Musical Rosary #15–The Crowning of Mary, Queen of Heaven

A great sign appeared in the sky, a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars.

This mystery takes me back to what I said about the Scourging at the Pillar. I am not the Queen of my own heart; I am not, if I’m doing it right, the captain of my soul. I’m not the fantasy character who was raised as a mere pigkeeper but learns that she has a secret destiny to save the world and then rule it. Our task in life is to discern whom to serve and then learn how to serve. Our job is to learn to be a good follower.

Now, all of this is, again, metaphorical language which speaks to me and makes sense to me but may be blankly unintelligible to you. You may find it more fruitful to focus on the ways we are called to exercise leadership: I bet Joan of Arc had a pretty intense mask of command.

But for me it’s a relief and a joy to let Mary be Queen, instead of trying to be queen myself.

And with that, we conclude our musical rosary. I’ll close with the song which inspired the whole idea of this series. If you thought you’d get through this with only the most minimal sips of Shane MacGowan LOLOLOL THINK AGAIN, FRIEND.