Simple Thoughts on the Rosary: Glorious Mysteries: The Coronation of the Blessed Virgin
I.—And the King arose to meet her, and bowed to her, and sat down upon his throne, and a throne was set for the King’s mother, and she sat on his right hand.—3 Kings ii.
And a great sign appeared in heaven, a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars.—Apoc. xii.
See the meek majesty of Mary, as with hands folded on her breast, she bends before her Son to receive her crown.
See the filial reverence, the content, the joy with which He crowns His chosen Mother and seats her on His right hand.
See the profound homage paid her by the Court of Heaven.
And hear her humble explanation of it all: “He that is mighty hath done great things to me, and holy is His name.”
The heavenly Jerusalem is glorious beyond all that the richest imagination can conceive, with its foundations of precious stones, its gates of pearl, its streets of pure gold; with the river of the water of life clear as crystal, proceeding from the throne of God and of the Lamb, and on both sides of the river the tree of life. No need of sun or moon to shine on it, for the glory of God enlightens it and the Lamb is the lamp thereof. A great multitude which no man could number, of all nations and tribes and peoples and tongues stand before the throne, clothed in white robes and palms in their hands. Thousands of thousands minister to Him who sits upon the throne, and a hundred times a hundred thousand stand before Him (Dan. 7).
What must a coronation be in that glorious city! What was the glory of that diadem of stars with which the Queen of Angels was crowned by her Son, the King of Kings!
Who crowns? The just Judge who will render to every man according to his works, and who finds every thought, word, and work of Mary throughout a long life deserving of the highest recompense. He crowns who is her Son as well as her Judge, and whose filial Heart thrills with joy at the magnificence of the reward He is able to bestow.
Who is crowned? The lowliest of earth’s children; the work of His hands as one of us; an hour ago an exile mourning and weeping in this valley of tears. One who has never disappointed Him; who has glorified Him perfectly from the first moment of her existence; who has dedicated her whole being to Him with a generosity that reserved nothing for self; who has taken His Will for the rule of her life even to its least details. One to whom has been confided the highest dignity that God Himself could bestow on a creature, and who has proved herself worthy of His confidence.
What is crowned in Mary? This faultless fidelity; faith, hope, and charity, by which she has adhered to God with ever-growing strength and affection; humility that at a height which places her in the most intimate relations with the God of Heaven and earth, sees nothing in herself but the handmaid of the Lord; patience that the weight of her cross never wearied; perseverance that sustained the heroism of every virtue up to the end.
How is Mary crowned? With a glory corresponding with her dignity, her merit, her office in the Kingdom of God. All that God can communicate of His riches, He makes over to her freely—unparalleled exaltation, universal sovereignty, the dispensation of His treasures, omnipotent intercession with Himself. “My Mother, ask, for I must not turn away thy face” (III. Kings 2). “And the King gave the queen all that she desired and asked of Him, besides what He offered her of Himself of His royal bounty” (III. Kings 10). He gave her the homage and service of Angels, who, from the lowest to the highest, glory in their subjection to their human Queen. He gives her consolation and joy for every sorrow she has suffered for His sake. And such abounding joy that we have no thoughts to think it. If it hath not entered into the heart of man to conceive what God has prepared for such as we are, how should we be able to rise to the comprehension of Mary’s joy! She herself has no words for it. She can only say: “He that is mighty hath done great things to me.”
He who crowned the Mother is waiting to crown the children. To us too He is the just Judge who will render to every one according to his works. Do these words awake fear rather than hope in us who are conscious of our sinfulness and know not whether we are worthy of love or of hatred? We must not wrong God by taking a one-sided view of His justice. He rewards in eternity all He can find to reward. He shows His justice by remembering—not our failings only—as the enemy and our fearful hearts would have us believe, but the least little things in which He can discover a particle of good. He who crowns is not our Judge only but our Father and our Friend, whom no good thought, word, work, or desire has ever escaped, and who has treasured up all against the day of reward. He crowns who often and often discerns merit where we see nothing but failure and fault, because while we consider results, He looks solely at the good will and the effort. He crowns who, precisely because he is just, is merciful and indulgent. For He knoweth our frame. “His eyes see our imperfect being” (Ps. 138). “He remembereth that we are dust” (Ps. 102).
What am I getting ready for Him to crown?
II.—They shall see the Son of Man coming in the clouds of heaven with much power and majesty.—Matth. xxiv.
In the Rosary I look back on scenes that are past. If I have a place therein it is by thought and affection only. But in the last mystery I may look forward to a scene in the future in which I shall be intimately concerned, in which I shall take part, not in thought only, but personally, body and soul. As truly as Mary stood on Calvary at the Crucifixion, and the Apostles on Olivet at the Ascension, shall I stand in the valley of Jehoshaphat on the last day to await my Judge. “Come, all ye nations from round about, and gather yourselves together.
.. Let them arise and come up into the valley of Jehoshaphat, for there I will sit to judge all nations” (Joel 3).
I will go thither in spirit now and behold the preparations for Judgment.
There have been iturin in the heavens, in the air, in the sea. The earth, swept by a devouring fire, is reduced to a charred, black mass—churches, libraries, theatres, the palaces and the slums of great cities—all destroyed. Heaps of ashes and the silence of the grave where the world’s turmoil and traffic was. “Merchandise of gold and silver and precious stones, and of pearls, and of fine linen: and odours and ointment, and wine, and oil, and wheat, and beasts, and sheep, and horses, and chariots all goodly things are perished and shall be found no more at all in her. And the voice of musicians shall no more be heard at all in her; and no craftsman of any art whatsoever shall be found any more at all in her, and the sound of the mill shall be heard no more at all in her. And the light of the lamp shall shine no more at all in her, and the voice of the bridegroom and the bride shall be heard no more at all in her” (Apoc. 18). Created things have done their work. They were made for the service of man. God’s servants have used them well, sinners ill. All are now called to give an account of their stewardship.
I hear the blast of the Archangel’s trumpet: “Arise, ye dead and come to Judgment.” As lightning flashing from west to east, souls speed from heaven, purgatory, hell, to seek in the graves of earth and in the sea their companions of long ago, the bodies in which they worked out their salvation or their ruin. I see the meeting of the souls and bodies of the elect and of the reprobate. In the twinkling of an eye all are transported to the valley of Jehoshaphat for the final scene of the world’s history. What meetings there, and what separations, as the Angels part into two companies the millions of the human race, to stand on the right hand and on the left of the Judge. I shall be there. Where will be my place? Angels and saints know my lot before my Judge appears.
I see the astonishment of men to find the world destroyed: their estimate of its grandeurs and its pleasures now. Behind them to the west is Calvary where their Redemption was wrought. Above, in the clouds, the Throne of the Judge.
The heavens part. The procession comes forth. In a flood of blinding light appears the Sign of the Son of Man, borne by Angels. The upturned faces of men reflect its glory. Our Lord appears, His Wounds shining as the sun. His Blessed Mother as Queen. All mankind without exception fall prostrate before Him and adore the Sacred Humanity. They rise and look upon Him whom they have pierced.
I hear the cry of joy of the elect as they are caught up into the clouds to meet Him. He seats Himself upon the Throne of His Majesty. Each human being stands before Him and is judged by Him. Every thought, word, and deed, however hidden, is laid bare before the whole world; the terrors of that Day, the vast multitudes arraigned, the concern of every one for himself, not distracting any from the manifestation of each. I see the agonising shame of the wicked; of those who did not dare to confess their sins in life; the consolation and joy of the just who have washed their robes in the Blood of the Lamb and now appear spotless in His sight. The good is published as well as the bad. All the virtue of the saints, every victory over temptation, every act of meekness, self-denial, kindness to the suffering members and to the little ones of Christ, every secret prayer and good desire—all is revealed.