The Coronation

Fruit Of The Mystery: Trust In the Intercession Of Mary

The following meditations are provided to assist you while praying the Holy Rosary. It is offered in a format where a question is posed to lead the meditation and then is followed by an answer below it.  It may be more helpful to grow in your meditation skills if you try to contemplate the question while praying this decade of the Rosary, and view the possible answer upon completing the prayers for the Mystery.

The meditations below offer possible answers to questions regarding these Mysteries.  Because the Wisdom of God is infinite, there are limitless insights that one may gain from meditating repeatedly upon the questions surrounding these Mysteries.  There are no wrong or right answers when praying the Holy Rosary in this way.  We are simply seeking to be inspired in our understanding of who Jesus is and how much He loves us, as the Holy Spirit gently guides us through reflective prayer.

For many reasons it may be difficult to engage our minds to enter into meditating on the Mysteries at hand.  An alternative option is to simply meditate upon the meaning of the core prayers of the Holy Rosary as you are praying them.  You may find these reflections on the Our Father, the Hail Mary and the Glory Be prayers to be helpful during these times.

The Moon 

1.  Why is Mary depicted as having the moon under her feet?

The War

1. What is the war between the dragon and the Woman’s offspring really a representation of?  Do we live our lives as if we were in a battle for the honor of Jesus?

We read in the book of Revelation, “Then the dragon was enraged at the Woman and went off to make war against the rest of her offspring--those who obey God's commandments and hold to the testimony of Jesus.” The Woman and her offspring represent Mary and the Church, while the dragon represents satan and the fallen angels.  In this literal war between good and evil for souls, we are called to defend the honor of Jesus and His Mother, by spreading the truth of the good news of the Gospel.  We preach the message of Christ’s love and forgiveness mostly through our actions and the way that we treat others.  It is in this way that others come to know who Jesus is and how much He cares for them, and we help Our Blessed Mother triumph over evil and the attacks of the enemy upon her Son’s Church. 

Jesus Christ establishes the New and Everlasting Covenant between God and man through His Precious Blood which was shed for us in His Passion and Death.  If Jesus is the New Covenant, then Mary within whom this Covenant was literally carried for nine months, is the Ark of the New Covenant.  When the Sacred Scriptures were originally written, there was no distinction between chapters.  This is why the end of Revelation chapter 11 is speaking about the Ark of the New Covenant, and chapter 12 begins by speaking about Mary.  They are both speaking of the Mother of God, and her great responsibilities and role in the war for the salvation of souls. 

Mary’s Role In Heaven

1. Why does the Blessed Virgin Mary hold such an important role in Heaven?

We must labor intensely to cooperate with all of the graces and gifts which are given to us by the Holy Spirit during this life.  For as we develop in virtue to effectively carry out our individual part of God’s salvation plan on earth, we are being shaped to carry out Our Lord’s special role for us in Heaven. It is very reassuring to consider that God uses us in every state of life for His most important tasks.  We see this pattern in the lives of the great saints, and most strikingly when we consider that Mary was only a young, poor peasant girl when she was asked to be the Mother of God.  Just as Our Blessed Mother was the means that God chose to bring all grace to earth, through giving birth to Jesus, she continues to be responsible for dispensing all virtues and graces from Heaven.  How comforting it is to think that this is our very own Mother’s role in Heaven, especially in our times of great need.

2.  Why is Mary given the title and role of Queen?

During biblical times in the region where Jesus lived, the woman sitting on the throne in the kingdom was the king’s mother.  This is because the king was usually not united in marriage to one woman, but had large harems of women.   From a biblical point of view it becomes obvious then why Mary would inherit this position.  Just as the Queen’s role on earth would be to advocate for the needs of the people, Our Blessed Mother continually petitions her Son at His throne in Heaven for the needs of all who are entrusted to her.

Mary’s intercession carries tremendous power before the Throne of Our Father.  This is because prayers are answered based upon their fervency- in essence, the faith and love they express.  With this in mind it becomes obvious that Mary is our greatest intercessor, for no one in Heaven or on earth has or ever will love Jesus as much as His Mother does.  Also, Mary’s faith that Jesus will answer her petitions moves beyond belief into knowing this truth.  This unparalleled faith is born of infinite experiences.

It is significant to remember that unlike Jesus, who must judge our sins, Mary’s only role in Heaven is to draw down the Mercy of God upon all sinners and save their souls.  Her desire that not one soul ever be lost to sin is rooted in the Passion of Jesus.  Consider Our Blessed Mother’s experience as she closely witnessed the horrifying tortures that her Son went through in having His flesh torn off His naked body in the Scourging at the Pillar, the thorns piercing His entire head, the spitting in His face, the brutal punches and kicks to His body, the mocking and vile insults, and nailing Him to a Cross for a slow death.  Knowing that this was done to save us from our sins, Mary pleads unceasingly from the bottom of her Heart that not one drop of blood shed for no reason.  She cares not about the magnitude or nature of our sinfulness, but only that we receive His forgiveness and become transformed by His love.  In this way, every sinner that she is able to draw close to Jesus is exchanged for the immeasurable suffering He endured on our behalf. 

Mary’s Crown

1.  What do the twelve stars on Mary’s crown represent? 

The number twelve in Hebrew tradition represents fullness (ex. The twelve tribes of Israel represent the fullness of all of God’s chosen children).  The twelve stars on Mary’s crown represent the fullness of all of the fruits of the Holy Spirit. The Scriptures reveal the twelve fruits of the spirit to be Charity, Patience, Chastity, Peace, Goodness, Gentleness, Generosity, Faithfulness, Joy, Modesty, Kindness and Self-Control.   It is because these fruits help us to shine in the likeness of Christ that we are crowned with them for all eternity.  Though we may be blessed to bear some of these fruits in our character, Mary is most blessed in that she bears the fullness (represented by the twelve stars) of all of the fruits of the spirit; this is because she was Immaculately conceived, and lived without sin.  It is through the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary that we obtain the graces and gifts of the Holy Spirit, which make us fertile to bear these fruits and become like her Son in our character and virtues.  Though our physical attributes may pass away, these virtues are supernatural and will be our crowning glory as we reign with Christ for all eternity.

2.  What makes the stars in Mary’s crown shine?

The crowning glory of any mother is her children and the virtues they display in the likeness of Christ.  The twelve stars that shine as Mary’s crowning glory represent the fullness of all her children who have walked in the footsteps of her virtuous Son on earth, and now radiantly shine in Heaven and glorify the God who created them. 

There is much hope in Mary’s crown if we believe that she loves us as her very own children.  This is because her crown represents her designation as Queen of Heaven and earth by the Most Holy Trinity.  As a faithful mother, we can be assured that she is continually interceding on our behalf that we too may enter the Kingdom of Heaven to be beside her to be crowned with glory.  What graces will she not obtain for us- in those we know we need, and those we are not yet aware of?  As Queen of Heaven and earth, we can trust that her humble petitions are always honored before the throne of her Son.  

The Dragon 

Genesis 3:15 indicates that there was a serpent who was punished for leading Adam and Eve into sin.  The punishment was that he was cast down to the earth to crawl on his belly and eat dust for the rest of his life; this means that at one point this serpent was not crawling on its belly.  If he was not crawling on his belly before, how was he getting around?  Revelation 12:7 speaks of a dragon in Heaven that was cast down to earth.  Certainly this is a poetic style of literature known as apocalyptic literature, but there is also a correlation between the dragon mentioned here and the serpent who tempted the first man and woman.  When we examine the word dragon from Revelation 12, the original Greek language literally translates into a ‘winged serpent.’  This winged serpent which was cast down to the earth after it was defeated by the Blood of the Lamb, is referring to the serpent who was cast down to the earth in the Garden of Eden.  Just as the serpent’s punishment is witnessed in the snakes which crawl on their bellies until this day, justice will be served and all Scripture will be fulfilled as the seed of Mary will crush the head of the devil by eternally chaining him in Hell when Jesus returns in His Second Coming.

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