Sunday, May 16, 2010

Queen of Angels


Thoughts for the Month of May

One of the many titles of Mary "Queen of Angels," or in Latin, "Regina Angelorum"  I'm sure you've heard of this before, but did you know that this means she is also the Queen of the fallen angels too?  Recently I heard this somewhere and I thought it was one of the coolest things I've learned in a long time. Because she is the Queen of ALL angels- Satan is especially hateful and fearful toward Mary and flees at the very sound of her name. That is why her intercession is so powerful against attacks of the devil. St. Bridget tells us in her book of revelations that "God made Mary so powerful over the devils that not only can she instantly terrify them with a single glance, but also that the devils prefer to have their pains redoubled rather than to see themselves subject to her power." And St. Bonaventure makes this comparison: "Just as wax melts before the fire, so too do the devils melt" before the face of Mary.  St. Bernard states that the devils not only fear her name, but they even tremble at just the sound of it. Blessed Allan de Roche adds that "just as all heaven rejoices when the ‘Hail Mary’ is said, so also do the devils tremble and take flight when it is said."   I always find comfort in saying a Hail Mary when I am scared or in trouble.  Knowing that Mary's intercession is so powerful over demons makes me think of all the times I can ask for her prayers when think someone else may be under the attack as well.

So the next time you're scared or feel under attack, pray a Hail Mary to the Queen of Angels. It always works for me and I know it will work for you too :)

2 comments:

Allison said...

Thank you Sarah for this. The image of Mary as Queen of Heaven and Queen of Angels is powerful, but you have pointed out another role she has - defender.

Lacy @ Catholic Icing said...

I never thought about that before, but I really enjoyed this post. Thanks for sharing, Sarah!