St. Alphonsus Liguori - Hail Holy Queen!: An Explanantion of the Salve Regina

Hail Holy Queen

An Explanation of the Salve Regina And the Role of the Blessed Mother In Our Salvation

St. Alphonsus Liguori

Nihil Obstat: Thomas L. Kinkead
Censor Librorum

Imprimatur: Michael Augustine
Archbishop of New York
New York
October 10, 1896

Copyright 1896 by Benziger Brothers, New York. Published by Benziger Brothers in 1897 as Explanation of the Salve Regina .

Library of Congress Catalog Card No.: 95-60489

TAN Books
Charlotte, North Carolina
www.TANBooks.com

1995

Hail Holy Queen!

Salve Regina

S ALVE REGINA, Mater Misericordiae! Vita, dulcedo, et spes nostra, salve! Ad te clamamus, exsules filii Hevae. Ad te suspiramus, gementes et flentes in hac lacrymarum valle. Eia ergo, advocata nostra, illos tuos misericordes oculos ad nos converte! Et Jesum, benedictum fructum ventris tui, nobis post hoc exsilium ostende, O clemens, O pia, O dulcis Virgo Maria .

Hail Holy Queen

H AIL HOLY QUEEN, Mother of mercy, our life, our sweetness and our hope! To thee do we cry, poor banished children of Eve. To thee do we send up our sighs, mourning and weeping in this valley of tears. Turn then, most gracious advocate, thine eyes of mercy towards us. And after this our exile, show unto us the blessed Fruit of thy womb, Jesus, O element, O loving, O sweet Virgin Mary.

CONTENTS.

EXPLANATION OF THE SALVE REGINA .

CHAPTER I.

Salve, Regina, Mater Misericord!

HAIL, HOLY QUEEN, MOTHER OF MERCY!

M ARY, OUR Q UEEN, OUR M OTHER .

I. How great should be our Confidence in Mary, who is the Queen of Mercy.

As the glorious Virgin Mary has been raised to the dignity of Mother of the King of kings, it is not without reason that the Church honors her, and wishes her to be honored by all, with the glorious title of Queen.

"If the Son is a king," says St. Athanasius, "the Mother who begot Him is rightly and truly considered a Queen and Sovereign."

And if Jesus is the King of the universe, Mary is also its Queen. "And as Queen," says the Abbot Rupert, "she possesses, by right, the whole kingdom of her Son.";

Mary, then is a queen: but, for our common consolation, be it known that she is a Queen so sweet, clement, and so ready to help us in our miseries, that the holy Church wills that we should salute her in this prayer under the title of Queen of mercy.

"The title of queen," remarks Blessed Albert the Great, and whereas tyrants, when they reign, have their own good in view, kings should have that of their subjects at heart. For this reason it is that, at their consecration, kings have their heads annointed with oil, which is the symbol of mercy, to denote that, as kings, they should, above all things, nourish in their hearts feelings of compassion and benevolence towards their subjects.

Kings should, then, occupy themselves principally in works of mercy, but not so as to forget the just punishments that are to be inflicted on the guilty. It is, however, not thus with Mary, who, although a Queen, is not a queen of justice, intent on the punishment of the wicked, but a queen of mercy, intent only on commiserating and pardoning sinners. And this is the reason for which the Church requires that we should expressly call her "the Queen of mercy." The great Chancellor of Paris, John Gerson, in his commentary on the words of David, "These two things have I heard, that power belongeth to God, and mercy to Thee, O Lord," This is confirmed by St. Thomas, in his preface to the Canonical Epistles, saying, "that when the Blessed Virgin conceived the Eternal Word in her womb, and brought Him forth, she obtained half the kingdom of God; so that she is Queen of mercy, as Jesus Christ is King of justice."

The Eternal Father made Jesus Christ the King of justice, and consequently universal Judge of the world: and therefore the Royal Prophet sings: "Give to the King Thy judgment, O God, and to the King's Son Thy justice." therefore God has anointed thee with the oil of gladness.

And how beautifully does not Blessed Albert the Great apply to this subject the history of Queen Esther, who was herself a great type of our Queen Mary!

We read, in the fourth chapter of the Book of Esther, that in the reign of Assuerus a decree was issued, by which all Jews were condemned to death. Mardochai, who was one of the condemned, addressed himself to Esther, in order that she might interpose with Assuerus and obtain the revocation of the decree, and thus be the salvation of all. At first Esther declined the office, fearing that such a request might irritate the king still more; but Mardochai reproved her, sending her word that she was not to think of saving only herself, for God had placed her on the throne to obtain the salvation of all the Jews: "Think not that thou mayest save thy life only, because thou art in the king's house, more than all the Jews." Thus did Mardochai address Queen Esther. And so can we poor sinners address our Queen Mary, should she show any repugnance to obtain of God our delivery from the chastisement we have justly deserved: "Think not, O Lady, that God has raised thee to the dignity of Queen of the world, only to provide for thy good; but in order that, being so great, thou mightest be better able to compassionate and assist us miserable creatures."

As soon as Assuerus saw Esther standing before him, he asked her, with love, what she came to seek. "What is thy request?" The Queen replied, "If I have found favor in thy sight, O King, give me my people, for which I request."

But perhaps we may fear that Mary would not deign to interpose for some sinners, because they are so overloaded with crimes? Or perhaps we ought to be overawed at the majesty and holiness of this great Queen? "No," says St. Gregory VII.; "for the higher and more holy she is the greater is her sweetness and compassion towards sinners who have recourse to her with the desire to amend their lives." Mary is not only willing to give, but she herself offers milk and wool to all: the milk of mercy to animate our confidence, and the wool of her protection against the thunderbolts of divine justice.

Suetonius Have pity on us, then, O Queen of mercy, and take charge of our salvation.

"Say not, O holy Virgin," exclaims St. George of Nicomedia, "that thou canst not assist us on account of the number of our sins, for thy power and thy compassion are such that no number of sins, however great, can outweigh them. Nothing resists thy power, for our common Creator, honoring thee as His Mother, considers thy glory as His own;" and the Son, "exulting in it, fulfils thy petition as if He were paying a debt;" meaning thereby that although Mary is under an infinite obligation to the Son for having chosen her to be His Mother, yet it cannot be denied that the Son is under great obligation to her for having given Him His humanity; and therefore Jesus, to pay, as it were, what He owes to Mary, and glorying in her glory, honors her in a special manner by listening to and granting all her petitions.

How great, then, should be our confidence in this Queen, knowing her great power with God, and that she is so rich and full of mercy that there is no one living on the earth who does not partake of her compassion and favor. This was revealed by our blessed Lady herself to St. Bridget, saying, "I am the Queen of heaven and the Mother of mercy; I am the joy of the just, and the door through which sinners are brought to God. There is no sinner on earth so accursed as to be deprived of my mercy; for all, if they receive nothing else through my intercession, receive the grace of being less tempted by the devils than they would otherwise have been." "No one," she adds, "unless the irrevocable sentence has been pronounced" (that is, the one pronounced on the damned), "is so cast off by God that he will not return to Him, and enjoy His mercy, if he invokes my aid."