October 23, 2023 (Edward J. Barr) – The Church teaches that Mary is queen of heaven and earth. Yet, she is much more. She is the commander of the heavenly host. In part I of our series we provided an overview of the angels (see “Spiritual Warfare: Part I – The Angelic Army). How did Mary get to be queen of angels? We see the first clue in Genesis 3:15:
“I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; They will strike at your head, while you strike at their heel”.
Mary has been involved in battling the devil throughout salvation history, all according to the divine plan! Her offspring is Jesus, and through Jesus, us. We are members of the body of Christ and as such have Mary as our mother. The gospel of John (John 19:26-27) recounts how our Lord specifically gave her to all of us, through St. John.
“When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple there whom he loved, he said to his mother, “Woman, behold, your son.” Then he said to the disciple, “Behold, your mother.” And from that hour the disciple took her into his home.”
The Church is explicit about Mary’s role as mother of Jesus and all members of His church. “The Virgin Mary…is acknowledged and honored as being truly the mother of God and of the redeemer…She is ‘clearly the mother of… the members of Christ’…since she has by her charity joined in bringing about the birth of believers in the Church, who are members of its head.” (Catechism of the Catholic Church, paragraph 963)
Although man is by nature below the angels, by grace Mary has been placed over them. The angels have a unique love for her. They knew at the time they selected God over Satan that part of the divine plan would be for God to become man through the Virgin. Rather than rebelling, they embraced their role of assisting God through service to mankind. Even though it meant that Mary, through her fiat, would by grace be placed above them. For this reason, the demons have a unique hatred for Mary. They couldn’t accept that God would humble himself to become a man, through Mary. They saw the role of Mary in salvation history and were indignant that a human would be given such power by God.
All of Mary’s power comes through her son. Revelation 12:1 gives a vision of Mary that befits her title of queen of heaven and earth.
“A great sign appeared in the sky, a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars.”
There are several reasons why Mary is the queen of angels. It is because she is also queen of heaven and earth. Biblically, she is “Queen Mother” because her son is king. Just as Bathsheba was the queen mother during King Solomon’s reign, so Mary is queen mother in Jesus’ eternal kingdom. Spiritually, she is mother of God, the second person of the Trinity, in all humility. She faithfully cooperates with her son’s work of redemption, a cooperation that began with her fiat on the night the Archangel Gabriel came to her. Our Lady willingly accepted the crucifixion of her son and offered herself up to the Father in union with Jesus. The queenship of Mary signifies her full participation in the sovereign dominion of Jesus Christ. All through grace!
From Genesis to Revelation, sacred scripture bookends the role of Mary in spiritual warfare. The demons are terrified of her since she leads a divine army of angels, intent on bringing forth the kingdom of God. The angels that remained faithful to the Creator are totally dedicated to our lady. They recognized her role in God’s plan of salvation and do everything possible to assist her. The angels were key players in every part of Mary’s life on earth, from the annunciation to her assumption. They remain potent soldiers supporting the commander of God’s Army – Mary: Queen of Angels. In our next segment we will turn to our own spiritual warfare ‘battle buddy,’ the guardian angel.
Edward J Barr earned a Master of Theology degree from the Augustine Institute. He has consecrated to his guardian angel through Opus Sanctorum Angeloram and is in formation for consecration to all the Holy Angels. His novel, The Gray Apostle: Mission of the Messiah is available on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and other bookstores. Mr. Barr is a contributing writer for the Roma Locuta Est blog (www.RomaLocutaEst.com)
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