Critique of - HAIL, HOLY QUEEN by Scott Hahn
Chapter 1 – Every Mother’s Son:
The Loving Logic of Mary’s Maternity
Mothers are the most difficult people to study. They elude our scrutiny. By nature and by definition, they are relational. They can be considered as mothers only in their relationship with their children. That is where they focus their attention, and that is where they would focus ours.
Note: Mary was in a relationship with God.
And Mary said: “My soul magnifies the Lord,” Luke 1:46
Nature keeps mother and child so close as to be almost indistinct as individuals through the first nine months of life. Their bodies are made for each other. During pregnancy, they share the same food, blood, and oxygen. After birth, nature places the child at the mother’s breast for nourishment. The newborn’s eyes can see only far enough to make eye contact with Mom. The newborn’s ears can clearly hear the beating of the mother’s heart and the high tones of the female voice. Nature has even made a woman’s skin smoother than her husband’s, the better to nestle with the sensitive skin of a baby. The mother, body and soul, points beyond herself, to her child.
Note: New Christians will desire the word of God about Jesus Christ.
Therefore, laying aside all malice, all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and all evil speaking, as newborn babes, desire the pure milk of the word, that you may grow thereby, if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is gracious. 1 Peter 2:1-3
Yet as close as nature keeps us to our mothers, they remain mysterious to their children. They remain as mysteries. In the words of G.K. Chesterton’s Father Brown, “A thing can sometimes be too close to be seen.”
As the Mother of God, Mary is the mother par excellence. So, as all mothers are elusive, she will be more so. As all mothers give of themselves, Mary will to a much greater degree.
Note: Mary was not important to Saint Paul.
Grace to you and peace from God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ, who gave Himself for our sins, that He might deliver us from this present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen. Galatians 1:3-5
A true mother, Mary considers none of her glories her own. After all, she points out, she is only doing God’s bidding: “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word” (Lk 1:38). Even when she recognizes her superior gifts, she recognizes that they are gifts: “All generations will call me blessed” (Lk 1:48). For her part, Mary’s own soul “magnifies” not herself but “the Lord” (Lk 1:46).
Note: Mary recognized her sinfulness since she needed a Savior.
And my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior. Luke 1:47
How, then, are we to approach this elusive subject, if she must always be relational? How can we begin to study this woman who always deflects attention away from herself toward her Child?
Note: Christians will have a loving relationship with Jesus Christ.
I am the good shepherd; and I know My sheep, and am known by My own. John 10:14
Let’s Get Metaphysical
To understand the Mother of God, we must begin with God. All Mariology, all Marian devotion, must begin with solid theology and firm credal faith. For all that Mary does, and all that she is, flows from her relationship with God and her correspondence to His divine plan. She is His mother. She is His spouse. She is His daughter. She is His handmaid. We cannot begin to know her if we do not, first, have clear notions about Him – about God, His providence, and His dealings, and His dealings with His people.
Note: Mary was the spouse of Joseph.
Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David, to be registered with Mary, his betrothed wife, who was with child. Luke 2:4-5
And that’s not as easy as some people would lead us to believe. We, after all, are dependent upon language that engages our imagination, that makes invisible things understandable by comparing them to things that we see: God is boundless, like the sky; He is illuminating, like a fire; He is everywhere, like the wind. Or we contrast God’s qualities with our own: we are finite, but He is infinite; we are limited in our power, but He is all-powerful.
Note: Job came to understand God first hand.
Then Job answered the Lord and said: “I know that You can do everything, and that no purpose of Yours can be withheld from You.” Job 42:1-2
Analogy and contrast are as far as most people go in their consideration of God – and these are true, as far as they go. Yet they don’t go far enough. God is pure spirit, and all our earthly analogies fall short of describing Him as He really is.
Note: God revealed Himself to Job through His creation.
Then the Lord answered Job out of the whirlwind, and said: “Who is this who darkens counsel by words without knowledge? Now prepare yourself like a man; I will question you, and you shall answer Me. Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth? Tell Me, if you have understanding.” Job 38:1-4
Theology is the way we approach God on His terms rather than our own. Thus, though there’s no easy way of going about it, we can’t go deep in our faith unless we’re willing to take on the task of theology to some degree.
Note: Theology is not about Mary.
Definition of theology: the study of God and of God's relation to the world
The ultimate truth about God cannot be dependent on anything other than God. We cannot define God in terms of something contingent, as in analogies with creation. God does not depend upon creation for His identity. So even His title of creator is something relative and not absolute. Though He is eternal and He is the creator, He is not the eternal creator. Creation is something that takes place in time, and God transcends time. So, though creation is something God does, it does not define Who He is. The same goes for redemption and sanctification. Though God is redeemer and sanctifier, these titles do not define His eternal identity, but rather certain of His works. The terms “creator,” “redeemer,” “lawgiver,” and “sanctifier” are all dependent upon the world – upon something that needs to be created, redeemed, ruled, and sanctified.
Note: Fools will replace the glory of God with images and idols.
For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse, because, although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Professing to be wise, they became fools, and changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like corruptible man—and birds and four-footed animals and creeping things. Romans 1:20-23
What’s-His-Name
Then how can we know God as He is? Primarily because He has revealed to us. He has told us His eternal identity. His name. At the end of Saint Matthew’s gospel (28:19), Jesus commands His disciples to baptize “in the name” of the Blessed Trinity: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Notice that He does not speak of these as three titles, but as a single name. In the culture of ancient Israel, one’s name was equivalent to one’s identity. This single name, then, reveals Who God is from all eternity. He is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
Note: God revealed Himself as being ever present and self sufficient.
And God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM.” And He said, “Thus you shall say to the children of Israel, ‘I AM has sent me to you.’” Moreover, God said to Moses, “Thus you shall say to the children of Israel: ‘The Lord God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you. This is My name forever, and this is My memorial to all generations.’” Exodus 3:14-15
Now, you might reasonably object, those titles are dependent on creation. Are not “Father” and “Son” mere analogies with earthly familial roles?
No. In fact, that’s precisely backwards. Rather, the earthly roles of father and son are living metaphors for something divine and eternal. God Himself is, somehow, eternally, perfectly a family. Pope John Paul II expressed this well: “God in His deepest mystery is not a solitude, but a family, since He has in Himself fatherhood, sonship, and the essence of the family, which is love.”
Note: God is one but with multiple persons and different roles.
Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” Genesis 1:26
Did you catch that? God, then, is not like a family; God is a family. From eternity, God alone possesses the essential attributes of a family, and the Trinity alone possesses them in their perfection. Earthly households have these attributes, but imperfectly.
Note: Mankind in the image of God is a minor trinity.
Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely; and may your whole spirit, soul, and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. 1 Thessalonians 5:23
Divinity Is As Divinity Does
Yet God’s transcendence does not leave creation completely without a clue. Creation does tell us something about its creator. Artwork always reveals a hint of the character of the artist. So we can learn more about Who God is by observing what He does.
Note: The Father and Son together provide salvation.
Then Jesus answered and said to them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of Himself, but what He sees the Father do; for whatever He does, the Son also does in like manner. For the Father loves the Son, and shows Him all things that He Himself does; and He will show Him greater works than these, that you may marvel. For as the Father raises the dead and gives life to them, even so the Son gives life to whom He will. For the Father judges no one, but has committed all judgment to the Son, that all should honor the Son just as they honor the Father. He who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent Him. John 5:19-23
The process works in reverse as well. We can learn more about creation, redemption, and the works of God by studying them in the light of His self-revelation. Because the Trinity reveals the deepest dimension of Who God is, it also reveals the deepest meaning of what God does. The mystery of the Trinity is “the central mystery of Christian faith and life,” says the Catechism of the Catholic Church (no. 234). “It is the mystery of God in Himself. It is therefore the source of all the other mysteries of faith, the light that enlightens them.” Thus, our understanding of God as family should also profoundly affect our understanding of all His works. In everything that exists, we may discern – with the eyes of faith – a familial purpose, what the theological tradition calls “the footprints of the Trinity.”
Note: The Trinity is one God with different persons and roles.
“But when the Helper comes, whom I shall send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, He will testify of Me.” John 15:26
Reflection on the mystery of God and the mysteries of creation, then, becomes mutually enhancing. Says the Catechism: “God’s works reveal Who He is in Himself; the mystery of His inmost being enlightens our understanding of all His works. So it is, analogously, among human persons. A person discloses himself in his actions, and the better we know a person, the better we understand his actions” (no. 236).
Note: The work of God is sincere belief in Jesus Christ.
Then they said to Him, “What shall we do, that we may work the works of God?” Jesus answered and said to them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He sent.” John 6:28-29
Traces of Love, Long Ago
We catch glimpses of God not just in the world but also – and especially – in the scriptures, which are uniquely inspired by God to convey His truth. The Catechism goes on to explain that God has revealed “His Trinitarian being” explicitly in the New Testament, but also left “traces … in His Revelation throughout the Old Testament” (no. 237).
Note: The Trinity is one God with different persons and roles.
But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you. John 14:26
The whole of the scriptures, then, can be viewed as the story of God’s preparation for, and completion of, His greatest work: His definitive self-revelation in Jesus Christ. Saint Augustine said that the New Testament is concealed in the Old, and the Old is revealed in the New. For all history was the world’s preparation for the moment when the Word was made flesh, when God became a human child in the womb of a young virgin from Nazareth.
Note: The Gospel of John never mentions the name of the mother of Jesus.
And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. John bore witness of Him and cried out, saying, “This was He of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me is preferred before me, for He was before me.’” John 1:14-15
Like Jesus Christ, the Bible is unique. For it is the only book that can truly claim to have both human authors and a divine author, the Holy Spirit. Jesus Christ is the Word of God incarnate, fully divine yet fully human – like all of us, except without sin. The Bible is the Word of God inspired, fully divine yet fully human – like any other book, except without error. Both Christ and scripture are given, said the Second Vatican Council, “for the sake of our salvation” (Dei Verbum 11).
Note: The same council declared tradition and scripture to be the same.
Sacred Tradition and Sacred Scripture form one sacred deposit of the word of God, committed to the Church. Holding fast to this deposit the entire holy people united with their shepherds remain always steadfast in the teaching of the Apostles, in the common life, in the breaking of the bread and in prayers (see Acts 2, 42, Greek text), so that holding to, practicing and professing the heritage of the faith, it becomes on the part of the bishops and faithful a single common effort. Wikipedia Encyclopedia
So when we read the Bible, we need to read it on two levels at once. We read the Bible in a literal sense as we read any other human literature. But we read it also in a spiritual sense, searching out what the Holy Spirit is trying to tell us through the words (see Catechism, nos. 115-19).
Note: Scriptures testify of Jesus Christ not Mary.
You search the Scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life; and these are they which testify of Me. John 5:39
We do this in imitation of Jesus, because this is the way He read the scriptures. He referred to Jonah (Mt 12:39), Solomon (Mt 12:42), the temple (Jn 2:19), and the brazen serpent (Jn 3:14) as “signs” that prefigured Him. We see in Luke’s gospel, as our Lord comforted the disciples on the road to Emmaus, that “beginning with Moses and the prophets, He interpreted to them what referred to Him in all the scriptures” (Lk 24:27). After this spiritual reading of the Old Testament, we are told, the disciples’ hearts burned within them.
Note: Scriptures testify of Jesus Christ not Mary.
Then He said to them, “O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken! Ought not the Christ to have suffered these things and to enter into His glory?” And beginning at Moses and all the Prophets, He expounded to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself. Luke 24:25-27
What ignited this fire in their hearts? Through the scriptures, Jesus had initiated His disciples into a world that reached beyond their senses. A good teacher, God introduced the unfamiliar in terms of the familiar. Indeed, He had created the familiar with this end in mind, fashioning the persons and institutions that would best prepare us for the coming of Christ and the glories of His kingdom.
Note: It is the study of Scripture not traditions that enhances spirituality.
And they said to one another, “Did not our heart burn within us while He talked with us on the road, and while He opened the Scriptures to us?” Luke 24:32
Learning to Type
The first Christians followed their Master in reading the Bible this way. In the letter to the Hebrews, the Old Testament tabernacle and its rituals are described as “types and shadows of heavenly realities” (8.5), and the law as a “shadow of the good things to come” (10:1). Saint Peter, in turn, noted that Noah and his family “were saved through water,” and that “this prefigured baptism, which saves you now” (1 Pt 3:20-21). Peter’s word translated as “prefigured” is actually the Greek word for “typify,” or “make a type.” The apostle Paul, for his part, described Adam as a “type” of Jesus Christ (Rom 5:14).
Note: The English word “type” is used once in the New Testament.
Nevertheless death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those who had not sinned according to the likeness of the transgression of Adam, who is a type of Him who was to come. Romans 5:14.
So what is a type? A type is a real person, place, thing, or event in the Old Testament that foreshadows something greater in the New Testament. From “type” we get the word “typology,” the study of Christ’s foreshadowing in the Old Testament (see Catechism, 128-130).
Note: NT writers generally used direct prophecies of Jesus Christ.
For to which of the angels did He ever say: “You are My Son, today I have begotten You”? And again: “I will be to Him a Father, and He shall be to Me a Son”? Hebrews 1:5.
Again, we must emphasize that types are not fictional symbols. They are literally true historical details. When Saint Paul interpreted the story of Abraham’s sons as “an allegory” (Gal 4:24), for example, he was not suggesting that the story never really happened; he was affirming, it as history, but as history with a place in God’s plan, history whose meaning was clear only after its eventual fulfillment.
Note: Mary was not important to Saint Paul.
But when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive the adoption as sons. Galatians 4:4-5
Typology unveils more than the person of Christ; it also tells us about heaven, the Church, the apostles, the Eucharist, the places of Jesus’ birth and death, and the person of Jesus’ mother. From the first Christians we learn that the Jerusalem temple foreshadowed the heavenly dwelling of the saints in glory (2 Cor 5:1-2; Rev 21:9-22); that Israel prefigured the Church (Gal 6:16); that the twelve Old Testament patriarchs prefigured the twelve New Testament apostles (Lk 22:30); and that the ark of the covenant was a type of the Blessed Virgin Mary (Rev 11:19; 12:1-6, 13-17).
Note: Mary did not flee into the wilderness after the death of Jesus Christ.
She bore a male Child who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron. And her Child was caught up to God and His throne. Then the woman fled into the wilderness, where she has a place prepared by God, that they should feed her there one thousand two hundred and sixty days. Revelation 12:5-6
Note: Israel has not been replaced in Old or New Testament prophecies.
In addition to Old Testament types explicitly discussed in the New Testament, there are many more that are implicit but obvious. For example, Saint Joseph’s role in the early life of Jesus clearly follows the patriarch Joseph’s role in the early life of Israel. The two men share the same name; both are described as “righteous,” or “just”; both receive revelations in dreams; both find themselves exiled to Egypt; and both arrive on the scene in order to prepare the way for a greater event – in the patriarch Joseph’s case, the redemption brought about by Jesus, the Redeemer.
Note: NT writers generally used direct prophecies of Jesus Christ.
So all this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying: “Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel,” which is translated, “God with us.” Matthew 1:22-23
Marian types abound in the Old Testament. We find Mary prefigured in Eve, the mother of all the living; in Sarah, the wife of Abraham, who conceived her child miraculously; in the queen mother of Israel’s monarchy, who interceded with the king on behalf of the people of the land; and in many other places, in many other ways (for example, Hannah and Esther). The type addressed most explicitly in the New Testament, the ark of the covenant, I will discuss in greater detail in its own chapter. Here I will merely point out that, as the ancient ark was made to bear the old covenant, so the Virgin Mary was created to bear the new covenant.
Note: The Virgin Mary did not carry an agreement for nine months.
Covenant defined: a usually formal, solemn, and binding agreement.
Family Affairs
It is that new covenant, borne into the world by the Blessed Virgin Mary, that has made all the difference in our lives – in my life and yours – and in human history. For covenants mark all the decisive encounters between God and man. God’s relationship with Israel was defined by a covenant, as were His relationships with Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, and David. Jesus Himself spoke of His redemptive sacrifice as the new covenant in His blood (Lk 22:20).
Note: Jesus Christ is the Mediator of the new covenant.
And for this reason He is the Mediator of the new covenant, by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions under the first covenant, that those who are called may receive the promise of the eternal inheritance. Hebrews 9:15
We hear those words in the Eucharistic prayer at every Mass, but do we ever pause to ask: what is a covenant? This is a most crucial question, one that brings us to the heart of Christian faith and life. In fact, it brings us to the very heart of God.
Note: Jesus Christ is the Mediator of the new covenant.
Then He took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you. For this is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.” Matthew 26:27-28
What is a covenant? The question leads us back to the primal reality we discussed earlier in this chapter: the family. In ancient Near East, a covenant was a sacred kinship bond based on a solemn oath that brought someone into a family relationship with another person or tribe. When God made His covenants with Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, and David, He was gradually inviting a wider circle of people into His family: first a couple, then a family, then a nation, and eventually the world.
Note: Jesus Christ is the Mediator of the new covenant.
And we have such trust through Christ toward God. Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think of anything as being from ourselves, but our sufficiency is from God, who also made us sufficient as ministers of the new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life. 2 Corinthians 3:4-6
All of those covenants failed, however, because of man’s unfaithfulness and sin. God remained constantly faithful; Adam did not, and neither did Moses, neither did David. In fact, sacred history leads us to conclude that only God keeps His covenant promises. How, then, could mankind fulfill the human end of a covenant in a way that would last forever? That would require a man to be sinless and as constant as God. Thus, for the new and everlasting covenant, God became man in Jesus Christ, and He established the covenant by which we become part of His family: the family of God.
Note: Christians are in the family of God through faith in Jesus Christ.
For this reason I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, from whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man, that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height— to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. Ephesians 3:15-19
Note: Mary was not important to Saint Paul.
This means more than mere fellowship with God. For “God in His deepest mystery is … a family.” God Himself is Father, Son, and the Spirit of Love – and Christians are drawn up into the life of that family. In baptism we are identified with Christ, baptized in the Trinitarian name of God; we take on His family name, and thus we become sons in the Son. We are taken up into the very life of the Trinity, where we may live in love forever. If God is family, heaven is home; and with Jesus, heaven has come to earth.
Note: Christians are in the family of God through faith in Jesus Christ.
For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel, not with wisdom of words, lest the cross of Christ should be made of no effect. 1 Corinthians 1:17
The Most Functional Family
God’s covenant family is perfect, lacking nothing. The Church looks to God as Father, Jesus as Brother, and heaven as home. What’s missing, then?
Note: The Roman Catholic Church is missing the Holy Spirit.
These things we also speak, not in words which man’s wisdom teaches but which the Holy Spirit teaches, comparing spiritual things with spiritual. But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned. 1 Corinthians 2:13-14
In truth, nothing. Every family needs a mother; only Christ could choose His own, and He chose providentially for His entire covenant family. Now, everything He has He shares with us. His divine life is ours; His home is our home; His Father is our Father; His brothers are our brothers; and His mother is our mother, too.
Note: Jesus Christ shares the Holy Spirit with Christians.
And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever— the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you. John 14:16-17
Note: The Roman Catholic Church is missing the Holy Spirit.
For a family is incomplete without a loving mother. The breakaway Christian churches that diminish Mary’s role inevitably end up feeling like a bachelor’s apartment: masculine to a fault; orderly but not homey; functional and productive – but with little sense of beauty and poetry.
Note: The Roman Catholic Church is missing the Holy Spirit.
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law. Galatians 5:22-23
Yet all the scriptures, all the types, all creation, and our deepest human needs tell us that no family should be that way – and certainly not the covenant family of God. The apostles knew this, and that’s why they were gathered along with Mary in Jerusalem at Pentecost. The early generations of Christians knew this, and that’s why they painted her image in their catacombs and dedicated their churches to her.
Note: The Roman Catholic Church is missing the Holy Spirit.
But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” Acts 1:8.
In the earliest icons of Mary, she is almost always portrayed holding her infant child – forever bearing Him to the world, as in the twelfth chapter of the book of Revelation. A true mother, she is usually portrayed pointing to her son but looking out toward the viewers, her other children. She mothers her infant – for an infant cannot hold himself up – even as she mothers her children in the world and draws us together to Him.
Note: The Roman Catholic Church is missing the Holy Spirit.
On the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.” But this He spoke concerning the Spirit, whom those believing in Him would receive; for the Holy Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified. John 7:37-39
Note: As the Scripture has said, the Holy Spirit impowers Christians.