How Mary is also the “Queen of Heroes”

This article contains spoilers about Avengers: End Game!

Our Blessed Mother is a most exceptional model and type of the Church.

“By her complete adherence to the Father’s will, to his Son’s redemptive work, and to every prompting of the Holy Spirit, the Virgin Mary is the Church’s model of faith and charity. Thus she is a “preeminent and . . . wholly unique member of the Church;” indeed, she is the “exemplary realization” (typus) of the Church” (CCC 967).

The Gospels do not say a lot about Mary, yet they provide great insight into who she is. From those Scriptural insights and our Sacred Tradition, the Church has developed many devotions and intercessory prayers to Our Lady. One of the most beautiful prayers is the Litany of Loreto, also known as the Litany of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

The Litany of Loreto contains many of Mary’s titles and, like the Rosary, deepens our love for her and our understanding of her role within the Church. One of Mary’s titles from the Litany is “Seat of Wisdom.”

It is interesting that, though Mary’s title derives from her relationship to her Son (as the vessel, ark or tabernacle of Christ, Wisdom Incarnate), wisdom is depicted as feminine in the Old Testament. This may be a simple detail of the Hebrew language, but it makes sense from a historical perspective as well because the most important advisor to an ancient near eastern king was not his wife or his many servants, but his queen mother, for her good counsel grew from of her unfailing devotion to her beloved son, the king, and not from her own personal interests.

There is much we can learn about lady wisdom, the woman of valor, from Proverbs.

“Who can find a woman of worth [translated from Hebrew, eshet hayil: woman of force, woman of valor, woman of strength]? Far beyond jewels is her value. Her husband trusts her judgment; he does not lack income. She brings him profit, not loss, all the days of her life. She girds herself with strength; she exerts her arms with vigor. She enjoys the profit from her dealings; her lamp is never extinguished at night. She reaches out her hands to the poor, and extends her arms to the needy. She is not concerned for her household when it snows — all her charges are doubly clothed. She makes her own coverlets; fine linen and purple are her clothing. Her husband is prominent at the city gates as he sits with the elders of the land. She is clothed with strength and dignity, and laughs at the days to come. She opens her mouth in wisdom; kindly instruction is on her tongue. She watches over the affairs of her household, and does not eat the bread of idleness. Her children rise up and call her blessed; her husband, too, praises her.” (Proverbs 31:10-28)

Though no one, other than Jesus who is perfect, comes close to Mary’s noble excellence, we can find facets of the Blessed Mother not only in the saints, but also in the women of literature and cinema.

In Avengers: Endgame Thor is an emotional mess. He has turned to abusing food, alcohol and video games to cope with the overwhelming grief he feels over the loss of so much life after Thanos kills off half of the life in the universe. Notwithstanding his weak emotional state, Thor travels with Rocket to Asgard of the past to retrieve one of the Infinity Stones. While he is there, Thor encounters his mother, Queen Frigga the wise. When he sees his mother, who he knows will be murdered that same day, he is paralyzed by grief. During a tender scene between mother and son, Thor despairs over his failures. Frigga tells him, though he may have failed, so does everyone else. And then she speaks one of the most powerful lines in the movie, telling Thor, “The measure of a person, of a hero is how well they succeed at being who they are.” She is telling Thor, it is okay to fail. It is okay to be flawed. It is okay to be human. You are nevertheless a hero. Be who you are.

Frigga reflects the wisdom and motherly love of Mary, our most excellent Queen Mother. As Thor wept in the arms of his loving mother, so we may weep in the arms of our Queen of Heaven. The Litany of Loreto tells us Mary is also “Queen of All Saints.” The saints are the men and women of heroic virtue. In this respect, Mary is therefore also the Queen of Heroes. Through baptism we are made priests, prophets and kings. Like the kings of old, let us not hesitate to turn to our Queen Mother. In our brokenness, Mary assures us that everything will be okay if we follow her most wise counsel and do whatever her Son tells us (John 2:6). If we receive her wise counsel, we will be who we truly are. Who God wants us to be. Heroes for Christ. Saints.