Mary, Queen of Heaven and Earth

---

We pray the Most Holy Rosary as often as we can, meditating on the Joyful, Sorrowful, Luminous and Glorious Mysteries.  Eighteen of the 20 mysteries have direct reference from scripture.  The other two, the fourth and fifth Glorious Mysteries do not.  Our May Gathering discussions will focus on these two, "Mary is assumed into Heaven, body and soul," and "Mary is proclaimed Queen of Heaven on Earth."  How were those two "mysterious events" proclaimed by our Church as dogma?  Who declared those events as theological facts?  

We will reference two Scripture passages that are often used during the Rosary to aid in our meditation over the Mysteries.  We will discuss other references from Catholic media that refer to historical writings of the early church that support these mysteries as theological and sacred facts.  We will consider the writings of Blessed Anne Catherine Emmerich (1774 - 1824), who was acknowledged by the Church as a mystic who encounter visions of Mary throughout Our Lady's life, including her birth, marriage, her life during Jesus's lifetime, her life following Jesus's death and resurrection, and finally, her death in Ephesus, 14 years after Jesus's ascension.   We will also reference publications in Catholic media that support the Assumption and the Coronation.