Bishop Robert Barron on the Queenship of Mary
Last year, on the Memorial of the Queenship of Mary and the 3rd anniversary of my consecration to Mary, I blogged about what led me to make the consecration when I had felt there was no need for it because I felt I already knew Christ – better in fact, than I knew his mother. This year, I am prompted by what Bishop Robert Barron says in this video to share another aspect of what led me to consecrate myself to Mary.
When it became very clear in prayer that the Lord was prompting me to read 33 Days to Morning Glory and to consider consecrating myself to Mary, I struggled. My struggles were partly because, in a very human way, my imagination had never been captured by the Mother of Jesus in my childhood and youth. She was always depicted as sweet and young and beautiful and obedient. Honestly, I could not relate to her! And although I often hear about the honour and power that God bestows on her for the intercession of the world, it was all just – well – not very exciting. The image I had of Mary had always been gentle and meek, and while I respected and honoured her because I felt I had to, I had never been attracted to her person.
My childhood heroines were St. Joan of Arc, Mulan, the women warriors of the Yang Clan of Chinese history and figures such as Mu Guiying who was a legendary woman general in the Song Dynasty who led the Song army to victory over a previously unstoppable foe. Need I say that my favourite character in The Lord of the Rings was Galadriel? In my childhood fantasies, I was often a highly-skilled pugilist who fought for justice even as I found love with a man of quality who fights alongside me. I admired women of daring and adventure – women who defied convention and stunned the male-dominated world they lived in.
Knowing this fact about me very well, God used a masterstroke to turn my heart towards Mary. During a time of prayer when I was asking for the grace to have my heart opened to Mary, I suddenly received a breathtaking inner vision of her astride a beautiful white horse. She was in full battle array, her armour glinting in the sun. She held a banner with the name of Jesus on it, and behind her was an army so large I could not see where it ended. Here was Mary as I had never seen her depicted before – a powerful warrior queen who leads God’s army against Satan and all the forces of evil. The vision was so beautiful and so powerful that I was starstruck. My heart had accelerated in excitement and I knew then that I wanted to get to know THIS Mary better!
Thus what a lovely surprise it was for me to hear Bishop Barron speak of Mary in much similar terms and explaining to us how biblical this image of Mary is! It’s too good not to share. I hope that you will find it as edifying as I did!
Journey of the Heart 