"Why do Catholics refer to Mary as 'Queen'?" A Biblical Response

Quite simply, because that's how you refer to the mother of a king, and in this case, the Mother of the Kings of Kings.  When the angel Gabriel announced Jesus' birth to Mary he said, "the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David" (Lk 1:32). Solomon had been the first successor to sit upon the throne of David, and look at the story God inspired the author of the Old Testament's 1 Kings to record regarding Solomon and his mother Bathsheba:

So Bathshe′ba went to King Solomon, to speak to him on behalf of Adoni′jah. And the king rose to meet her, and bowed down to her; then he sat on his throne, and had a seat brought for the king’s mother; and she sat on his right. Then she said, “I have one small request to make of you; do not refuse me.” And the king said to her, “Make your request …” (1 Kings 2:19-20)

The king's mother, seated upon a throne at the king's right hand - the place of authority.  The kings of Israel, you see, took many wives (a practice that got Solomon into trouble later on).  None of the wives received the title of queen; rather, it went to the king's mother.  So when Jesus came as the ultimate successor to David's throne, His Mother became the Queen Mother.  Now granted, just as Jesus is not a King patterned after the monarchs of this world, neither is His Mother's Queenship.  But if Jesus is a King, then His Mother is most assuredly a Queen.  And what is the scope of Jesus' Reign?  All of creation.

Here is a queenly-image of the Mother of the Messiah from the Book of Revelation:

And a great portent appeared in heaven, a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars; she was with child and she cried out in her pangs of birth, in anguish for delivery ... she brought forth a male child, one who is to rule all the nations with a rod of iron, but her child was caught up to God and to his throne ... (Rev 12:1-5)

 

Not Your Average QUEEN

Praying the Rosary as I walked today, I really felt inspired to think about the mystery of Mary's Coronation as Queen of Heaven and Earth.  Probably 90% of the times I have prayed this mystery in the past year, I have thought about how each of us are called to persevere in following Jesus and receive the "crown of righteousness" at the end of our lives (2 Tim.4:6).


Today however I really wanted to focus on Mary's experience of receiving not just a crown of righteousness, but of Queenship.  And I was immediately struck by how different this Queen is.  Most women destined for queenship were born into nobility.  From their earliest days they were surrounded by the finest things and taught the ins and outs of high society.  The best are taught that royalty bear a responsibility toward the care of their subjects, but those subjects are kept at a distance.


Our Lady, the Queen of queens, is so completely different!  She was born into poverty, but with the nobility of a spotless soul.  Her training to be queen was much different:  She worked side-by-side with the other women of her village throughout her life.  She knew the pain of a spouse considering divorce, the ache of widowhood, and the death of a child.  And through it all she persisted in saying "Yes," to God, "yes," to whatever He permitted.  Instead of resting aloof in glory, she is a Queen accessible to the most sinful and most scorned among us, wrapping her motherly arms around us and lifting us up in prayer to her Son.  

She really is a Queen unlike any other, and she has to be -  she sits beside a King Who was crowned with thorns.

Creed & Mysteries

Just noticed something this morning: the correlation between the words of the Creed and the Rosary's Glorious Mysteries.

"I believe in the Holy Spirit" - Descent of the Spirit at Pentecost
"...the resurrection of the dead" - Mary's assumption into Heaven
"...and the life of the world to come" - Mary's coronation

Partners

When I was praying the Rosary this evening I was really struck by the final mystery, the Coronation of Mary. Raised up to Heaven, as we all hope to be some day, she received her crown - "Well done good and faithful servant."

In a strict sense though, what had Mary done to warrant a crown? She did exactly what God had asked of her. But didn't she owe Him that, as a creature to her Creator? Yes, in strict justice she did. But this is where we see the abundant, and utterly gratuitous Love of God. He freely chose to raise up that humble creature, and to count her as his partner in redemption! And as a loving, cooperative partner and daughter, He lavishes honors upon her!

And that is what is awaiting us too! As Paul said, "Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day--and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing" (2 Timothy 4:8).