Our Lady of the Rosary 2007 (Tridentine)

In doing the needed research for making recordings of the music of Paul Paray for our Grotto Productions CDs, I was made to read more carefully the life of Saint Joan of Arc, that visionary and patroness of France. Her legendary valor, patriotism, chastity, piety, and the inflexible conviction of her mission as sent by God make her a fascinating study. Rare indeed is the concurrence of such virile strength and demure femininity in any woman, although there are some others in history whom God had similarly fitted and deputed. I’m thinking here of prophetess Deborah in the Old Testament or Judith who lopped off the head of Holofernes. These women, exceptional for their valorous deeds, are a far cry from the modern feminist who may invoke their memory to justify a hideous petulance and hard-nosed roughness which they think becoming of a woman. The extraordinary mission and accomplishments of those great religious women-heroines should not mask their underlying humility, faith and compassionate love which are the prized virtues of all holy women, no matter what their appointed roles in life may be.

Who is the valiant woman? If one makes a search for one person in all humanity who excels in every virtue, there is none to compare with our Lady, Holy Mary. And the Church sees in another Old Testament figure a prototype of the Virgin Mary as illustrative for our better understanding of Her God-given position in regard to ourselves.

There was once a time unspecified, when the whole Eastern world was under the domination of Persia and the Jews had been threatened with extinction. Providentially, the king had selected as his queen a certain Esther who, unknown to him, was of Jewish descent. When the order for the extermination of her people had been decreed, Queen Esther was powerless to intercede on account of the protocol in effect at the time whereby no one could enter the king’s presence unless he would summon them. Violation of this law meant certain death. Conquering her own fears and for the sake of her desperate countrymen, Esther made so bold as to enter the king’s presence unbidden. And–surprise!–she found herself welcomed. “That law was not made for you, Esther, but for others,” he told her. Thus she was able to plead on behalf of her people and to obtain reprieve for them. The outcome was that the Jews were spared.

This story, apart from its true historical circumstances, has a mystical significance in foreshadowing the glory of the Holy Queen of Heaven, the ever-blessed Virgin Mary. She is that all beautiful Queen who has been given full access to God’s royal presence and before which she makes intercession, pleading on behalf of her own.

Whenever times of trouble come upon us, we too might wish a royal audience and seek redress from the King of kings for our grievances. But who will do this pleading for us? It is not that we distrust God’s care or His goodness, but rather, that we are conscious of our own unworthiness. So we look to find an advocate who has a better claim on His attention than ourselves. And who has a better right to stand in God’s royal presence than Our Lady? Recall the king’s words to Esther, “This law of non-admittance was not made for you.” The law which included all of us under the curse of original sin was made for all others, but it was not made for Her. Who else but She would dare to touch the scepter that rules the entire universe?

Sometimes Protestants accuse us not only of the circuitous technique of praying to saints generally, but especially of esteeming and invoking the Virgin Mary altogether too much. In actual fact, however, and sad to say, I believe their objection unfounded. I fear that we rather make altogether too little of Our Blessed Mother and employ Her privileged intercessory powers all too seldom. We should not fail to call upon Her as an advocate for all our needs, however little they may be. Her position is not one that we fashioned for Her, but one is the desire of the King. While it is true that She is Queen, with all the great matters of cosmic consequence on Her mind, yet She is also a woman, human like ourselves, and our given Mother to whom we may say–as had once been said to Queen Esther–“Remember the former days of your lowly estate and speak to the King for us, and deliver us from death.” We do have this instinct about Our Lady–do we not?–that She is not only the Mother of all humanity, but the Mother of all of us individually: that She is my Mother. She cares for each child of Hers individually, stands by each one of us in so many difficulties and wins so many favors for us, as if She had no other thoughts or business to do in heaven but to watch over our single selves.

Today is the feast day of the Holy Rosary. You may know that this observance was a papal initiative as an act of gratitude to Our Lady for victory in the battle of Lepanto in 1571. It is for us a joy to be able to celebrate this feast on a Sunday, a liturgical possibility afforded us only in the Tridentine calendar. With the ongoing chanting of the holy rosary, Holy Mary stands ready, even today, to make our case before God, to approach Him with that irresistible influence which She has been granted and, as the most valiant, the most powerful, the most lovely of all voices that His majesty would heed, She speaks. “What is it my Queen, what is your request? It shall be fulfilled.” This month is dedicated to reminding us of the effectiveness of the rosary in ascending unto the most sympathetic ears of that ever valiant and most loving Mother and Queen of Heaven.