How to Celebrate the Queenship of the Blessed Virgin Mary

To begin- why do we celebrate this feast day and what does it mean? Mary is the mother of the King of the universe. That makes her a queen. We can see this in Jewish tradition, Catholic tradition, and sacred Scripture.

• In ancient Israel, the reigning king's mother was given a special title: Gebirah (Queen Mother).
  • In their role as Gebirah, women like Bathsheba or Maacah exercised real authority, acted as counselors, and received petitions. We can see Mary acting in the same way for the entire church. How cool to see that Mary still performs these functions today. What a wonderful mother we have!
• Christians have honored Mary as a queen since the early centuries, with art and writings from the Middle Ages frequently depicting her coronation. In 1954, Pope Pius XII officially named August 22 as the feast of the Queenship of Mary.
  • In Hallow's rosary meditation for the 5th glorious mystery (Mary crowned as queen of heaven and earth), they mention how inspiring it is that a lowly Jewish girl is now honored by the entire world. I love this reminder: "... whoever humbles himself will be exalted."
• In Revelation, we get a striking description of Mary- "clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet and a crown of twelve stars on her head."
  • This verse is a wonderful way to end the Bible. In Genesis, we see Eve fall prey to the serpent. In Revelation, we see Mary, the new Eve, resist the dragon who has come to devour her son.

Celebration Inspiration:

Want to celebrate Mary's queenship in a special way, but not sure what to do?

Arts & Crafts

Make mini paper crowns for the Mary statues and images in your home.

Let the kids make crowns and wear them. Have them imagine what it was like to be Mary. (Write down what they say!) You can google "DIY paper crown" for a plethora of options. I think this one is particularly cute.

Prayer

Pray the rosary. The glorious mysteries seem particularly fitting. You can wear your crowns.

Food

We like to make things with rosemary in honor of Mary. I have a few recipes to choose from: rosemary shortbread cookies, Sunday Pot Roast with rosemary, rosemary ice cream.

Since blue is Mary's color, blueberries are another great food to incorporate today. Think blueberry muffins or scones, a pie, or fresh. You can even use fresh blueberries to make your own edible rosaries!

Themed Meal

A tea party seems quite fitting for Mary. Perhaps because I associate queens with England. Nonetheless, there are few things more feminine and queenly than a tea party with florals, delicate foods, fine china and fancy clothes.