The Coronation of the B.V. Mary (August 22nd)

Of the various liturgical feasts and memorials  celebrated this week (a list is given at the end of this article), I’ve decided to devote this post to:

Aug 22^nd -- the Coronation of the B.V. Mary as Queen of Heaven

The Coronation of the Blessed Virgin Mary, rounds out an octave of celebration and reflection on Mary, the mother of Jesus, which begins with the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary celebrated on August 15^th.

Many / most Catholics will also know well that the Coronation of the B.V. Mary constitutes the final Mystery of the Dominican Rosary.

But what are we celebrating in this Feast Day?

Well, in the final chapter of  The Dogmatic Constitution on the Church, the Second Vatican Council, delineated the role of Mary in both the Mystery of Christ, and in the Mystery of the Church.

In the first case, in the Mystery of Christ, Mary is revered as the human person, who said “Yes” to God’s plan, and thus (by Christian theology) made possible that God who existed outside of the Universe (that God Himself had Created) could enter /  become incarnate within it. 

Mary, human, one of us (though in Catholic teaching by special grace given to her by God, sinless and thus free) made it possible that Christ Jesus (God) could be come one of us (human).

In the second case, in the Mystery of the Church, Mary is given to us as a model of Christ’s first and most perfect Disciple – as she did say, fully, “yes” to God’s plan. 

What has already happened to Mary, is promised to us.

Indeed, no less than Carl Jung, psychologist and not Catholic, has noted that in the Catholic / Orthodox doctrines of the Assumption (and further Coronation of Mary) complete the divine project:

Mary – human, material, female – is united with the Most Holy Trinity – divine, spiritual, male – into one.

The belief that Mary, human, material, female, has been Assumed, body and soul into heavenly glory, and then Crowned as Queen, prefigures the final destiny of the whole world – that we too are destined to be united and elevated to be with God our Creator. 

So I honestly love these two feasts, they point to our promised destiny. 

And they do call us to treat this world, and all within it, especially the people within it, but really everything, with kindness.

If God has already elevated Mary to heavenly glory, and promises to do so with all Creation, we are called to keep the world clean.

 

Other Feasts / Memorials Remembered this Week:

Aug 19^th – St John Eudes, a 17^th century saint from France who founded several religious congregations and as many in his time became involved in defending the dignity of both the poor and of sinners seeking to reform their lives.

Aug 20^th – St. Bernard of Clairvaux, was 11^th century founder of the Cistercian Reform of the Benedictine Order.  Why would  they need reforming?  Well, through humble lives and good stewardship of their resources, over the course of centuries, the Benedictines inevitably found themselves wealthier than they would have ever expected initially.  The result was a drop in their commitment to follow their original Rule.  The Cistercian Reform was the first of several reform movements within the Benedictine Order which sought to bring the Benedictines  back to their original commitments.

Aug 21^st – St. Pius X, early 20^th century Pope who instituted a number of reforms, perhaps the most famous of which, lowering the age of receiving 1^st Communion to 7-8 years of age.  At a time when intellectuals across the Western world were proclaiming that they had “outgrown” their faith, the Church during St. Pius X’s papacy went out of its way to underline the virtues of quite simple Catholics, clergy, religious and lay – St. John Vianney, St. Therese Lisieux, St. Maria Goretti.  

Aug 22^nd – Coronation of the B.V. Mary, discussed above.

Aug 23^rd – St. Rose of Lima, 17^th century Peruvian saint, a Tertiary of the Dominican Order, she was renowned in her time for her austerity and fasting, seeking to give up truly everything for the Kingdom of God, and actually makes for an interesting contrast to the original direction of St. Dominic who was trying to defend the dignity of this world against the Albigensian heresy which rejected it.

Aug 23^rd – St. Philip Benizi, 14^th century Servite Saint, in whose Order I am a member and at whose church I am a currently pastor.   Previously, I wrote a series of short reflections on various key episodes in his life.

Aug 24^th – St Bartholemew, Apostle, one of the least known of the apostles.    In the Synoptic Gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke, he is simply listed as one of the Apostles.  He is often identified with St. Nathanael in the Gospel of John where Nathanael appears twice.  By later tradition he came to preach the Gospel in India as well as “Greater Armenia.”   In his portrayal of the “Last Judgement,” Michelangelo portrays St. Bartholemew as helping to pull the artist, portrayed as quite deflated, up into Heaven.