At the name of Jesus, every knee bends. One could say that at the name of Mary, all heads incline. At this name, hearts are gently moved. It is the name of a queen and a mother. Men give her the sweet name of mother. The angels could also give it to her. It is for them as for men, the source of grace and supernatural glory in the Heart of Jesus. One could say that for them as for us, Mary is the Mother of Divine Grace.
Who can express the respect of the angels for their queen, their love for Mary?
Saint Michael, without any doubt, is distinguished in the expression of this respect and of this love. We could say that he is glorified in being the Knight of Mary.
From the first, he has recognized it. He has understood that due to her incomparable dignity as the Mother of the Word Made Flesh, she would become the Queen of all creatures, his queen therefore, and as a loyal knight, he bows before her. It was for her as for the Word Incarnate that he battled against Lucifer.
If he was not her guardian angel on earth, a place that seems to have been reserved for the Archangel Gabriel, he approaches it very closely. Was he not a happy witness to the divine conception of her Son, and did he not become then the vigilant guardian of the blessed fruit of her chaste womb? At the Nativity, he hurried to adore his master in the arms of His mother and placed all his zeal at the service of the Holy Family. It is he who came to say to Joseph: “Take the child and His mother and leave”, and it is thanks to him that the Dragon could not attempt anything against the Woman and her Son.
The Holy Virgin does not officially appear in the presence of an angel but one time: that is, the day of the Annunciation. To find her in the company of the angels, we need to go to her final days on earth and to her glorious Assumption.
An angel, says one pious legend, came to announce to Mary her blessed deliverance. She asked him his name. “I am called the Great, the Marvelous, the Admirable,” he responded. This name suits Saint Michael.
At the hour of her death, the august Virgin laid upon her bed. Jesus assisted, surround by a train of angels. At the invitation of Jesus Christ, the soul of Mary left her body, Saint Michael received it and carried it to Heaven. “The Lord Jesus appeared,” said Gregory of Tours, “and welcomed the soul of His mother which He then confided to the Archangel Michael.”
Soon, according to Tradition, the soul of Mary regained possession of her body, and the Virgin gloriously left her tomb, to be seated on the throne which He had prepared in the heights of Heaven: she was transported there by angels.
Every queen wears at the front of her crown, a symbol of her sovereignty. The queen of Heaven received a royal tiara. Some engravings showing to us the glorious coronation of Mary, Christ placing the crown on the head of His mother, with the help of His angel.
In devotion to the Blessed Virgin, Saint Michael is our model. He teaches us to honour her, to serve her, and to love her. Let us ask of him the same sentiments for this august Queen.
Practice: Let us pray to the Holy Virgin with confidence, one never invokes her in vain.
