I have a devout Catholic friend who says that she doesn’t think the Blessed Virgin Mary would like being portrayed as a queen with crown of jewels, rich garments, etc. in pictures, statues, icons. She knows this has been done for centuries in Vatican,cathedrals, churches, but still thinks this is wrong way to show Mary how we look at her.
She says Mary was simple, humble, servant of the Lord and non worldly, and that this goes against who she was.
I tried to tell her we do this to show honor and respect to the Mother of God. Is there some place in the bible that shows this is appropriate to adorn Mary, and would not be offensive to her?
I’d appreciate your help and (name removed by moderator)ut.
Blessings
You may gently and charitably try sharing a little bit of Bible History with your friend. It may help. In the OT and throughout Jewish History, even in some non-Jewish cultures, the mother of the king was always the queen or the Queen Mother. She was the second most powerful person in the realm and the most resepcted person in the royal court, after the king of course.
The reason was that the kings often had more than one wife, but they had only one mother. It was customary to go to the King’s mother for special favors. It was also customary to present her with gifts out of respect and affection. Many of them were good women.
This custom carries over into Christianity. One can say that it is a foreshadowing of the relationship between Christ the King and Mary, the Queen Mother. It is not out of the norm to show respect and love for the Queen Mother. Therefore, we use the tools available to us to show such respect and love. We represent her as a glorious queen.
Mary would not be offended by truth. She is the Queen Mother. There is no question about this. Those who deny this, have to figure out how they will explain Christ the King, with a mother, who is not the Queen Mother. Even Queen Elizabeth had a Queen Mother until a few years ago.
Mary foreshadows this in the Magnificat when she says that all generations would call her Blessed. She is suggesting that she will be venerated, not just as a heroine of Christian history, but as Blessed. In Jewish culture, this word has very special meaning and people did not refer to themselves as being blessed as we do today when we say that we’re blessed with good health, etc. To be Blessed meant to be singular.
You may also point your friend to the dialog between Elizabeth and Mary. Elizabeth greets Mary as “The Mother of My Lord.” This title, “Mother of My Lord” has a very profound meaning. In Jewish culture, the king is lord. We still use that title in European cultures, “My Lord”.
At the same time, Lord also had the same meaning as Adonai, with is the Divine Lord.
Mary is the “Mother of My Lord”. Again, we see the reference to the mother of the king, making her the Queen Mother. It is very interesting that Elizabeth speaks about being honored by the visit of the Mother of the Lord. She does not refer to Christ until the second sentence, when she speaks about the child in her womb leaping.
Luke sets up the scenario to help us understand why John leaps for joy in his mother’s womb. His mother hears Mary’s greeting. She realizes that this woman greeting her is the Mother of her Lord. The child leaping in the womb is triggered by the fact that the Mother of the Lord has entered the house, with the Lord in her womb. The Lord is carried into John’s home by the Queen Mother – the Theotokos.
You see, there are all kinds of connections here to the Queenship of Mary. The representations are not exagerations. They are really part of history . . . a history with which Mary was very familiar. The fact that a Queen Mother is recognized as such does not make her more proud or less humble. The recognition comes from the subjects. She’s not demanding it. It is freely given in justice, for this is who she is.
Fraternally,
Br. JR, OSF
