May is set aside as Mary’s
Month, a time in which we honor the various privileges given the Mother of God
by the three Persons of the Most Blessed Trinity. In the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite,
this month concludes with the feast of the Queenship of the Blessed Virgin Mary,
in which we recall the Coronation of our Lady as the Queen of heaven and earth,
the Queen of all hearts.
A once common devotional
prayer, known as the “Little Crown” of the Blessed Virgin Mary, honors the
triple crown of twelve stars which our Lady received from God upon her bodily
assumption into heaven (cf. Revelation 12:1). This little prayer takes only a few minutes to
pray (it is much shorter than the Rosary) and would be a wonderful way for a
devout soul to honor the Mother of God in the month dedicated to her.
The
Woman crowned with twelve stars
And
a great sign appeared in heaven: A woman clothed with the sun, and the moon
under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars.
(Revelation 12:1)
St. Bernard of Clairvaux tells
us:
“She had on her head a crown of twelve stars […] Who could
name the stars making up Mary’s royal diadem? No human being would be able to
describe this crown or say in detail how it was arranged. For very good
reasons, however, we can recognize, it seems, in the twelve stars the twelve
privileges of grace that constitute Mary’s unique adornment.”
We are not to think that there
are twelve and only twelve specific graces which our Lady received and which
these stars symbolize. Far from it! Rather, these twelve stars are meant to
call to mind the whole plenitude of privileges and graces with which the Virgin
was blessed throughout her life on earth and in her glory in heaven.
Thus, the spiritual writers
offer many and varied interpretations of the privileges signified by the twelve
stars – we will consider several possible explanations below.
The
“Little Crown” of the Blessed Virgin
St. Louis Marie de Montfort,
called “the apostle of the Rosary”, also encouraged people to pray the Little
Crown of the Blessed Virgin. This is a short prayer made up of three Our
Fathers and twelve Hail Marys. The prayer is said in honor of all the privileges
of grace and of glory given our Lady, which are symbolized by the triple crown
of twelve stars which she received from the three Persons of the Most Blessed
Trinity (cf. Revelation 12:1).
The simplest form of the
“Little Crown” is as follows:
1) The Our Father one time,
followed by the Hail Mary four times.
2) Repeat this three times.
3) It is also customary to add the Glory be after each set
of four Hail Marys.
[many will also begin with the Apostles’ Creed and finish
with the Sub tuum praesidium (here)]
St. Louis de Montfort wanted us
to pray Mary’s “Little Crown” every day. Here is what he had to say about this
precious prayer (True Devotion, nn. 234 and 235):
“If it is not too inconvenient, they should recite every day
of their lives the Little Crown of the Blessed Virgin. […] This prayer is very
old and is based on Holy Scripture. St. John saw in a vision a woman crowned
with twelve stars, clothed with the sun and standing upon the moon. According
to biblical commentators, this woman is the Blessed Virgin.
“There are several ways of saying the Little Crown but it
would take too long to explain them here. The Holy Spirit will teach them to
those who live this devotion conscientiously.”
St.
Bernard’s contribution to the “Little Crown”
The Mellifluous Doctor offers
the following reflection on the triple crown of privileges given our Lady:
“We can easily find in Mary privileges from heaven,
privileges of the body, and privileges of the soul; if this set is repeated
four times, the result is undoubtedly the complete series of the twelve stars
sparkling in our Queen’s diadem.”
Thus, from St. Bernard, we see
that the three sets of four Hail Marys may be offered in honor of these three
classes of privileges: Those from heaven, those of the body, and those of the
soul.
Examples of each class could
be: That she was chosen to be the Mother of God, the virginal and miraculous
Birth of Christ, her Immaculate Conception. These are only three simple examples,
for there are many other privileges in each category.
The
Three Crowns, according to the French spiritual writers
The French Jesuit Francois
Poiré (1584 – 1637) set a standard among the French spiritual doctors for the
division of the Little Crown. He was extremely influential on both St. Loius
Marie de Montfort and also St. John Eudes.
Fr. Poiré divides the
privileges as follows: The Crown of Excellence, the Crown of Power, and the
Crown of Goodness.
“This does not mean, however,” writes Poiré, “that the
twelve salutations correspond exactly to the twelve prerogatives I have just
listed; others may be substituted in their place, as the particular devotion of
the person saying it is to be the guiding principle.”
St.
Louis Marie de Montfort’s method
Here
follows the method which St. Louis Marie himself practiced [the division
headings explicitly indicating the crowns of excellence, power, and goodness
are not from de Montfort himself, but were added to his method later]:
INTRODUCTORY PRAYER
Come Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of Thy faithful and
enkindle within them the fire of Thy love!
V. Send forth Thy Spirit and they shall be created.
R. And Thou shalt renew the face of the earth.
Let us pray.
O God, Who by the light of the Holy Spirit dost instruct the
hearts of the faithful, grant us by this same Spirit to relish what is right
and ever to rejoice in His consolation, through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.
I. CROWN OF
EXCELLENCE
[To honor the Divine Maternity of the Blessed Virgin, her ineffable
Virginity, her purity without stain and her innumerable virtues.]
1. Our Father, Hail Mary.
Blessed art thou, O Virgin
Mary, who didst bear the Lord, the Creator of the world; thou didst give birth
to Him Who made thee, and remainest a Virgin forever.
Rejoice, O Virgin Mary; Rejoice
a thousand times!
2. Hail Mary.
O holy and immaculate Virgin, I
know not with what praise to extol thee, since thou didst bear in thy womb the
very One Whom the Heavens cannot contain.
Rejoice, O Virgin Mary; Rejoice
a thousand times!
3. Hail Mary.
Thou are all fair, O Virgin
Mary, and there is no stain in thee.
Rejoice, O Virgin Mary; Rejoice
a thousand times!
4. Hail Mary.
Thy virtues, O Virgin, surpass
the stars in number.
Rejoice, O Virgin Mary; Rejoice
a thousand times!
Glory be to the Father.
II. CROWN OF POWER
[To honor the royalty of the Blessed Virgin, her
magnificence, her universal mediation and the strength of her rule.]
5. Our Father, Hail Mary.
Glory be to thee, O Empress of
the world! Bring us with thee to the joys of Heaven.
Rejoice, O Virgin Mary; Rejoice
a thousand times!
6. Hail Mary.
Glory be to thee, O treasure
house of the Lord's graces! Grant us a share in thy riches.
Rejoice, O Virgin Mary; Rejoice
a thousand times!
7. Hail Mary.
Glory be to thee, O Mediatrix
between God and man!Through thee may the Almighty be favorable to us.
Rejoice, O Virgin Mary; Rejoice
a thousand times!
8. Hail Mary.
Glory be to thee who destroyest
heresies and crushest demons! Be thou our loving guide. Rejoice, O Virgin Mary;
Rejoice a thousand times!
Glory be to the Father.
III. CROWN OF GOODNESS
[To honor the mercy of the Blessed Virgin toward sinners,
the poor, the just and the dying.]
9. Our Father, Hail Mary.
Glory be to thee, O refuge of
sinners! Intercede for us with God.
Rejoice, O Virgin Mary; Rejoice
a thousand times!
10. Hail Mary.
Glory be to thee, O Mother of
orphans! Render the Almighty favorable to us.
Rejoice, O Virgin Mary; Rejoice
a thousand times!
11. Hail Mary.
Glory be to thee, O joy of the
just! Lead us with thee to the joys of Heaven.
Rejoice, O Virgin Mary; Rejoice
a thousand times!
12. Hail Mary.
Glory be to thee who are ever
ready to assist us in life and death! Lead us with thee to the kingdom of
Heaven!
Rejoice, O Virgin Mary; Rejoice
a thousand times!
Glory be to the Father.
CONCLUDING PRAYER
Let Us Pray.
Hail, Mary, Daughter of God the Father; Hail, Mary, Mother
of God the Son; Hail, Mary, Spouse of the Holy Ghost; Hail, Mary, Temple of the
most Holy Trinity; Hail, Mary, my Mistress, my treasure, my joy, Queen of my
heart; my Mother, my life, my sweetness, my dearest hope ---- yea, my heart and
my soul! I am all thine and all that I have is Thine, O Virgin blessed above
all things! Let thy soul be in me to magnify the Lord; let thy spirit be in me
to rejoice in God. Set thyself, O faithful Virgin, as a seal upon my heart,
that in thee and through thee I may be found faithful to God. Receive me, O
gracious Virgin, among those whom thou lovest and teachest, whom thou leadest,
nourishest and protectest as thy children. Grant that for love of thee I may
despise all earthly consolations and ever cling to those of Heaven until,
through thee, His faithful spouse, Jesus Christ thy Son be formed in me for the
glory of the Father. Amen.
5 comments:
Only a thought or speculation: Could the crown of twelve stars be a representation of the twelve tribes of Israel?
I had never heard of the 'little crown' before. What a fitting devotional for this month. Thank you for writing about it.
Good to see your face on the front page of newadvent. The last time we met, you were giving me Angelicum course recommendations at Bar Roma in Norcia. I hope to be back there this summer, and I hope you make it out as well.
Realy,I know not with what praise to extol The Queen of All Hearts(BVM).I love this article and I implore The Mother of grace to intercede for us.
i'll always recite this devotional prayer,evey morning after awaking in my bed. And i feel so happy everyday for i know that mama Mary will guide me always.......
Thank you, I use this every day for morning prayers. There is one line missing though: "through the Holy Spirit, thy faithful spouse and through there..."
:)
In Christ, through Mary
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