So begins the beautiful prayer Salve Regina, a Marian prayer of maternal love, trust and devotion. Last week we celebrated in the Church the solemnity of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary into Heaven body and soul, a doctrine that has been accepted by the Church since the earliest centuries but solemnly and infallibly declared by Pope St. Pius XII in 1950. This Monday, a week later, we will celebrate the Queenship of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Crowned as Queen of Heaven and Earth, it is an important reminder that the Church calls her the Mother of God, Mother of the Church and our spiritual Mother as well.
Mary continues to be a person of contention between Catholics and non-Catholics. Having previously discussed her role as the Mother of God it seemed appropriate to provide information on her title as Queen of Heaven and Earth. Much of this stems from the basis of our belief in her role as Mother of the Church.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC) begins this assertion in paragraphs 964-965 by using the term "wholly united with her Son". This concentrates on the fact that Mary's maternal role in the Church is inseparable from her union with the incarnate Word, her son Jesus: "This union of the mother with the Son in the word of salvation is made manifest from the time of Christ's virginal conception up to His death (Lumen Gentium 51). It is most manifest at the hour of his Passion, when Mary experience com-passion - Latin for "suffering with" - at its fullest... After his Glorious Ascension Mary aided the beginning of the Church by her prayers, imploring the gift of the Spirit, who had already overshadowed her in the Annunciation. Although the Second Vatican Council stopped short of granting her the title "Co-Redemptrix" as this could be misinterpreted as making her a fellow redeemer with Christ, it did not hesitate to call her "Mediatrix" due to the graces given to her that have been extended to no other human being. In other words, although we do not worship Mary - the Catholic Church specifically teaches that worship can be given to God alone - there is a special veneration given to Mary's intercession and in the prayers used to seek her help on behalf of her Son. This is supported by a long-standing tradition of the effect that mothers have with their royal offspring. For example, look at the influence on King David by Bathsheba, the mother of King Solomon in 1 Kings ch. 2 and the historical accounts of the Queen Mothers upon the English aristocracy.

Pope St. Pius XII, after he solemnly declared Mary's Assumption into Heaven, further clarified her role as queen when he wrote:
"According to ancient tradition and the sacred liturgy the main principle on which the royal dignity of Mary rests is without doubt her divine motherhood. In holy writ, concerning the son whom Mary will conceive, we read this sentence: 'He shall be called the son of the most high, and 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 will be no end,' and in addition Mary is called 'Mother of the Lord,' from this it is easily concluded that she is a queen, since she bore a son who, at the very moment of his conception, because of the hypostatic union of the human nature with the Word, was also as man, king and lord of all things. So with complete justice St. John Damascene could write: 'When she became mother of the creator, she truly became queen of every creature.' Likewise, it can be said that the heavenly voice of the Archangel Gabriel was the first to proclaim Mary’s royal office". (Ad Caeli Reginam 34)

Contemplating Mary as Queen of Heaven and Earth helps us to remember the role that Church plays in salvation history, for she is a foreshadowing of that role. From the humble origin in her response to the angel sent to announce the coming of the Messiah: "be it done to me according to your word"; through the trials and white martyrdom she experienced with her son during his teaching and suffering on earth; to her own Assumption and entering into glory with Jesus, Mary models our pilgrimage path.
The Catechism finishes its discussion on Mary by making this comparison: "After speaking of the Church, her origin, mission, and destiny, we can find no better way to conclude than by looking to Mary. In her we contemplate what the Church already is in her mystery on her own pilgrimage of faith, and what she will be in the homeland at the end of her journey. There, in the glory of the Most Holy and Undivided Trinity, in the communion of all the saints, the Church is awaited by the one she venerates as Mother of her Lord and as her own mother. In the meantime the Mother of Jesus, in the glory which she possesses in body and soul in heaven, is the image and beginning of the Church as it is to be perfected in the world to come. Likewise she shines forth on earth until the day of the Lord shall come, a sign of certain hope and comfort to the pilgrim People of God." (CCC 972).