31st Day – Mary's Coronation as Queen of Heaven
The Queen stood on Thy right hand in gilded clothing. (Psalm xliv. 11.)
I. It was not enough that Mary should be received into heaven. She was to be no ordinary denizen of the celestial court. Mary was, by her perfect and unfailing conformity to the will of God throughout her life, raised to a pre-eminence to which none other of the saints could attain. By her cooperation in the Passion of her Son she had a dignity beyond the reach even of the highest of the archangels. Mary was to be crowned Queen of heaven by the eternal Father: she was to have a throne at her Son's right hand.
2. Mary, too, enjoyed a happiness different from that of all the other saints. All others knew that if they had been more faithful they might have been fuller of happiness. Though their happiness is perfect, it is not perfect with the same perfection as Mary's. She possesses all that it was possible for God in the present order to bestow upon her. What must be her happiness now, short only of the infinite happiness of the infinite God!
3. But Mary is not Queen of heaven only for her own sake, but also for ours. Day by day, hour by hour, she is praying for us, obtaining graces for us, preserving us from danger, shielding us from temptation, showering down blessings upon us. She is our dear Mother as well as Queen of heaven. How she loves us! What a confidence we should have in her! Once more we will cry out:
O Mary, conceived without sin!
O Mary, Queen of heaven!
Pray for us who have recourse to thee.
Remember, O most gracious Virgin Mary, that never was it known that any one who fled to thy protection, implored thy help, and sought thy intercession, was left unaided. Inspired with this confidence, I fly unto thee, O Virgin of virgins, my Mother! To thee I come; before thee I stand, sinful and sorrowful. O Mother of the Word Incarnate, despise not my petitions, but, in thy mercy, hear and answer me. Amen.
Indulgence of 300 days, each time; plenary indulgence once a month, on usual conditions. — Pius IX., Dec. 11, 1846.
Ejaculation.
O Mary, who didst come into this world free from stain, obtain of God for me that I may leave it without sin.
Indulgence of 100 days, once a day. — Pius IX., March 27, 1863.
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