Almost enough has been said on the Virgin Mary,
but it is fitting to give some consideration to Eliot's
own words. Apparently E. had in mind the Church
of Our Lady of Good Voyage in Glouscester ,Mass.
I would think that prayer of petition is not worship.
Lady, whose shrine stands on the promontory,
Pray for all those who are in ships, those
Whose business has to do with fish, and
Those concerned with every lawful traffic
And those who conduct them.
Repeat a prayer also on behalf of
Women who have seen their sons or husbands
Setting forth, and not returning:
Figlia del tuo figlio,
Queen of Heaven.
Also pray for those who were in ships, and
Ended their voyage on the sand, in the sea's lips
Or in the dark throat which will not reject them
Or wherever cannot reach them the sound of the sea bell's
Perpetual angelus.
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It is useful to remember that in the Jewish Kingdom,
the person crowned as Queen was the mother of the King,
not the wife. Given the strong focus on David as a type of
Christ then, it is natural that Christ's mother is the Queen of Heaven.
P.
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