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FATHER MARK FRANCIS O’MALLEY
CHRIST AND MARY: OUR KING AND QUEEN
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and echoed the sentiments of his predecessor Pius XI as he encouraged the youth of today to place God at the center of human activity, “We must make
The institutions of the feasts of Christ the King and the Queenship of Mary were a supernatural response to the cultural, social and political situation of twentieth
once again present in our lives, that we do not live as though we were autonomous, authorized to invent what freedom and life are. We must realize that we are creatures, aware that there is a God who has created us and that living in accordance with his will is not dependence but a gift of love that makes us alive.”14
dominion of Christ’s kingship and his Mother’s queenship, neither Pius XI nor Pius XII sought a temporal restoration of Christendom. Their hope was to bring about a restoration of the primacy of Christ and divine precepts in the lived reality of the individual believer and thus illumine all the pathways of society with the light of Christ. How then are the Kingship of Christ and the Queenship of Mary acknowledged in our own lives?
The introduction of the Feast of Christ the King into the Church’s liturgical life was carried out in a rather low-key manner by means of a document to the bishops of the world. In contrast, the institution of the Feast of the Queenship of Mary in 1954 was a media event. Pius XII, who at the time was considered the most Marian of popes, established May 31st as the liturgical feast of the Queenship of the Blessed Virgin Mary.15 The announcement and subsequent festivities were the culmination of the Marian Year of 1954. Throngs of the faithful lined the streets of Rome as a procession composed of ecclesiastical and secular dignitaries, clerics, religious and laity accompanied an image of Mary and the child Jesus known as Salus Populi Romani as it made its way from the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore to Saint Peter’s Basilica. Pope Pius XII received the much venerated image within the crown over the head of Mary as a symbol of her reign as queen in heaven and on earth.16 Similar to the kingly titles attributed to Christ, the queenly character of Mary also is rooted in Scripture, in early and medieval writings, in the writings of popes and saints, in artistic renderings of her reaching back to the early Church,17 and in the devotional expressions of the faithful through the centuries. This rich tradition was recalled at considerable length in the October 1954 encyclical letter Ad Caeli Reginam by which Pius proclaimed the Queenship of Mary.18 Pius’ recounting of this Marian tradition served as a tribute to Mary and as an acknowledgement of a sustained request from lay faithful, theologians and members of the hierarchy that Mary be proclaimed universal Queen in a formal manner.19 After recalling the tradition, Pius rested the theological virtue of her divine motherhood20 and Queen by virtue of her exceptional association with Christ in the work of our redemption.21 Her Queenship is equal in reach to the
The liturgical commemoration of Christ the King, celebrated on the last Sunday of the Church year, provides an opportunity for us to examine the strength of our commitment to Christ. To what extent do we allow Christ to have dominion over us? Our Lord does not impose himself upon us; rather he wants to be invited daily into the various aspects of our lives. We acknowledge the Kingship of Christ each time we engage in the devotional practice of making the words of the apostle Saint Thomas our own during the elevation of the consecrated host and sacred chalice at Mass: Dominus meus et Deus meus — “My Lord and my God” (Jn 20:28). Most likely as we participate at Mass on Christ the King Sunday, the following words will be on our lips as we sing the familiar hymn, To Jesus Christ Our Sovereign King: To you, and to your church, great King, We pledge our heart’s oblation; Until before your throne we sing Christ Jesus, Victor! Christ Jesus, Ruler! Christ Jesus, Lord and Redeemer!23 We pledge our heart’s oblation – that is to offer as gift the totality of who we are – is this fact or fancy? My Lord and my God – is this aspiration a lived reality in our lives or simply
the sciences, academia, and the personal lives of some of the Christian faithful. While we take care that we do not reduce Christ and our Christian faith to what Cardinal Francis George of Chicago has referred to as a “hobby” or something we acknowledge and participate in on the weekend, but has little effect in our daily living.24
and its annual celebration would serve as a source of consolation and hope for a war-wearied Christian faithful and help “preserve, strengthen and prolong that peace among nations which daily is almost destroyed by recurring crisis.”22
INSTITUTE FOR CHRISTIAN SPIRITUALITY
As a safeguard to the “hobby” approach to Christianity, we do well to examine the consistency and quality of our conviction as Christians: Is Christ’s rule a touchstone in my lived reality? Is He Lord of my thoughts and affections, of my work and leisure? Does the reign IM M AC ULATE C O N C EP TIO N S EM IN ARY S C H O O L O F TH EO LO G Y