God has a history of blessing people and groups for the sake of others. Mary has a unique role in the history of salvation. This is undeniable. After all, only she is the mother of God. But this role and privilege is not given to her simply for her own sake, but also for all the future generations who do indeed call her blessed.
From this day all generations will call me blessed:
the Almighty has done great things for me
and holy is his Name.
Mary desires to bring Jesus not only to Elizabeth but to us as well.
When Elizabeth heard Mary's greeting,
the infant leaped in her womb,
and Elizabeth, filled with the Holy Spirit,
cried out in a loud voice and said,
"Blessed are you among women,
and blessed is the fruit of your womb.
Because she is uniquely privileged to be "full of Grace" (see Luke 1:28) as the angel Gabriel says, to be born without original sin, she is the perfect one to take on the role of being the new ark of the covenant. Just as the old ark was set apart from the corruption so too is Mary born without sin. In order to reveal most perfectly the presence of her son she is preserved from corruption. Even in her death corruption does not touch her, not because of who she is herself, but because of the child she bears, so that she can reveal to us just who he is.
For since death came through man,
the resurrection of the dead came also through man.
For just as in Adam all die,
so too in Christ shall all be brought to life,
but each one in proper order
A great sign appeared in the sky, a woman clothed with the sun,
with the moon under her feet,
and on her head a crown of twelve stars.
She is the woman who gives birth "to a son, a male child, destined to rule all the nations with an iron rod." We are not wrong to believe this describes Jesus. Listen to the prophecy of Isaiah which Jesus claims to be written about him.
And the Spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him,
the Spirit of wisdom and understanding,
the Spirit of counsel and might,
the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of the LORD.
And his delight shall be in the fear of the LORD.
He shall not judge by what his eyes see,
or decide disputes by what his ears hear,
but with righteousness he shall judge the poor,
and decide with equity for the meek of the earth;
and he shall strike the earth with the rod of his mouth,
and with the breath of his lips he shall kill the wicked (see Isaiah 11:2-4, emphasis mine)
But Mary is not only the mother of Jesus. Just as Jesus gives Mary as the mother of John on the cross, so too is she our mother. The mother indeed, of all of "those who keep God’s commandments and bear witness to Jesus" (see Revelation 12:17).
The reign of our King in Heaven begins with the resurrection and Ascension. Today we celebrate the role of Mary in this heavenly reign. She is brought into the throneroom of heaven. She is crowned with the stars. And again, we realize that this privilege is not given her for her sake alone, but for us, her children, so that we may follow ever more closely her son.
The queen stands at your right hand, arrayed in gold.
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