As the Church teaches, the Blessed Virgin Mary is the greatest of all God’s creatures. She is the one who was chosen by God to bring His only Son into the world, and her role in salvation history is unparalleled. But what is Our Lady’s greatest glory?
In the history of humanity, there have been many moments of triumph and honour. But according to an exorcist, Father Chad Ripperger, one moment stands above all others.
During an exorcism, Fr Ripperger encountered a demon who admitted that he had been the angel created by God to head the hierarchy of angels meant to serve Our Lady as Queen of Heaven.
This demon had been reduced to tears when Father pointed out that his name would never be written in Heaven next to Our Lady’s.
It was the Feast of the Assumption, and upon the demon denying Father’s assertion that the Assumption is Our Lady’s greatest glory, Father Ripperger commanded him to reveal the truth: What is Our Lady’s greatest glory?
Why isn’t it her Assumption into Heaven, free from the stain of sin?
The demon explained that our Lady’s Assumption into Heaven is her greatest triumph. She was taken from this life into the next, having completed her life absolutely sinless.
She entered Heaven as the Queen of Angels, perfectly pure and holy. Assumed body and soul into Heaven, she now reigns with her Son as Queen of Heaven and Earth.
To get back to our question… Could it be her Crowning as Queen of Heaven and Earth perhaps? No.
According to the demon, Our Lady’s Coronation is the moment of her greatest honour. It is the recognition of her excellence by which God drew attention to her perfections.
The crowning also has a very specific meaning in spiritual warfare. “It means that she rules, and whenever she asks for something, she gets it because she never offended God and always did everything to please Him. As a result of that, He will never deny her anything.”
“We’ve all offended (God) to some degree or another,” says Fr. Ripperger, “and as a result of that, His level of trust in us is only proportionate to how much He knows He can trust us.” But Our Lady never hurt Him. Everything she did was purely for Him.
The demon revealed that never once did she count the personal cost of any of her sacrifices, and that was because, as Spouse of the Holy Ghost, her pure love for Him consumed her. This relationship with God is unique to Our Lady and gives her a powerful intercessory role as a warrior for God.
But there’s more. Mary’s crowning also makes her powerful against demons. In spiritual warfare, demons are terrified of her, for they know that she is their greatest adversary. She is the one who was chosen to crush the head of the serpent, and she has been given the power to defeat him and all his minions.
Indeed, the demon was forced to reveal that Our Lady’s most glorious moment was something else entirely…
The most glorious moment, in all of history in fact, aside from Christ’s Passion is when Our Lady stood in perfect virtue at the foot of the Cross.
It was there that she participated in her Son’s redemption of mankind.
It was there that she united her sufferings to His, and it was there that she became our Mother.
She intercedes for us and protects us from the devil. Her standing at the Cross shows us the depth of her love for us and her willingness to suffer for our salvation. This moment has been etched in the hearts of believers for centuries, and it continues to inspire us to this day.
“What do we mean by glorious?” Father explains. “Saint Thomas defines glory as the manifestation of excellence. And just by looking at Our Lady at Calvary, we see the manifestation of the greatest excellence in all of creation, aside from Christ.”
Our Lady’s standing at the foot of the Cross is powerful and profound as she models for us what it means to love God with every fibre of our being… what it means to be a true disciple of Christ.
Our Lady’s Assumption, crowning, and standing at the foot of the Cross are all important aspects of her glory. Each reveals a different facet of her perfection and her love for God and for us. Let us turn to her in times of need and ask for her intercession.
She is Our Lady, Our Mother, and Our Queen.
Let us remember this moment of glory.
Let us remember the sacrifice that Our Lady made for us.
Let us honour her as Queen of Heaven and Earth and let us strive to follow her example of perfect virtue and pure love for God.
Join us in praying to Our Lady and experiencing her powerful intercession against the forces of evil.
Immaculate Heart of Mary, pray for us!
