HAIL, HOLY QUEEN by Scott Hahn
The Mother of God in the Word of God
Foreword – by Father Kilian Healy, O. Carm.
A few months before her death, Saint Therese of Lisieux fulfilled her dream to express in song everything she thought about the Blessed Virgin Mary. She entitled her long, twenty-five-stanza poem “Why I Love You, O Mary.” Her desire was to tell the truth about Mary, and she draws all her knowledge of May, facts and events, from the gospels. For Saint Therese, Mary, Mother of God, is her spiritual mother and heavenly queen, but more mother than queen. Among her more than fifty poems, this song of love is considered the favorite by Therese’s readers and disciples.
Note: The Gospels were about Jesus Christ as recorded by His disciples.
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it. John 1:1-5.
Scott Hahn, in Hail, Holy Queen, tells us not in poetry but in prose why he loves and honors the Virgin Mary and why we should love and honor her too. While (like Saint Therese) he finds Mary’s role revealed in the gospels, his search goes beyond them. He is a firm believer in the principle of Saint Augustine that the New Testament is concealed in the Old, and the Old revealed in the New. Not surprisingly, then, he finds Mary foreshadowed in the Old Testament, especially in Eve, the mother of all the living, in the ark of the covenant, and in the queen mother of the Davidic reign.
Note: The Old Testament foreshadowed Jesus Christ.
You search the Scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life; and these are they which testify of Me. John 5:39
Moreover, she is the heavenly queen, clothed in the sun in the book of Revelation. He finds her too in the Tradition of the Church, especially in the Church’s fathers and in the dogmas of the Church (which are interpreters of scripture).
Note: Saint Paul warns about traditions that contradict Scripture.
Beware lest anyone cheat you through philosophy and empty deceit, according to the tradition of men, according to the basic principles of the world, and not according to Christ. Colossians 2:8
Scott Hahn tells his story in a personal and humble way, always conscious of the false interpretations of Marian doctrine and devotion he once held in his youthful anti-Catholic days. In writing this book he has an opportunity to correct them. But his primary motive is to write for all Christians who will listen, especially for his fellow Catholics, for he wants them to appreciate the place of Mary in their lives.
Note: Scott Hahn’s youthful anti-Catholic days were Scriptural.
Paul, a bondservant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated to the gospel of God which He promised before through His prophets in the Holy Scriptures, concerning His Son Jesus Christ our Lord, who was born of the seed of David according to the flesh, and declared to be the Son of God with power according to the Spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead. Romans 1:1-4.
This brings us to a question: will Christians of different denominations listen to him? I am optimistic. In the past, Mary has been for many an obstacle to unity, but in the last thirty years, since the Second Vatican Council, great strides toward unity have been made. Biblical scholars, both Catholic and Protestant, have come together to study scripture. In 1967 the Ecumenical Society of the Blessed Virgin Mary began in England, and included leaders in the Anglican, Catholic, Methodist, and Orthodox Churches. In 1976 the society was founded in Washington, D.C. Members of both societies meet regularly and publish their findings. Vast problems remain unresolved, but some progress has been made and the societies forge ahead with hope and vision. May Mary, the Mother of All Christians and Mother of Unity, take their efforts to heart, intercede to the Holy Spirit, and help bring about the reunion of all Christians.
Note: The Holy Spirit will testify of Jesus Christ not Mary.
“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
One final question: how should we approach this book? My own judgment tells me that it would be a mistake to consider this a bedside companion. Its rich content needs to be pondered and digested. It could serve as a textbook for a class in Marian studies. It would be ideal for a Marian study group. With the Bible in one hand and this book in the other, readers could gain interest and enthusiasm from discussions of the scriptural types of Mary and the Church’s dogmas. Only through study, reflection, and prayer will these revealed truths lead to an appreciation and love of Mary, mother and queen, and consequently to a love of the God of mercy Who has given her to us.
Note: Sola Scriptura reveals only Jesus Christ is the truth.
Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.” John 14:6
When Saint Therese wrote her song of praise, she gave her reason in this way: “In you the Almighty has done great things. I want to ponder them and bless Him for them.”
Note: Therese of Lisieux loss her mother early in life and missed her.
She wrote: "Every detail of my mother's illness is still with me, specially her last weeks on earth." She remembered the bedroom scene where her dying mother received the last sacraments while Thérèse knelt and her father cried. She wrote: "When Mummy died, my happy disposition changed. I had been so lively and open; now I became diffident and oversensitive, crying if anyone looked at me. I was only happy if no one took notice of me... It was only in the intimacy of my own family, where everyone was wonderfully kind, that I could be more myself." Wikipedia Encyclopedia.
Scott Hahn has pondered the wonders God has wrought in Mary, and he wants to share them with us. He invites us to gaze lovingly on our mother and queen. She is the model and exemplar for all her children. One day she will take us by the hand and lead us gently to the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. May this book, a labor of love, bring forth the response it deserves. Feast of the Queenship of Mary, August 22, 2000.
Note: May Saint Paul be the example for every Christian.
For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure is at hand. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Finally, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give to me on that Day, and not to me only but also to all who have loved His appearing. 2 Timothy 4:6-8