Hail Holy Queen. I've been interpreting wrong

[Loboto-Me]

Hail, Holy Queen, Mother of Mercy,
our Life, our Sweetness, and our Hope.
To Thee do we cry, poor banished children of Eve.
To Thee do we send up our sighs mourning
and weeping in this valley of tears.
Turn then, most gracious Advocate,
Thine Eyes of Mercy toward us,
and after this our exile show us the
Blessed Fruit of thy Womb, Jesus.
O clement, O loving, O sweet Virgin Mary.
Pray for us O Holy Mother of God
That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.

The highlighted part was always being interpreted in my mind as this:

Hail Holy Queen mother of mercy ( meaning mother of Jesus who is mercy itself), our life, our sweetness, and our hope (meaning also being the mother of Jesus who is our life, our sweetness and our hope)

I always felt that I was praising Jesus in this whole sentence since She is the mother of mercy, the mother of our life, of our sweetness, and of our hope. I never attributed the words to describing Mary but to describing Jesus himself.

Anyone else think of it this way or was it just me? I don’t know if I’ll be able to change my thoughts when praying this prayer because I feel it fits into the praise of Christ.

 

[Dempsey1919]

I agree with your interpretation. The Salve Regina is essentially a Christocentric prayer; in this prayer, we ask the Mother of God to reveal Christ to us and help us in our pilgrimage on earth. The focus of this prayer is Jesus, not Mary. Granted, the prayer is directed to Mary, but the reason for the prayer is for Mary to bring the Christian closer to her son, Our Lord Jesus Christ.

 

[Loboto-Me]

So we are not actually praising Mary in this sentence except for the respect that I give to her with the Hail Holy Queen, right?

I’m not sure that I am explaining properly, so I’m going to try a different way…

What I am saying is “Hail Holy Queen” Mother of Mercy (Jesus) Mother of our life (Jesus), Mother of our sweetness (Jesus) and mother of our hope (Jesus)… I’m not actually calling Mary “our life, our sweetness and our hope” . That’s OK then?

 

[Myqyl]

It’s certainly fine with me. That’s been what I’ve always thought the prayer was about.

I believe you’ve hit the nail squarely on the head. Now that I see what you’re saying it “could” mean I better understand our non-Catholic sisters’ and brothers’ objections… I had never thought of it that way, but I think maybe that’s what they “think” we are saying.

All Praise and Glory is to God… Mary points us to God and we give her the honor due this truly unique selfless woman… When I think of Mary I almost always come back to her words at the Wedding : John 2:5… She said it then, and she’s still saying the same to us today.

God bless.

 

[Loboto-Me]

LOL! I think I’ve been around the non-catholic forums too much and started to think that I was interpreting it the wrong way, the way the non-C’s would have thought we were saying… I should change the title to “I’ve been interpreting it right all along!”

 

[dusza]

Based on the Latin version, your interpretation should be correct.

“Hail, Queen, Mother of mercy, life, sweetness, and our hope, hail.”

Salve, Regina, Mater misericordiae,
vita, dulcedo, et spes nostra, salve.
ad te clamamus
exsules filii Evae,
ad te suspiramus, gementes et flentes
in hac lacrimarum valle.

Eia, ergo, advocata nostra, illos tuos
misericordes oculos ad nos converte;
et Jesum, benedictum fructum ventris tui,
nobis post hoc exsilium ostende.
O clemens, O pia, O dulcis Virgo Maria.

Wikipedia offers a new, more modern translation by the USCCB:

Hail, holy Queen, Mother of mercy,
our life, our sweetness, and our hope.
To you we cry, the children of Eve;
to you we send up our sighs,
mourning and weeping in this land of exile.

Turn, then, most gracious advocate,
your eyes of mercy toward us;
lead us home at last
and show us the blessed fruit of your womb, Jesus:
O clement, O loving, O sweet Virgin Mary. Amen.

 

[Joe_5859]

LOL! I think I’ve been around the non-catholic forums too much and started to think that I was interpreting it the wrong way, the way the non-C’s would have thought we were saying… I should change the title to “I’ve been interpreting it right all along!”

Indeed. There’s nothing wrong with your interpretation.

 

[Lief_Erikson]

Either interpreting this line as referring to Mary or interpreting it as referring to her role as Mother of God is fine.

If this line is interpreted as referring to Mary herself, it would be a reflection of her role as Mediatrix of All Graces. All grace flows to us through her, so our life, mercy and hope all come from her – or more precisely, from Christ acting through her. The fact that all our life, mercy and hope come from her makes her our life, mercy and hope.

Mary is also our “Life, Mercy and Hope” in the sense that her intercession makes us like her, transforming us into living images of her life, mercy and hope in the world today. This is the same as becoming Christlike, for Mary is Christlike.

These are two ways in which the line can be validly read as referring to Mary herself.

However, it is also perfectly valid to read this as referring to her role as Mother of God. She gave birth to our Life, Mercy and Hope. Her Annunciation brought Him forth into the world. This is perfectly true and a completely valid way to read the Salve Regina.

 

[Verbum_Caro]

However, it is also perfectly valid to read this as referring to her role as Mother of God. She gave birth to our Life, Mercy and Hope. Her Annunciation brought Him forth into the world. This is perfectly true and a completely valid way to read the Salve Regina.

Lief,

While it may be true, is it a valid reading? Can the actual Latin be read that way?

Latinists! Chime in!

My sense is that Latin only bears out one reading?

VC

 

[archangel04]

Amzing how I did not notice that lol. Just goes to show you that no matter how involve you are in the Faith, you will never know everything until you reach Heaven. Thanks be to God

 

[roveau]

Just chiming in to say that I always took it to refer to Mary. Now I can see that it can also be referring to Jesus.

From my limited understanding of Latin I would say that it can be interpreted both ways from the Latin.

I think that if we really want to believe it was just one or the other we would have to look at the earliest commentaries on the prayer to see what the intention was.

I thank you for bringing up this interpretaton, I quite like it also.

By the way, there are many Catholic prayers that can be interpreted on multiple levels, for example the Pater Noster.

 

[Lief_Erikson]

Lief,

While it may be true, is it a valid reading? Can the actual Latin be read that way?

Latinists! Chime in!

My sense is that Latin only bears out one reading?

VC

I don’t know Latin, so I can’t have an opinion on that. I’m just saying that the above are all orthodox ways of praying it and honoring Jesus and Mary.

 

[Petergee]

Lief,

While it may be true, is it a valid reading? Can the actual Latin be read that way?

Latinists! Chime in!

My sense is that Latin only bears out one reading?

VC

Yes the Latin bears only one reading, and it is that Mary is our life, our sweetness and our hope. Vita, dulcedo, and spes are all in the nominative case (or subjective as we call it in English), showing that they are parallel nouns to “Mother”, * Mater* which is also in the nominative case. Mercy,* misericordiae*, is in the genitive (or possessive case) = “of mercy”, showing that it is not the mercy which is our life, our sweetness and our hope.

Also the “salve”, “hail” in the second line affirms that we are hailing our life our sweetness and our hope. I learnt and have always said the second line as “Hail our life our sweetness and our hope”, not as printed in the OP which is missing the second “hail” which appears in the original Latin.

If protestants don’t like it, that’s too bad, but that’s what the prayer means. Anyway it would sound inappropriately effiminate to refer to Jesus as “our sweetness”.

It is Mary who has mercy on us, just as she had mercy on the bride and groom at Cana and interceded with her Son to spare them embarrassment.

 

[Verbum_Caro]

Thanks Peter, that is what I guessed as I have no Latin to speak of.

VC

 

[Verbum_Caro]

Also the “salve”, “hail” in the second line affirms that we are hailing our life our sweetness and our hope. I learnt and have always said the second line as “Hail our life our sweetness and our hope”, not as printed in the OP which is missing the second “hail” which appears in the original Latin.

Peter,

That’s interesting. Why do you think some translations omit the second salve? (Not to be a conspiracy theorist about it.)

Can we date the translations? When did the “no-salve” one appear as opposed to the “dual-*salve” *one?

VC

 

[Loboto-Me]

I must have some buried Marian issues, because I don’t consider Mary to be “My Life” although I have no problem with her being “My Sweetness” and “My Hope” My Life is Christ, not Mary.

This is coming from a cradle catholic who has never had a problem with Mary as a mediator or the communion of Saints. I don’t think I could ever attribute those descriptions to Mary because of the description of being “My life” in the same sentence. I call my husband “Sweety” or “Sweets” and he’s definitely a manly man, so I have no problem calling Jesus “My Sweetness”.

I guess it’s a matter of interpretation, and it sounds like my title was correct afterall, yet I think I’ll keep my own interpretation on this one.

 

[Verbum_Caro]

Here’s what St. Alphonsus Liguori says in The Glories of Mary:
In order to understand rightly the reason why the boly Church calls Mary our life, we must consider that as the soul gives life to the body, so divine grace gives life to the soul; for a soul without grace, though nominally alive, in truth is dead, as we find in the Apocalypse: “Thou hast the name of being alive, and thou art dead.” As Mary, then, obtains for sinners, by her intercession, the gift of grace, she restores them to life. The holy Church applies to her the following words of Proverbs: “They that in the morning early watch for me, shall find me.” They shall find me, or, according to the Septuagint, “they shall find grace.” Hence, to lave recourse to Mary is to find the grace of God; for, as immediately follows : “He who finds me shall find life, and shall receive from God eternal salvation.”
VC

 

[dusza]

I just realized that in the Polish version it clearly states that Mary is the life, the sweetness, and our hope.
*
Witaj Królowo, Matko miłosierdzia,
życie, słodyczy i nadziejo nasza, witaj!
Do Ciebie wołamy wygnańcy synowie Ewy;
do Ciebie wzdychamy jęcząc i płacząc na tym łez padole.
Przeto, Orędowniczko nasza, one miłosierne oczy Twoje na nas zwróć, a Jezusa
błogosławiony owoc żywota Twojego, po tym wygnaniu nam okaż.
O łaskawa,
o litościwa,
o słodka Panno Maryjo!*

 

[Lief_Erikson]

I must have some buried Marian issues, because I don’t consider Mary to be “My Life” although I have no problem with her being “My Sweetness” and “My Hope” My Life is Christ, not Mary.

God bless you!

We are all called to imitate Mary’s virtues. Also, through Mary’s intercession, God transforms us so that we become like Mary. Through her intercession, she transforms us, so our spiritual life comes from her, and she molds us into the image of herself (and she is the image of her Son), so our lives become her life. We live, to the extent that we cooperate with grace, as Mary would have lived on Earth, because she possessed every virtue to perfection, and she draws us into herself by making our virtues as perfect as we will let them become so that we are like her. This is being like her Son. Being Christlike is being Marylike, and possessing Christ’s Life is possessing Mary’s life. Living Christ’s Life is living Mary’s life, for she lived Christ’s Life perfectly. Doing good works being like Jesus and Mary. Being humble is being like Jesus and Mary. Suffering for the redemption of the world is being like Jesus and Mary. Praying for others is being like Jesus and Mary.

Mary lived Jesus’ Life perfectly and she causes us to become like Him through her prayers. In this way, our lives become like hers and like Christ’s. The two go together. One cannot live Christ’s Life without living Mary’s life because Mary lived Christ’s Life perfectly, and through her intercession, she pours that life into us.* Even as Adam and Eve poured out Death to every soul, Jesus and Mary pour out Life to every soul.

St. Louis de Montfort goes so far as to pray in this way to Mary in his “Little Crown of the Blessed Virgin.” Here is the consecration’s final prayer:

“Hail, Mary, Daughter of God the Father; Hail, Mary, Mother of God the Son; Hail, Mary, Spouse of the Holy Ghost; Hail, Mary, Temple of the most Holy Trinity; Hail, Mary, my Mistress, my treasure, my joy, Queen of my heart; my Mother, my life, my sweetness, my dearest hope ---- yea, my heart and my soul! I am all thine and all that I have is Thine, O Virgin blessed above all things! Let thy soul be in me to magnify the Lord; let thy spirit be in me to rejoice in God. Set thyself, O faithful Virgin, as a seal upon my heart, that in thee and through thee I may be found faithful to God. Receive me, O gracious Virgin, among those whom thou lovest and teachest, whom thou leadest, nourishest and protectest as thy children. Grant that for love of thee I may despise all earthly consolations and ever cling to those of Heaven until, through thee, His faithful spouse, Jesus Christ thy Son be formed in me for the glory of the Father. Amen.”

He is not praying that Mary will come down from Heaven and possess him like a demon. He is praying that she will transform him through her intercession so that he will be completely like her – that is, perfectly Christlike. He wants his soul transformed into a spotless image of her soul, his heart transformed into her heart so that it beats with her love, filled with her caring, translated into all her virtues. She lived Christ and he wants to live her because she is the perfect way to Christ. God saw her as the perfect way for the world to receive Christ, so He caused His Son to come to the world through her by birth and by intercession.

May Christ and Mary bless you, and may you, me and all of us be made fully one with their Life!

Here’s what St. Alphonsus Liguori says in The Glories of Mary:
In order to understand rightly the reason why the boly Church calls Mary our life, we must consider that as the soul gives life to the body, so divine grace gives life to the soul; for a soul without grace, though nominally alive, in truth is dead, as we find in the Apocalypse: “Thou hast the name of being alive, and thou art dead.” As Mary, then, obtains for sinners, by her intercession, the gift of grace, she restores them to life. The holy Church applies to her the following words of Proverbs: “They that in the morning early watch for me, shall find me.” They shall find me, or, according to the Septuagint, “they shall find grace.” Hence, to lave recourse to Mary is to find the grace of God; for, as immediately follows : “He who finds me shall find life, and shall receive from God eternal salvation.”
VC

Great quote! Thanks for sharing this!

 

[Loboto-Me]

I never thought I would say this In all of my staunch, proper, catholic beliefs, I never thought I would ever discover in this time in my life, that I have a “Marian Complex”.

My eyes are actually moist thinking about it because before this, I thought I was in tune with every single thing the Church asks of me. I never ever thought I’d have a problem with anything and now God opens my eyes to a spiritual struggle. I hope this is a grace that He’s sending me, hoping and praying that this is a teaching moment for me.

The irony of all this is that I just started on day 2 of the second novena of the 54 day novena.

Leif, I’ll have to read and re-read your post and re-read it again and again. At the moment, although I want to understand it the way you and St-Louis understand Mary, I just can’t put her in that high a place as St-Louis does .

I like to think that I love Mary like I love a mother. I understand that Jesus loves her deeply and His wish is for us to love her just as deeply, yet I can’t fathom her as anything other than my sweet mother who will pick me up and point me toward her Son, like a mother who loves her Son would.

I think when we have a certain image in our minds as to exactly who someone is, we have a hard time with it if someone describes them otherwise. I’ve always pictured her as the mediator between Jesus and I when I have a special request, for me or for souls or for other people. I always thought that she could maybe convince Jesus for me.

I have alot of spiritual reflection to do now… maybe a growth spurt, maybe a revelation… or maybe just to stay as I am about this subject… hope it doesn’t take too long!