The last two Glorious mysteries of the most Holy Rosary are the Assumption of Mary into heaven, body and soul, proclaimed as the fourth Marian Dogma, November 1, 1950; following the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary into heaven ensues very logically the Coronation or crowning of the Blessed Virgin Mary in heaven. These are two Marian mysteries, as well as Liturgical Feasts, that should fill our hearts with immense joy.
Liturgically one follows the other. The Church celebrates the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary into heaven in the center of summer as well as in the center of the month of August, the 15th. Precisely a week later the Church celebrates the Crowning of Mary in heaven!
POWER OF THE KING AND THE QUEEN!
Jesus Christ is the King of the Universe. This feast we celebrate the last Sunday of the Church year. As Universal King, Jesus has power, dominion, and authority in heaven as well as on earth. But it is true that the King has great respect and love for the Queen. Therefore, when Mary the Queen lifts her gaze to Christ the King, there is power and authority. This being the case, we should lift our gaze to Mary and beg her for special graces; she will be quick to come to our aid. In the Memorare, a beautiful Marian prayer attributed to Saint Bernard, we pray: “Never was it known that anyone who fled to your protection was left unaided.” With this limitless trust in Our Lady as Queen, who has the quickest access to Jesus as King, let us joyfully turn to Mary and beg for the following special graces.
1. TEACH US TO PRAY AND PRAY FOR US.
High on our list of intentions should be to beg Our Lady, the Queen of angels and saints, to pray for us both now and at the hour of our death, but also we should beg her to teach us the art of prayer, to pray more, to pray better and to have an ardent desire and longing for prayer. Mary’s life was totally imbued with the radiance and splendor of prayer–which is union with God.
2. PROTECT US SECURELY FROM THE ENEMIES OF OUR SALVATION.
The devil, the flesh and the world are our constant and persistent enemies. The devil can easily play mind games with all of us and tempt us insistently, especially when we are in a state of desolation. The flesh does not want to obey the spirit. Either the flesh wins out and slavery results or the spirit proves victorious and there results inner peace of soul. Finally, the world tries to seduce us into believing that true happiness can be found ultimately here on earth. These are the three enemies of our salvation. Our Lady can help us in this fight which lasts until we die. When we invoke Mary as Queen, she can crush the head of the ancient serpent or the devil. (Gen. 3:15) Our Lady can help us through her prayers to arrive at the self control of our body and our passions that all of us are called to master. Finally, Our Lady of Lourdes told Saint Bernadette in unequivocal terms: “I cannot promise you happiness in this life, but in the next.” Lift our gaze to Mary as Queen and she’ll help us lift our gaze towards heaven our true and eternal home. Therefore, let us seek protection under the mantle of Mary, the Queen of the universe.
3. MARY MOST HOLY, MARY MOST PURE.
Today, unfortunately, we live in a world with many temptations and one of the primary temptations is against the virtue of purity. To be blunt and to the point: we live in a pornographic world. Movies, TV, billboards, magazines, modern dress fashions, and most especially access to the internet–all of these can be easy channels that lead to the viewing of impure images, leading of course to impure actions. In this constant battle, we have Our Lady Queen of angels, Queen of saints, Queen of Martyrs, and finally Queen of Virgins as our sure refuge. A well-known writer and speaker stated that whenever he went to visit a bookstore, he felt an irresistible tug to browse through some of the pornographic magazines. Despite his knowing that it was wrong, the tug toward this forbidden fruit was irresistible. Until something happened: he started to pray the most Holy Rosary. From that moment on, he never again felt the tug or the desire to seek out those types of magazines in his visits to bookstores! In this we see the power of the intercession of Mary the Queen and Mary the holy Virgin. Therefore, in your battle for the virtue of purity, lift up your heart, mind, and soul to Mary!
4. MARY AND YOUR APOSTOLIC LIFE.
Not only are we called to love God, but also we are called to love our neighbor. The greatest good that we can wish for our neighbor is the salvation of his/her immortal soul. As Our Lady went in haste to visit her cousin Elizabeth in the hill country, so she can help us to move in haste to bring souls to God. If we really love Jesus and Mary, then we should love what they love most–the salvation of immortal souls! One soul is worth more than the whole created universe because it was saved and redeemed by the Blood of Jesus, this same Blood that Mary gave to Jesus in His humanity. Saint Maximilian Kolbe, Saint Louis de Montfort, Saint Anthony Mary Claret, Saint Alphonsus Maria Liguori–all of these saints had two important elements in common: great love and devotion towards Mary the Queen as well as an ardent desire for the salvation of souls. May Our Lady’s prayers spark in us the fire of apostolic zeal!
5. THE GRACE OF ALL GRACES: A HAPPY AND HOLY DEATH!
Of greatest importance for all of us is to get to heaven; there is nothing more important than this spiritual endeavor or pursuit! Indeed every time that we pray the HAIL MARY we are preparing ourselves to meet our Creator, we are preparing ourselves for the most important moment of our lives–the moment we will die. We pray: “Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death. Amen.” Therefore, if we pray five decades of the most Holy Rosary every day, we are preparing ourselves for our death actually fifty times every day. No doubt, Our Lady will help us to attain the grace of all graces, the grace of a holy and happy death, and that means that heaven will be ours for all eternity. Mary is Queen of all hearts; starting today, may she be the Queen of your heart!
Father Ed Broom, OMV, is Associate Pastor of St. Peter Chanel Church in Hawaiian Gardens, California. He is a member of the Oblates of the Virgin Mary and was ordained by Saint John Paul II on May 25, 1986. Fr. Ed teaches Catholic Ignatian Marian Spirituality through articles, podcasts, a radio show, retreats and spiritual direction.
