dr. Sri, the queen had an official position in the royal court. She was both counselor to the king and advocate on behalf of the people. In the heavenly kingdom Mary has the same special privilege and holds that same office. As our greatest advocate, she brings our poor prayers before the glorious throne of God and pleads on our behalf.
Always, but especially this month, I encourage you to turn to Mary, who has a special role in the kingdom of heaven. I encourage you to remember that you are not only pleading to a queen but to a woman whose heart is immaculate. Her capacity to love and to show mercy far exceeds our own. Lastly, Mary is not only Queen of Heaven; she is also our mother, and a mother always desires her children to come home. Mary desires us to come to our heavenly home.
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Photo by Jonathan Dick, OSFS, on Unsplash
