Feast Of The Blessed Virgin Mary, Queen (May 31)

(Homily of Saint Bonaventure, Doctor of the Church)

The Blessed Virgin Mary is the Mother of the great King by reason of a noble kind of Conception, according to the message given her by the Angel. “Behold,” he said, “thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and thou shalt bring forth a Son”; and again, “The Lord God shall give unto Him the Throne of David, His father: and He shall reign in the House of Jacob forever; and of His Kingdom there shall be no end.” This is as if to say in so many words, “Thou shalt conceive and bear a Son Who is King, eternally reigning on the Royal Throne, and because of this thou shalt reign as the Mother of the King, and as Queen thou shalt be seated on the Royal Throne.” For if it becomes a son to give honor to his mother, it is also fitting that he share his royal throne with her; and so the Blessed Virgin Mary, because she conceived Him on Whose thigh was written, “King of kings and Lord of lords,” was Queen not only of earth but also of Heaven as soon as she conceived the Son of God. This is indicated in the Apocalypse where it says, “A great sign appeared in Heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars. ”

Mary the Queen outshines all others in glory, as the Prophet clearly shows in the Psalm which particularly concerns Jesus Christ and the Blessed Virgin Mary. It first says of Christ, “Thy Throne, O God, is forever and ever,” and shortly thereafter of the Virgin, “The Queen stood on Thy right hand,” that is, in the position of highest blessedness, for it refers to glory of soul. The Psalm continues, “In gilded clothing,” by which is meant the clothing of glorious immortality which was proper to the Virgin in her Assumption. For it could not be that the garment which clothes Jesus Christ, the garment completely sanctified on earth by the Incarnate Word, should be the food of worms. As it was fitting for Jesus Christ to grant the fullness of grace to His Mother at her Conception, so was it fitting that He grant her the fullness of glory at her Assumption. And so we are to hold that the Blessed Virgin Mary, glorious in soul and body, is enthroned next to her Son.

Mary the Queen is also the Distributor of Grace. This is indicated in the Book of Esther in the passage, “The little

spring which grew into a river and was turned into a light and into the sun.” The Blessed Virgin Mary, under the type of Esther, is compared to the outpouring of a spring and of light, because of the diffusion of grace for two uses, that is, for action and for contemplation. For the grace of God, which is a healing for the human race, descends to us through her as if through an aqueduct, since the dispensing of grace is attributed to the Blessed Virgin Mary not as to its beginning, but because of her position through merit. By position the Virgin Mary is a most excellent Queen towards her people: she obtains forgiveness, overcomes strife, distributes grace; and thereby she leads them to glory.