Ave Regina Caelorum, Antiphon for Spring
Hail O Queen of the Heavens!
“Ave Regina Caelorum” (“Hail, Oh Queen of the Heavens” ) is the Marian antiphon assigned to the time between the end of Christmas and the end of Lent. It is traditionally sung after Compline, Night Prayer, starting on February 2nd until Compline of the Wednesday in Holy Week).
“Ave Regina Caelorum” refers to Mary as Queen, as do two of the other Marian antiphons,[1], “Salve Regina” (“Greetings Oh Queen”) and “Regina Caeli” (“Oh Queen of Heaven”), although each of these antiphons refers to Mary’s queenship in a slightly different way.
The marvelously talented monk Herman Contractus (+1054), Herman the Cripple, or Herman the Contracted, is sometimes credited as the probable author of this Marian antiphon because he is often credited with the authorship of two of the others, “Alma Redemptoris Mater,” and the “Salve Regina.”
This antiphon to the Queen of the Heavens uses several varied terms to greet her: Ave, Salve, Gaude, Vale. The text also hails Mary as the root, radix, and the door, porta, through which the Light has risen onto the earth. It praises her glory and her beauty (gloriosa, decora, speciosa), which surpasses that of all others.
Antiphon, the Versicle, and the Collect
Here is the antiphon with the versicle and response, and the traditional Collect. (The Collect begins with Oremus, Let us pray.)
Ave Regina coelorum,
Ave Domina Angelorum:
Salve radix, salve porta,
Ex qua mundo lux est orta;
Gaude, Virgo gloriosa,
Super omnes speciosa:
Vale, O valde decora,
Et pro nobis Christum exora.
V. Dignare me laudare te, Virgo sacrata.
R. Da mihi virtutem contra hostes tuos.
OREMUS
Concede, misericors Deus, fragilitati nostrae praesidium: ut, qui sanctae Dei Genetricis memoriam agimus, intercessionis ejus auxilio, a nostris iniquitatibus resurgamus. Per eumdem Christum Dominum nostrum. Amen.
Hail, Queen of the Heavens!
Hail, Lady of the Angels!
Hail root and hail gate,
Through which the Light has risen upon the world!
Rejoice, O Glorious Virgin,
Loveliness surpassing all!
Hail, O hail Beautiful One!
And pray to Christ for us.
V. Vouchsafe, O Holy Virgin, that I may praise thee.
R. Give me power against thine enemies.
LET US PRAY
Grant, O merciful God, thy protection to us in our weakness; that we who celebrate the memory of the Holy Mother of God, may, through the aid of her intercession, rise again from our sins. Through the same Christ our Lord. Amen.
A Little Story in Which Mary Explains that All Her Glory Comes from Her Son
This reminds me of a real-life story I was told during an interview with an Ignatius Press best-selling author, who had a mystical meeting with Mary in a dream. Roy Schoeman1 was an unbelieving Jew who experienced an encounter with God one day when he was walking in nature.
The following quotes are from a talk by Schoeman recorded here.
“I remember silently praying ‘Tell me your name. I don't mind if You're Apollo, and I have to become a Roman pagan. I don't mind if You're Krishna, and I have to become a Hindu. I don't mind if You're Buddha, and I have to become a Buddhist. As long as You're not Christ, and I have to become a Christian!’ (Jewish readers might be able to identify with this deep-rooted aversion to Christianity, based on the mistaken belief that it was the ‘enemy’ which lay behind two thousand years of persecution of the Jews.)”
Schoeman then started asking God in prayer every night to tell him who He was. A year to the day after Schoeman started asking God that question, he had a dream in which he was brought into the presence of “the most beautiful woman you could possibly imagine.” He realized somehow that she was the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of God, and he was so overwhelmed by her glory of her presence that he wanted to adore her. The most memorable thing that came out of that interview for me was hearing how Our Lady humbly told him that everything that made him want to worship her was not from her, but it was all from her Son.
“At one point, overwhelmed again by her presence, I simply stammered:
“‘How can it be that you are so exalted, so magnificent, so glorious?’
“She looked down to me almost with pity, shook her head gently and said:
“‘Oh no, you do not understand, you don’t understand anything: I am nothing, I am a creature, I am a created thing, He is everything!’
“Then, again out of the desire to honor her somehow, I asked her, what title she loved best for herself. Her response was:
“‘I am the beloved Daughter of the Father, the Mother of the Son and Spouse of the Holy Spirit.’”
The next day he woke up a Christian.
“[W]hen I went to sleep I knew little about, and had no special sympathy for, Christianity in any of its aspects; when I awoke I was hopelessly in love with the Blessed Virgin Mary.” And from that day onward, he set about trying to find out how he could become a Christian and worship her Son. Eventually, after many obstacles, he found his way to become a member of the Roman Catholic Church, the only religion he found that gave Our Lady the honor that is due her.
Listen to Ave Regina Caelorum
Simple Tone:
Solemn Tone
To read my interview with Roy Schoeman for a National Catholic Register article, see,“Roy Schoeman Interview – The Complete Version.” You can also read published versions of his conversion story in full at his website, which is named after the title of his first book, Salvation is From the Jews.
For background about the Marian antiphons, see: Introduction to Marian Antiphons.
This article was originally posted at Dappled Things Deep Down Things blog and has been extensively revised. It is republished here with permission.