Why do Catholics call Mary the Queen of Heaven and Earth?
We will examine three passages to show the precedent for Mary being honored with the title of Queen.
1. Luke 1:28
2. 1 Kings 2:13-21
3. Revelation 12:1
1. Luke 1:28 And the angel being come in, said unto her: Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women.
We are going to analyze one key word in this passage that speaks volumes. It is the word "Hail." The Greek word here is Chaire. It is a greeting that was reserved for royalty. For example, Hail Caesar would have been Chaire Caesar.
We even see this word used of Our Lord in the Gospels:
Matthew 26:49 Immediately he went over to Jesus and said, “Hail, Rabbi!” and he kissed him.
Matthew 27:29 Weaving a crown out of thorns, they placed it on his head, and a reed in his right hand. And kneeling before him, they mocked him, saying, “Hail, King of the Jews!”
Here, we have an Archangel from Heaven coming to a 14 year old Jewish girl, and saying, "Hail!" This shows us that, from Heaven's perspective, Mary is royalty. She is a Queen. Indeed, she is, because she is about to conceive the King of Kings. And in the Old Covenant, the Queen of the Kingdom was an honor held by the mother of the King.
2. 1 Kings 2:13-21 Then Adonijah the son of Haggith came to Bathsheba the mother of Solomon. And she said, “Do you come peacefully?” He said, “Peacefully.” Then he said, “I have something to say to you.” She said, “Speak.” He said, “You know that the kingdom was mine, and that all Israel fully expected me to reign. However, the kingdom has turned about and become my brother’s, for it was his from the Lord. And now I have one request to make of you; do not refuse me.” She said to him, “Speak.” And he said, “Please ask King Solomon—he will not refuse you—to give me Abishag the Shunammite as my wife.” Bathsheba said, “Very well; I will speak for you to the king.” So Bathsheba went to King Solomon to speak to him on behalf of Adonijah. And the king rose to meet her and bowed down to her. Then he sat on his throne and had a seat brought for the king’s mother, and she sat on his right. Then she said, “I have one small request to make of you; do not refuse me.” And the king said to her, “Make your request, my mother, for I will not refuse you.” She said, “Let Abishag the Shunammite be given to Adonijah your brother as his wife.”
In this passage, we have Bathsheba, who is the mother of King Solomon. Her title in the kingdom is Gebirah, which was the ancient title in the Davidic Kingdom for Queen Mother. The role of the Queen Mother was to serve as a counselor and intercessor to the King. It was a position that historically existed almost 400 years in the Old Covenant.
In Jeremiah 13:18, we read, "Say to the king and to the queen mother: come down from your throne." In 2 Chronicles 15:16, we read, "He also deposed Maacah, the mother of King Asa, from her position as queen mother."
We even see in the above passage, in 1 Kings 2:19, that the king bows to her and has her sit on a throne at his right side. "The king rose to meet her and bowed down to her. Then he sat on his throne and had a seat brought for the king’s mother, and she sat on his right."
In John 2:1-5, we see that Mary intercedes for a groom and bride at a wedding feast. "On the third day there was a wedding at Cana in Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there. Jesus also was invited to the wedding with his disciples. When the wine ran out, the mother of Jesus said to him, “They have no wine.” And Jesus said to her, “Woman, what does this have to do with me? My hour has not yet come.” His mother said to the servants, “Do whatever he tells you."
Revelation 19:16 presents Jesus as King of Kings and Lord of Lords. In 2 Samuel 7:12, God tells David, "When your days are over and you rest with your ancestors, I will raise up your offspring to succeed you, your own flesh and blood, and I will establish his kingdom." Jesus succeeds and fulfills the kingship of David. He is truly the King of Kings. Mary is His Mother, and thus in the New Covenant, she fulfills the role of Queen Mother, where she intercedes to the King for us.
3. Revelation 12:1 And a great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars.
We saw in John 2 that Our Lord addressed Mary as "Woman," which He again repeats at the Cross on John 19. "Woman, behold your son." The same author of that Gospel also composed the book of Revelation (the Apocalypse), and notes that he saw a great sign in Heaven... a Woman.
A case could be made that the "Woman" of Revelation 12 is also a reference to the Church. But let us not gloss over first and foremost the literal imagery of what St. John is witnessing. In Revelation 12, four characters are mentioned. The woman, the child, the angel, and the dragon. Everyone agrees across the board that three of those four represent real individuals: the child is Jesus, the angel is Michael, the dragon is Satan.
So if three of the four represent real personages, then where does that leave the fourth one mentioned? The Woman? In its primary and literal sense, this is referring to Mary, and she is pictured here wearing a crown, clothed with the sun, and the moon under feet. Yes, St. John is seeing the Queen of Heaven and Earth.
