#the virgin and child with saint john and an angel
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#lucrezia borgia#giulia farnese#art#art parallels#italian renaissance#renaissance#renaissance art#realism#michelangelo#ghirlandaio#william-adolphe bouguereau#sistine chapel#creation of adam#the sistine madonna#the virgin and child with saint john and an angel#the madonna of the lilies#lucrezia sommaria#theborgiasedit#dailyborgia#perioddramaedit#periodedit#period drama#ursula bonadeo#William-Adolphe Bouguereau#William Bouguereau#women in art#french art#1800s#1850s#art history
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The Wilton Diptych (1395–1399)
The kneeling King Richard II is presented by Saints John the Baptist, Edward the Confessor and Edmund the Martyr, each holding their attribute. In the right-hand panel the Virgin Mary with the Christ Child in her arms is surrounded by eleven angels, against a golden background and field of delicately coloured flowers.
#middle ages#medieval#mediaeval#england#altarpiece#richard ii of england#english#king#saints#kings#saint#john the baptist#edward the confessor#edmund the martyr#virgin mary#christ child#angels#art#christianity#christian#religious art#religion#history#gothic#heraldry#house of wessex#anglo saxon#anglo saxons#flowers#richard ii
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The Madonna and Child with Saint Lucy and the Young Saint John the Baptist
Annibale Carracci (Italian; 1560–1609)
ca. 1587–88
Oil on panel
Christie’s, New York
#Annibale Carracci#Carracci#Saint Lucy#St. Lucy#Virgin and Child#Italian painters#Italian artists#Italian art#Italian paintings#religious art#Saint John the Baptist#Saint John#saints#Baroque art#Baroque painting#Italian Baroque#angels#martyr's palm#eyes#wings#nimbus#1580s#16th century#16th-century art#16th-century artists#16th-century Italian art#16th-century Italian painters#16th-century Italian artists#Virgin Mary#Christ Child
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flickr
Sandro Botticelli and Workshop, Virgin and Child with Saint John the Baptist and Six Singing Angels, ca. 1490, Tempera and gold on panel, 11/21/23 #legionofhonor by Sharon Mollerus
#Virgin and Child with Saint John the Baptist and Six Singing Ang#Legion of Honor Museum#Sandro Botticelli and Workshop#Botticelli Drawings exhibit#ca. 1490#Tempera and gold on panel#fine art#San Francisco#CA#Virgin and Child with Saint John the Baptist and Six Singing Angels#flickr
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an angle that i can't remember anybody pointing out abt Gideon re: christ allegory is the idea of Wake as Mary conscious of what her role entails. Mary conscious of and accepting of the sacrifice her child will be used for.
she's visited by one of god's lyctor's – directly contacted by Mercymorn with an opportunity – and outside her interactions w G1deon, she's the only one of them Wake ever meets. in the bible, the angel who visits Mary is the same angel that directs the wise men to seek Mary and Jesus out in Jerusalem, which adds a more sinister parallel to Mercy being the one to direct G1deon to Wake's location over the Ninth.
Wake has no direct interaction with John/God until after she’s already dead, and therefore Gideon’s conception is, like Mary’s conception of Jesus, almost completely separate from God at all, except that the resulting child will be his biologically (or spiritually in Jesus’ case).
she takes a literal journey while heavily pregnant to reach the Ninth, and has to give birth in less than ideal conditions and surroundings. and the story diverges further from there, because instead of being visited and given gifts for her child’s birth, she’s attacked, betrayed, and murdered before she can complete the mission she did any of this for.
(one could argue that G1deon and Pyrrha’s role in this allegory is both that of the wise men (keeping up three separate identities = three wise men right? g1deon, pyrrha, and the Saint of Duty all visited on her in one form. much to think on) – but also of Joseph (especially given Pyrrha tells John in HTN that she didn't tell him abt Wake's pregnancy because she assumed the child was hers, and upon finding out Gideon isn't hers, she's obviously conflicted abt it, but inevitably settles on wanting to be a parent/parental figure to her despite the truth and the complexities of Wake's actions) but that’s just a whole Can of Worms, because we know very little of what actually went down during their interaction leading up to the airlock, so we’ll just let the concept lie there for the moment.)
Wake conceives, carries, and gives birth to Gideon, the distanced but biological child of God, knowing she’ll be used as a sacrifice, knowing through trial and error that the only viable method for this plan to work is through carrying the child herself. she does it all under the faith that if she does it all correctly, if she works hard enough, toughs it out, it will all be worth it. arguably, she never sees the Tomb fully opened, but she sees it breached.
another fun tidbit from this train of thought is the idea that her niece is named Our Lady of the Passion, a tangential name for the Virgin Mary in some sects of catholicism. beyond death, Wake’s belief in her mission to rid the universe of John and the Houses, her passion, as it were, is once again present in Pash, who is not exactly present when the Tomb is opened, but is around and conscious enough of her connections and roles to realise her dang cousin is also hanging around on the same planet her aunt died on. excited to see whatever dynamic she and Gideon develop in atn, Muir willing.
#this isn't really a theory it's just an interesting angle i've been thinkin abt all morning#wanted to share#commander wake#gideon nav#mercymorn the first#pyrrha dve#gideon the first#our lady of the passion#tlt#the locked tomb#tlt meta#john gaius#biblical parallels#imagining a fucked up nativity set where it's not even a barn it's a blood-streaked shuttle interior#and mercy's the angel gabriel. wake's holding an open cryotube w gideon in it + she's holding a knife#g1deon/pyrrha are standing beside her looking shocked/weirded out holding their spear#bonus set characters include augustine ianthe and john wearing various expressions of shock#to stand off to the side as if envisioning the scene#anyway#gideon being lesbian jesus hits different every single damn day
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Title: Someone Who Doesn’t Want To Be Saved
Author: RedCraneFalling
Artist: Callion
Rating: Explicit
Pairings: Castiel/ Dean Winchester, minor Andrea Howl/ Sam Winchester
Length: 49000
Warnings: Temporary Major Character Death, Child Abuse, Implied/ Referenced Underage Prostitution, Canon Typical Violence, Homophobia/ Parental Homophobia, One use of the F slur
Tags: Childhood Friends to Lovers, Hurt/Comfort, Angst with a Happy Ending, John Winchester’s A+ Parenting, Wing Fic, Grace-Soul Bonds, Loss of Virginity, AU - Canon Divergence, Parental Guardian Gabriel, !Kid Sam
Posting Date: October 2, 2023
Summary: A child shall be born of twice-tainted blood,
the eldest of two and the two soldiers’ son.
A saint’s soul emerges, yet a hunter is made.
Born martyr from love, built killer by pain.
On his hundredth season, the lock he will break,
as Mother kills Child for her Father’s sake.
All God’s angels shall perish by creatures of ol’
‘less a Seraph gone wayward does hopelessly fall
Fledgling angel, Castiel gets in an accident shortly before his seventh birthday, and quite literally falls out of the sky and into Dean’s lap. The two quickly become close, but both of their families are hiding dark secrets. Dean’s in the form of an absent father who seems to drain all happiness from his two children whenever he’s around, and Castiel’s in the form of a prophecy which unites the two boys, but may ultimately tear them apart.
Excerpt: Dean starts climbing and Castiel waits for him to be about halfway up before he flaps his wings twice and jumps to the branch.
“Hey no fair!” Dean calls after him, “I forgot you could fly. Flying is cheating.”
“You didn’t specify no flying when you made the rules,” Castiel calls back laughing from his perch on the branch.
Castiel watches Dean climb the rest of the way up, his muscles stretching and coiling under the skin of his arms. He’s strong and lithe, graceful and sure of his movements in a way that Castiel can only imitate in flight. On the ground, the calculated angular movements of an Angel make him look robotic in comparison. He is unnatural where Dean is at home, as a true son of the Earth. And God took clay from Earth’s four corners and gave it the breath of life. Man is better than angel. Created for more than just the divine. Their perfect imperfections leave room for beauty.
When Dean gets up to the branch he’s huffing with exertion. There’s sweat on his brow where his hair sticks to his forehead, and his cheeks are bright red around his freckles. The flush brings out the green in his eyes.
“Cheater,” Dean accuses when he sees Castiel’s cocky grin. He reaches out and gives Castiel a light shove.
Castiel moves exaggeratedly with the shove, and falls sideways off the tree branch.
“Cas!” Dean yells in alarm before he realizes that Castiel is simply floating in the air slightly under the branch with one leg still hooked over it. “Gonna give me a heart attack,.” Dean grumbles.
Castiel laughs and uses his wings to right himself so he’s sitting on the branch again. He straddles it, facing Dean.
“Would you like to race back down?” he says with a cheeky grin.
“No,” Dean pouts, crossing his arms “You’d probably just jump, Mister I-Can-Survive-a-Tornado.”
Castiel laughs boisterously, and it seems his laugh is contagious because Dean starts laughing as well. They both smile, looking at each other. The sun dapples Dean’s skin with patches of light through the leaves.
Castiel walks with the brothers back to the nearby motel they’re staying at. Dean is in an uncharacteristically carefree mood, skipping and chattering on like the first time Castiel met him. When they reach the motel, Dean’s face falls as he looks at a big black car parked outside their room. He picks up Sam and turns towards Cas frowning.
“You gotta go home now, Cas, but we can watch Scooby Doo another day, okay?” he says. Castiel is confused but agrees and flies away.
The next time he sees the Winchester brothers, Dean has a black eye. He won’t tell Castiel where it’s from.
DCBB 2023 Posting Schedule
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Non Comprehensive List of the Nice Spanish Paintings That Mysteriously Ended Up in Marshal Soult's Collection
Sourced from the essay Seville's Artistic Heritage during the French Occupation in the book Manet/Velázquez: The French Taste for Spanish Painting, which can be downloaded for free on the Met's website which is frankly awesome but i wish someone OCRed their book
In 1852 at the sale of his collection, there were 109 paintings up for sale - 78 from the Seville School, including 15 Murillos and 15 Zurbaráns.
It's interesting that Soult wanted to legitimize his ownership of these paintings via receipts and official documentation - the biography of him I was machine translating talks about the king questioning his collection and him pulling out receipts for each painting. But, well, the essay puts it like this: "The existence of an official letter can be explained by Soult's desire to dress up in legal or formal terms what was in reality theft or extortion."
I might put excerpts from the essay in a different post, but for now, let's look at the list! Modern locations of the paintings are in parentheses, and I must say, for an essay critical of historical reappropriation of artwork, a lot of these artworks are still extant. Not a dig or anything, just an observation.
I do not condone extorting or stealing priceless Spanish artworks anyway
On with the show!
Murillo
The Immaculate Conception (Museo Nacional del Prado, Madrid)
Virgin and Child (Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool)
Saint Elizabeth of Hungary Nursing the Sick (Church of the Hospital de la Caridad, Seville)
Christ Healing the Paralytic at the Pool of Bethesda (National Gallery, London)
The Return of the Prodigal Son (National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.)
Abraham and the Three Angels (National Gallery Of Canada, Ottawa)
The Liberation of Saint Peter (State Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg)
Saint Junipero and the Pauper (Musée du Louvre, Paris)
Saint Salvador de Horta and the Inquisitor Of Aragon (Musée Bonnat,
Bayonne)
Brother Julián de Alcalá and the Soul of Philip II (Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute, Williamstown, Mass.)
The Angels' Kitchen (Musée du Louvre, Paris)
The Dream Of the Patrician (Museo Nacional del Prado, Madrid)
The Patrician John and His Wife (Museo Nacional del Prado, Madrid)
The Triumph of the Eucharist (Lord Farringdon Collection, Buscot Park, Farringdon, England)
Saint Augustine in Ecstasy [Not sourced from the above book, from a Christies auction actually]
Herrera the Elder
The Israelites Receiving Manna (unknown/destroyed?)
Moses Striking the Rock (unknown/destroyed?)
The Marriage at Cana (unknown/destroyed?)
The Multiplication of the Loaves and Fishes (Musée d'Amiens, destroyed in 1918)
Last Communion of Saint Bonaventure (Musée du Louvre, Paris)
Saint Basil Dictating His Doctrine (Musée du Louvre, Paris)
Zurbarán
Saint Apollonia (Musée du Louvre, Paris)
Saint Lucy Musée des Beaux-Arts, Chartres
Saint Anthony Abbot (private collection, Madrid)
Saint Lawrence (State Hermitage, St. Petersburg)
Saint Bonaventure at the Council of Lyon (Musée du Louvre, Paris)
Saint Bonaventure on His Bier (Musée du Louvre, Paris)
The Apotheosis of Saint Thomas Aquinas (Museo de Bellas Artes, Seville)
Saints Romanus and Barulas (Art Institute of Chicago)
paintings of the archangel Gabriel and Saint Agatha (both Musée de Montpellier)
Cano
Saint John with the Poisoned Chalice and Saint James the Apostle (both Musée du Louvre, Paris)
Saint John Giving Communion to the Virgin (Palazzo Bianco,
Genoa)
Saint John's Vision Of God (John and Mable Ringling Museum Of Art, Sarasota)
Charity and Faith (present location unknown; 1852 Soult sale)
Saint Agnes (destroyed in fire in the Staatliche Museen, Berlin)
Uncertain source, thought to be Murillo at the time
A Resting Virgin (usually identified as The Holy Family with the Infant Saint John the Baptist, Wallace Collection London)
The Death Of Abel
Saint Peter
Saint Paul
Other artists in his collection whose specific works weren't named
Sebastiån de Llanos Valdés
Pedro de Camprobin
José Antolinez
Sebastiån Gomez
#jean-de-dieu soult#jean de dieu soult#napoleon's marshals#napoleonic wars#napoleonic era#cad rambles about dead frenchmen on main#cadmus rambles
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Adélaïde Labille-Guiard (1749-1803)
"Portrait of Madame Charles Mitoire with Her Children" (1783)
Pastel, on three sheets of blue paper, mounted on canvas
Neoclassical
Located in the Getty Museum, Los Angeles, California, United States
This is no ordinary portrait of an eighteenth-century lady, for Madame Mitoire here bears a breast to nurse her infant son Charles-Benoît. Though its composition echoes traditional representations of the Holy Virgin and Child with Saint John the Baptist, this portrait also signals the modernity of its subject and her approach to motherhood. Published in 1762, Jean-Jacques Rousseau’s celebrated Enlightenment treatise on education and child-rearing, "Émile," implored women of all classes to cultivate more intimate bonds with their children and, above all, to breast-feed them personally, rather than retaining the services of a wet nurse, as most wealthy families did at the time. A vogue for breast-feeding swept Europe, and genteel women retreated from public life, into the domestic sphere to fulfill what Rousseau called “their first duty." Depicting a nursing mother, the portrait may also allude to Rousseau’s recommendations in its presentation of the infant, unencumbered by swaddling clothes (of which Rousseau strongly disapproved), and perhaps also in its inclusion of a glass of wine on the table at left (Rousseau’s tract draws a contrast between milk, “our first nourishment,” and wine, an acquired taste).
#drawing#art#artwork#genre painting#family portrait#adélaïde labille guiard#adelaide labille guiard#pastel#pastel drawing#drawings#fine art#neoclassical#neoclassicism#french artist#woman artist#women artists#female artists#mother and baby#child#children#motherhood#history#parenting#clothing#clothes#blue dress#dresses#1780s#late 1700s#late 18th century
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THE DESCRIPTION OF THE THREE ARCHANGELS
Feast Days: September 29, March 24 (St. Gabriel's traditional feast), May 8 (St. Michael's apparition at Monte Gargano), October 24 (St. Raphael's traditional feast)
"Do you believe because I told you that I saw you under the fig tree? You will see greater things than this. And he said to him, 'Amen, amen, I say to you, you will see heaven opened, and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man!'" -John 1:47-51
St. Michael. St. Gabriel. St. Raphael. These are the Three Archangels that is been mentioned in the Holy Scriptures, and they are honored by the Roman Catholic Church.
The archangels are spiritual beings of the highest rank created by God before the beginning of the world. They have no material body and are immortal. Their name is given according to the mission have received from God. The word archangel is only used twice in the New Testament: In the 4th chapter of Paul's first letter to the Thessalonians and the Epistle of Jude.
The archangel Michael, whose name means 'who is like God (or Quis ut Deus?)', was assigned to fight the devil. He was appointed to cast Lucifer out of Paradise, for challenging the sovereignty of God, as according to the Book of Revelation: 'Then war broke out in heaven; Michael and his angels battled against the dragon. The dragon and his angels fought back, but they did not prevail and there was no longer any place for them in heaven.'
Michael helps us in the daily struggle against Satan, who will be defeated in the Apocalyptic war at the end times.
In Roman Catholic teachings, Saint Michael has four main roles or offices. His first role is the leader of the Army of God and the leader of heaven's forces in their triumph over the powers of hell. He is viewed as the angelic model for the virtues of the spiritual warrior, with the conflict against evil at times viewed as the battle within. The second and third roles of Michael in Catholic teachings deal with death. In his second role, Michael is the angel of death, carrying the souls of all the deceased to heaven. In this role Michael descends at the hour of death, and gives each soul the chance to redeem itself before passing; thus consternating the devil and his minions. Catholic prayers often refer to this role of Michael. In his third role, he weighs souls on his perfectly balanced scales. For this reason, Michael is often depicted holding scales. In his fourth role, Saint Michael, the special patron of the Chosen People in the Old Testament, is also the guardian of the Church. Roman Catholicism includes traditions such as the Prayer to Saint Michael, which specifically asks for the faithful to be 'defended' by the saint, and the Chaplet of Saint Michael consists of nine salutations, one for each choir of angels.
The archangel Gabriel, whose name means 'God is my strength or hero of God', received the mission to proclaim God's almighty power. He was sent to announce the birth of Jesus to the Blessed Virgin Mary. In the Gospel of Luke, when Mary objected that she was still virgin, Gabriel replied: 'Nothing is impossible from God.'
Gabriel has the power to assist us in the most desperate cases, and to protect those who announce the Good News. It is said that Gabriel is the destroyer of the sinful city of Sodom.
It is said that Gabriel played some important roles: he taught Moses in the wilderness to write the Book of Genesis, the revealing of the coming of the Savior to Daniel, his appearance to Joachim and Anne the birth of Mary, and the appearance to Zechariah to announce the birth of John the Baptist.
In the Gospel of Matthew, Gabriel may have been the unnamed angel, who appeared to St. Joseph in his sleep and instructed Joseph not to divorce Mary quietly, and explained that Mary’s child was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit and that He would be named Emmanuel, which means God is with us. And in the Gospel of Luke, Gabriel may have been the angel who appeared to the Lord Jesus himself, in the Garden of Gethsemane before His Passion, to strengthen him.
The archangel Raphael, whose name means 'God has healed', was appointed to cure the sickness of the spirit and of the body, and appeared in the Book of Tobit, and is also identified as the angel who moved the waters of the healing sheep pool.
After getting blinded, God hears both Tobit and Sarah's prayers and Raphael is sent to help them. Tobias is sent to recover money from a relative, and Raphael, in human disguise, offers to accompany him. On the way they catch a fish in the Tigris, and Raphael tells Tobias that the burnt heart and liver can drive out demons and the gall can cure blindness. They arrive in Ecbatana and meet Sarah, and as Raphael has predicted the demon, named Asmodeus, is driven out. Tobias and Sarah are married, Tobias grows wealthy, and they return to Nineveh (Assyria) where Tobit and Anna await them. After revealing his true identity, he said to him: 'I am Raphael, one of the seven angels who enter and serve before the Glory of the Lord.'
Tobit's blindness is cured, and Raphael departs after admonishing Tobit and Tobias to bless God and declare his deeds to the people (the Israelites), to pray and fast, and to give alms. Tobit praises God, who has punished his people with exile but will show them mercy and rebuild the Temple if they turn to him.
Michael is the patron of the military and police forces, Gabriel is the patron of messengers, those who work for broadcasting and telecommunications such as radio and television, postal workers, clerics, diplomats, police dispatchers and stamp collectors, and Raphael is the patron of the blind, of happy meetings, of nurses, of physicians and of travelers.
#random stuff#catholic#catholic saints#michaelmas#archangels#saint michael#saint gabriel#saint raphael#archangel michael#archangel gabriel#archangel raphael
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source: @esculturasblancas
Workshop of Sandro Botticelli, The Virgin and Child with Saint John and an Angel (circa 1490, detail). The complete painting, here.
Restored in 2018–19, this is one of the more significant paintings of the Virgin Mary to survive from the workshop of the Florentine Renaissance artist Sandro Botticelli. The circular format was very popular in the fifteenth century and particularly common for paintings decorating the bedchambers of Florentine households. Botticelli’s workshop responded to this demand, producing a great number of circular paintings (tondi) that vary in composition, dimension and artistic quality. A common feature of Botticelli’s tondi is the way in which individual figures react to the format of the painting, seen here in the young Saint John the Baptist on the left and the angel on the right, who bend slightly forward as if to fit within the border.
The Virgin Mary’s powerful frontal gaze makes this tondo stand out. Her exposed breast, with which she feeds Christ, is also central to its design. Images of the Virgin Mary breastfeeding added a human element to the representation of the mother of God. The Virgin’s exposed breast was uncovered only as part of the recent restoration. It had been overpainted to suit the preferences of an earlier owner.
Unfortunately, we don't know for whom this painting was originally made. An early inscription on the back suggests the Florentine architect and woodworker Giuliano da Sangallo. He is known to have had a sizeable art collection in his Florentine palace. Alternatively, the inscription may refer to Sangallo as the maker of the frame. The plethora of fruits that decorate the frame may hint at the idea of abundance, which is also underlined by the image of the breastfeeding Virgin.
This tondo was among the very first early Italian paintings (paintings made before 1500) to enter the National Gallery’s collection. Its acquisition in 1855 coincided with the rise in popularity of Botticelli. Many artists came to see it, producing copies and studying its tempera technique. Such was its appeal that at some point the tondo was displayed next to works by Raphael. But in the early twentieth century, scholars demoted it, arguing that it was a product of Botticelli’s workshop rather than by the artist himself. Workshop assistants were essential to artistic production during the Renaissance, but by this time it was believed that their involvement reduced a painting’s quality. Technical investigations have confirmed the use of partial cartoons, which were used to transfer a design to the surface of the painting – a practice common in a Renaissance workshop. Numerous changes were made at a much later stage, however, especially in the hands and hair of the angel on the right, some visible to the naked eye.
We know of several artists who were employed in Botticelli’s workshop, the most famous being Filippino Lippi, with whom Botticelli frequently collaborated (see Adoration of the Kings, for example). We do not know, however, which artists worked on this painting.
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8th December >> Fr. Martin's Gospel Homilies / Reflections on Luke 1:26-38 for the Feast of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary: ‘Greetings favoured one! The Lord is with you’.
Feast of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary
Gospel
Luke 1:26-38
'I am the handmaid of the Lord'.
The angel Gabriel was sent by God to a town in Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man named Joseph, of the House of David; and the virgin’s name was Mary. He went in and said to her, ‘Rejoice, so highly favoured! The Lord is with you.’ She was deeply disturbed by these words and asked herself what this greeting could mean, but the angel said to her, ‘Mary, do not be afraid; you have won God’s favour. Listen! You are to conceive and bear a son, and you must name him Jesus. He will be great and will be called Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his ancestor David; he will rule over the House of Jacob for ever and his reign will have no end.’ Mary said to the angel, ‘But how can this come about, since I am a virgin?’ ‘The Holy Spirit will come upon you’ the angel answered ‘and the power of the Most High will cover you with its shadow. And so the child will be holy and will be called Son of God. Know this too: your kinswoman Elizabeth has, in her old age, herself conceived a son, and she whom people called barren is now in her sixth month, for nothing is impossible to God.’ ‘I am the handmaid of the Lord,’ said Mary ‘let what you have said be done to me.’ And the angel left her.
Gospel (USA)
Luke 1:26–38
Hail, full of grace! The Lord is with you.
The angel Gabriel was sent from God to a town of Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man named Joseph, of the house of David, and the virgin’s name was Mary. And coming to her, he said, “Hail, full of grace! The Lord is with you.” But she was greatly troubled at what was said and pondered what sort of greeting this might be. Then the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. Behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name him Jesus. He will be great and will be called Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give him the throne of David his father, and he will rule over the house of Jacob forever, and of his Kingdom there will be no end.” But Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I have no relations with a man?” And the angel said to her in reply, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. Therefore the child to be born will be called holy, the Son of God. And behold, Elizabeth, your relative, has also conceived a son in her old age, and this is the sixth month for her who was called barren; for nothing will be impossible for God.” Mary said, “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word.” Then the angel departed from her.
Reflections (10)
(i) Feast of the Immaculate Conception
John Henry Newman was canonized four years ago. One of the people that he received into the church was the poet, Gerard Manley Hopkins, in 1866. Hopkins became a Jesuit two years later; he went on to teach in the Jesuit run University College that Newman had started on Saint Stephen’s Green. It was there Hopkins died in 1889. Hopkins wrote a poem on Mary entitled, ‘The Blessed Virgin compared to the air we breathe’. He speaks of air as the nursing element of the universe. What he calls ‘the world-mothering air’ speaks to him of Mary. The poem was composed a couple of decades after Pope Pius IX proclaimed the dogma of Mary’s Immaculate Conception. In his poem, Hopkins makes reference to Mary’s Immaculate Conception. He writes, ‘Mary Immaculate, merely a woman, yet whose presence, power is great as no goddess’s was deemed, dreamed, who this one work has to do – Let all God’s glory through’. Today’s feast celebrates Mary as one who, from the moment of her conception, let all God’s glory through. A teacher in a primary school once asked the children, ‘What is a saint?’ One of the children, thinking of the stained glass windows in her church, said, ‘A saint is someone who lets the light through’. If saints are people through whom shines the light of God’s glorious presence, this is especially true of Mary. There was no sin in her to block the light of God’s glorious, loving, presence. She was the greatest of all the saints, always totally open to God’s love.
The Pope’s proclamation of Mary’s Immaculate Conception in 1854 gave formal expression to what had been the faith of the church since earliest times. It was always understood by the faithful that Mary was preserved by God from sin from the first moment of her conception because she was destined by God to become the mother of God’s Son. She was favoured by God, chosen to carry God’s Son in her womb, give birth to him, nurture him with a mother’s love and, then, let him go as an adult to do God’s work. Mary was greatly favoured by God and, yet, at that moment of the annunciation, she had to respond to God’s favour. The gospel reading shows that her response to God’s favour was complete, ‘I am the servant of the Lord. Let what you have said be done to me’. She gave a total ‘yes’ to the unique grace that God gave her. She was completely open to God’s call. Her surrender to God’s purpose for her life was total and enduring. Her response to God at the annunciation anticipated her own son’s response to God in the garden of Gethsemane, ‘Not my will but yours be done’.
While attracted by Mary’s goodness and holiness, perhaps we can more easily recognize something of ourselves in Adam’s story in the first reading. Like him, we go against what God desires for us, reaching for what is out of bounds. Like him, we blame others for our own failings. Like him, having gone against God’s desire for our lives, we hide from God, and God has to call after us, ‘Where are you?’ All of that may be true of us, and, yet, it is never our full story; the story of our lives is also a graced story. God’s question, ‘Where are you?’ is not an accusing question. It springs from a heart of love. Jesus revealed this seeking heart of God to the full. He said of himself that he came to seek out and to save the lost. He wanted to find those who were hiding from God out of fear of God’s displeasure. He wanted to reveal to them God’s faithful and enduring love, and to call them back into a loving relationship with God and with the community of believers. There are times in our lives when we simply need to allow ourselves to be found by God. The Lord is always calling on us to step out into the light of God’s loving presence and to open our hearts to God’s light which never ceases to shine upon us. This is a light that no darkness in our lives can overcome. God has a wonderful purpose for all our lives, which he never gives up on, no matter how often we turn from God. Saint Paul in today’s second reading expresses God’s purpose for our lives very eloquently. God ‘chose us in Christ, to be holy and spotless, and to live through love in his presence’. God’s purpose for our lives is that his Son would be formed within us, so that we can live through love in God’s presence, so that we can live in the same loving way that Jesus did.
In Mary, we can see clearly this person we are called to become. She wasn’t just the mother of Jesus, but his first and finest disciple. God’s Son was formed in her, not just physically, but spiritually. She lived through love in God’s presence, giving herself in love to God and to others, like her Son. At no point did Mary ever hide from God. God never had to address the question to her, ‘Where are you?’ In today’s gospel reading, God seeks out Mary through his messenger, the angel Gabriel. Mary does not hide from God’s messenger. Yet, the gospel reading suggests that Mary’s wholehearted response to God’s purpose for her life did not come without a struggle. We are told that when God first greeted her through Gabriel, ‘she was deeply disturbed’ and wondered what the greeting could mean. When God then made clear to her what was being asked of her, she was full of questions, ‘How can this come about?’ She had difficulty in trying to grasp the ways of God in her own regard, as we all do sometimes. God’s presence will always be, to some extent, a disturbing presence; it will often leave us with questions. Even in this cloud of unknowing, Mary remained open to God’s presence. Once assured of God’s help, the overshadowing of the Holy Spirit, she surrendered to God’s desire, God’s purpose, for her life, ‘let what you have said be done to me’. In doing so, she allowed God’s purpose for all humanity to come to pass. The remainder of her life was a constant ‘yes’ to God’s will, even as she bore the pains of the human condition. A sword would pierce her heart; she would be puzzled at times by her son’s mission and actions; she would suffer the horrible pain of a mother watching the brutal execution of her son.
The Holy Spirit who overshadowed Mary at the annunciation overshadowed all of us at our baptism and continues to overshadow us all through life. What was said to Mary in today’s gospel reading is said to all of us, ‘The Lord is with you’. The risen Lord is present with all of us, through the Holy Spirit. The season of Advent calls on us to open our hearts to the Lord’s presence to us, his daily coming. In striving to respond to that call, Mary can be an inspiration to us all. She is our motherly companion on our own pilgrim way, which is why we can always ask her to ‘pray for us, sinners, now and at the hour of our death’. In the words of Hopkins’ poem, she ‘mantles the guilty globe, since God has let her dispense her prayers, his providence’.
And/Or
(ii) Feast of the Immaculate Conception of Mary
In this morning’s gospel reading Mary is addressed by the angel Gabriel as ‘so highly favoured’. In the very next verse Luke says ‘she was deeply disturbed by these words’. She was highly favoured and deeply disturbed. Sometimes being highly favoured can be deeply disturbing. We wonder, ‘Why I am being highly favoured?’ We can struggle to receive the favour of others because we feel we don’t deserve it, and, at a deeper level, we can struggle to receive the favour of God. How can I be favoured by God when I have done so little? Yet, like Mary, although in a way that is unique to each of us, we have all been highly favoured by God. Our coming to birth was the work of God’s favour; our baptism into Christ was the work of God’s favour. As Saint John put it in one of his letters, ‘God loved us first’. As Paul puts it at the beginning of today’s second reading, ‘Blessed be God the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ who has blessed us with all the spiritual blessings of heaven in Christ’.
Among all human beings, Mary was uniquely favoured by God. She was chosen by God to be the mother of God’s Son. Today’s feast proclaims that she was uniquely favoured by God from the moment of her conception in her own mother’s womb. From that first moment of her life, God was preparing her to be the woman from whose womb Jesus, the Son of God, would be born. The gospel reading this morning suggests that Mary struggled to receive this extraordinary favour of God, and all it would entail for her. Initially, she was deeply disturbed, and then she questioned, ‘But how can this come about?’ Finally, she surrendered, ‘Let what you have said be done to me’. From that moment of her surrender to God’s favour of her, she became a source of blessing to all of humanity, the one through whom Jesus came to us. By her complete surrender to God’s desire for her life, she gave birth to Jesus in her heart, before she gave birth to him in her womb. In the garden of Gethsemane Jesus prayed to God, ‘Not my will but yours be done’. Luke presents Mary as entering into that prayer of Jesus before Jesus was even conceived, ‘Let what you have said be done to me’.
If we are like Mary in being highly favoured by God, we are also called to be like her in the way that we respond to God’s favour of us. We are to surrender our lives to God who has so favoured us, allowing God to work in and through us according to his purpose for our lives. Then, like Mary, we too will give birth to Christ in our lives. We too will be a source of blessing for others.
And/Or
(iii) Feast of the Immaculate Conception of Mary
Children’s games have become a lot more sophisticated in recent years, especially those games that are computer based. A lot of such digital games will be purchased as Christmas presents in the weeks to come. Many of them are very expensive. Yet, there are some games that never seem to go out of fashion with children and have no financial cost attached to them. One such game is that of hide and seek. A child hides somewhere and other children have to find him or her. The thrill of the search and the joy of discovery holds an attraction for children. Perhaps this game has an appeal to children because we are all seekers at heart regardless of our age. Saint Augustine said that our hearts will always be restless until they rest in God. In that sense, all our searching is, ultimately, a search for God.
There are times when we might be tempted to think that God is playing hid and seek with us. We seek God but we struggle to find God. God appears to be in hiding. Many of the psalms in the Jewish Scriptures seem to spring from the experience of God seeming to ‘hide his face’, in the language of the Psalms. The person praying calls out to God to show his face, to make himself known, to stop hiding. When Jesus cried out on the cross in the language of one of the psalms, ‘My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?’, he was asking God, ‘Where are you?’ It is a question that some of us may have addressed to God at some time.
In today’s first reading, however, it is God who asks the question, ‘Where are you?’ It is God who is seeking Adam and Adam who is hiding from God. There is a sense in which the story of Adam and Eve, and it is a story, is the story of every human being. The author was portraying humankind in its relationship with God. We may, at heart, be people who seek God continually. Yet there are times when we hide from God and God becomes the seeker, crying out to us, ‘Where are you?’ In the case of Adam, it was shame and guilt that caused him to hide from God. God had given Adam and Eve all the beauty and goodness of the garden of Eden. There was only one tree in the garden that God had placed out of bounds, the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Yet, the couple could not resist the temptation to eat of this tree, sensing that in eating of its fruit they would become like God. In the immediate aftermath of this act, they hide from God who had given so generously to them. The sense that all is not well in our relationship with God can cause us to hide from God too. We are reluctant to face God. Yet, the first reading suggests that whenever we hide from God out of shame or guilt, God continues to seek us out. God continues to pursue us in his love. God’s question, ‘Where are you?’ springs from a heart of love. Jesus, Mary’s Son, revealed this seeking heart of God to the full. He said of himself that he came to seek out and to save the lost. He wanted to find those who were hiding from God out of fear of God’s displeasure. He wanted to reveal to them God’s faithful and enduring love, and to call them back into a loving relationship with God. There are times in our lives when we simply need to allow ourselves to be found by God. God is always calling on us to step out into the light of God’s love and to open our hearts to God’s light which continues to shine upon us through Jesus, his Son, a light no darkness in our lives can overcome.
Today’s feast celebrates the good news that Mary was always open to the light of God’s love, from the first moment of her conception in the womb of her mother. At no point did Mary ever hide from God, because she had no reason to do so. God never had to address the question to her, ‘Where are you?’ In today’s gospel reading, God seeks out Mary through his messenger, the angel Gabriel. Mary does not hide from God’s messenger. Yes, we are told that she was ‘deeply disturbed’ by Gabriel’s greeting. Yes, her response to Gabriel’s subsequent message was initially a questioning one, ‘How can this come about?’ God’s presence will always be, to some extent, a disturbing experience; it will always leave us with questions. Yet, despite these uncomfortable feelings, Mary stood her ground. She remained open to God’s presence. She surrendered to God’s desire for her life, ‘let what you have said be done to me’, thereby allowing God’s desire for all humanity to come to pass. On this, the feast of the Immaculate Conception, we ask Mary to pray for us sinners now, so that we may be as open and responsive to God’s presence to us and to God’s desire for our lives as she was.
And/Or
(iv) Feast of the Immaculate Conception of Mary
The annunciation of the angel Gabriel to Mary has inspired artists down the centuries, stained glass artists, painters, carvers. Somehow they sensed the significance of this event in God’s dealings with humanity. This was the moment when God needed Mary’s consent to become the mother of his Son. A great deal would depend on how Mary responded to this choice that God was making of her. At that moment, the whole human race desperately needed her to say ‘yes’ to God’s choice and God’s call. The gospel reading speaks of Mary as being ‘deeply disturbed’ by this visitation from God and full of questions, and, yet, in the end she lived up to humanity’s expectations, surrendering wholeheartedly to God’s choice of her. She said ‘Yes’ to God, on all our behalf.
We are celebrating today Mary’s complete responsiveness to God’s call. To say that Mary was immaculately conceived is to say that there was no sin in her life from the first moment of her existence. Her life was one constant ‘Yes’ to God’s choice and call from her conception to her final breath. She allowed herself to be touched by God’s grace in a very complete way. She was ‘full of grace’, full of God. She was a woman of God, and this made her a woman for others. According to the scene that follows today’s gospel reading, she gave herself in love to Elizabeth her older cousin for several months. As a woman of God for others, we see in her the human person we were designed to be. In our second reading, Paul declares that God ‘chose us in Christ to be holy and spotless, and to live through love in his presence’.
The story of Adam and Eve tells a very different story to the story Luke tells in the gospel reading. Adam had said ‘no’ to God’s call, eating of the tree that was out of bounds. The break in his relationship with God led him to hide from God, and God had to cry out after him, ‘Where are you?’ In hiding from God, he also hid from himself. Refusing to take responsibility for his actions, he blamed his wife Eve, ‘it was the woman’, and she in turn blamed the serpent. The story of Adam and Eve is the story of us all. We are all prone to going out own way, turning away from God’s call, hiding from God, and, as a result, losing touch with our true selves and damaging our relationship with others. Yet, when that happens, the Lord continues to call after us in love, ‘Where are you?’ Mary’s adult son declared that he had come to seek out and save the lost, which is all of us.
Today’s feast reminds us that we have someone we can look towards in our efforts to respond to the Lord’s call to us. Mary, the mother of Jesus, is also our mother. She knows the power of sin and what it can do to human lives; she saw what it did to her Son. She surrounds us with her intercessory prayer so that we can become the human person God desires us to be. That is why we can ask her with confidence to pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death.
And/Or
(v) Feast of the Immaculate Conception of Mary
The scene in today’s gospel reading is very beautifully depicted in one of our stained glass windows in the sanctuary and also on the front of the altar below the stained glass. The annunciation of the angel Gabriel to Mary is one of those gospel scenes that has inspired artists down the centuries, such as stained glass artists, painters, carvers. They sensed the significance of this event in God’s dealings with humanity. This was the moment when God needed Mary’s consent to become the mother of his Son. God had chosen Mary for this hugely significant role. A great deal would depend on whether or not Mary consented to the choice that God was making of her. Out of all the women in history, God chose this young teenage woman from a small village Galilee during the reign of the Roman Emperor Augustus. God’s choice of this woman was a wonderful privilege for her but would also make great demands on her. At that moment, the whole human race desperately needed her to say ‘yes’ to God’s choice and God’s call. The gospel reading speaks of Mary as being ‘deeply disturbed’ by this visitation from God and full of questions, and, yet, in the end she lived up to humanity’s expectations. She surrendered wholeheartedly to God’s choice of her, God’s call on her, ‘I am the handmaid of the Lord, let what you have said be done to me’. She said ‘Yes’ to God, on all our behalf, for all our sakes. It was because of her ‘yes’ to God’s desire for her life that we would receive the gift of Jesus from God.
The story in our gospel reading expresses the meaning of today’s feast of Mary’s ‘Immaculate Conception’. We are celebrating today Mary’s total responsiveness to God’s call, her complete openness to God’s will. To say that Mary was immaculately conceived is to say that Mary was untouched by sin. There was no sin in her life from the first moment of her existence. Her life was one constant ‘Yes’ to God’s choice and call, from her conception to her final breath. She allowed herself to be touched by God’s grace in a very complete way. She was ‘full of grace’, full of God. God’s will was done in her, as it is in heaven. She was, truly, a woman of God, and this made her a woman for others. According to Luke’s gospel, after her annunciation, Mary immediately gives herself in love to Elizabeth her older cousin, staying with her for several months. She went on to give herself to Jesus, her son, and she let go of her precious Son so as to give him to us all. After her Son’s death and resurrection, she gave herself in love to his followers, the disciples. She was present with them at Pentecost when the Spirit of the risen Lord, the Holy Spirit, came down upon them. As a woman of God for others, we see in her the human person we are all called to become. In our second reading, Paul declares that God ‘chose us in Christ to be holy and spotless, and to live through love in his presence’. Mary is the person God desires us all to be.
The story of Adam and Eve tells a very different story to the story Luke tells in the gospel reading. Adam had said ‘no’ to God’s choice and call, eating of the tree that was out of bounds. The break in his relationship with God led him to hide from God, and God had to call out after him, ‘Where are you?’ In hiding from God, he also hid from himself. Refusing to take responsibility for his actions, he blamed his wife Eve, ‘it was the woman’; she in turn blamed the serpent, ‘the serpent tempted me’. For the author of the Book of Genesis, the story of Adam and Eve is the story of us all. We are all prone to going out own way, turning away from God’s presence, God’s call, and, then, hiding from God, and, as a result, losing touch with our true selves and damaging our relationship with others. Yet, when that happens, the Lord continues the same question he asked Adam, ‘Where are you?’ The Lord asks this question not in an accusing way but in a loving way. Jesus, Mary’s Son, came to seek out and save the lost, which is all of us. Adam hid from God out of fear, but the Lord in the gospels constantly says to people, ‘Do not be afraid’. As Saint John says in his first letter, perfect love casts out fear.
Today’s feast reminds us that we have someone we can look to and be inspired by in our efforts to respond to the Lord’s choice of us and his call to us, his searching love. Mary, the mother of Jesus, is also our mother. She knows the power of sin and what it can do to human lives; she saw what it did to her Son. She surrounds us with her intercession and prayer so that we too can become the human person God desires us to be. That is why we can ask her with confidence to pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death.
And/Or
(vi) Feast of the Immaculate Conception of Mary
Mary’s freedom from sin was widely proclaimed in the early church. However, the formal declaration of Mary’s freedom from sin was made by Pius IX in 1854 when he declared that Mary ‘from the first moment of her conception was preserved from all stain of sin, by the singular grace and privilege of God and by the merits of Jesus Christ, the Saviour of the world’.
If the essence of sin is turning away from God, today’s feast proclaims that Mary has always been totally turned towards God, completely open to God’s love and to God’s presence. Her openness is captured in her final words in today’s gospel reading, ‘I am the handmaid of the Lord. Let what you have said be done to me’. The greeting of Gabriel to Mary in this morning’s gospel, ‘Hail, full of grace’, captures the meaning of today’s feast. Mary is full of God’s gracious love.
We live in a world where at times sin and evil seem to reign supreme. The first reading presents the human tendency to go against what God asks of us and, then, resulting from that, to hide from God. That portrayal of Adam in the first reading stands in contrast to the portrayal of Mary in the gospel. They are at opposite ends of a spectrum. Most of us find ourselves somewhere in between both. We are aware of our tendency to hide from God and to do our own thing, like Adam. Yet we also sense a call to turn towards God and to open ourselves completely to God’s presence, like Mary. Paul refers to this call in today’s second reading, when he tells us that God has chosen us in Christ to be holy and spotless and to live through love in God’s presence.
Today we celebrate the good news that at least one human being, Mary, has responded fully to that call of God. As we strive to answer that same call, we look to Mary for inspiration and for help. We ask her to pray for us, sinners, now and at the hour of our death, so that the grace and love of God that embraced Mary from the first moment of her existence would also touch our own lives.
While today’s feast celebrates Mary’s unique sinlessness, it does not for a moment suggest that she was any less human than we all are. Her holiness was lived amidst the struggles and sorrows of this world. Her son was a sign of contradiction, a sword pierced her own soul; she often puzzled over the words and actions of her son, and she suffered the unique agony of a parent who sees an offspring die. She knew the darker side of life, and, yet, in the midst of it all she remained completely open to God and to God’s will for her life. Her humanity makes her holiness in some way accessible to us.
What was said to Mary in today’s gospel reading is said to all of us, ‘The Lord is with you’. The Lord is with all of us; he is present to all of us. Mary was completely open to the Lord’s presence to her. Because of her openness, her responsiveness, God’s Son was formed within her. The season of Advent calls on us to be as open to God’s presence as Mary was, so that God’s Son may also be formed in our own lives too. Writing to the Galatians, Paul told them that he was in the pains of childbirth ‘until Christ is formed in you’. This Advent may Christ grow more fully within us, and be formed in us. .
And/Or
(vii) Feast of the Immaculate Conception of Mary
We have some very nice stained glass windows in our church, especially in the sanctuary area here behind me. Various Irish saints are depicted in the stained glass. There is a story told of a teacher who asked the question in class, ‘Who are the saints?’ One of the pupils in the class, thinking of the stained glass images of the saints in her own church, said that the saints were people who let the light in. That is a good way of thinking about the saints - people who let the light of God into the world in a special way. Through them, the light of God’s love shines on others. If the saints are people who let God’s light shine through them, Mary is the person who lets God’s light shine through her more than anyone else does. That is the meaning of today’s feast. We celebrate today the good news that from the beginning of her life there was no darkness in Mary, no sin in her. God’s light filled her life and shone through her from the first moment of her existence.
If the essence of sin is turning away from God, today’s feast proclaims that Mary has always been totally turned towards God, completely open to God’s call and to God’s presence. Her openness to God’s call is captured in her final words in today’s gospel reading, ‘I am the handmaid of the Lord. Let what you have said be done to me’. The greeting of Gabriel to Mary in this morning’s gospel, ‘Hail, full of grace’, captures the meaning of today’s feast. Mary is full of God’s gracious love, full of God’s light.
We live in a world where at times sin and evil seem to reign supreme. The first reading presents Adam going against what God had asked of him and, then, hiding from God out of fear of facing him. That portrayal of Adam in the first reading stands in contrast to the portrayal of Mary in the gospel. They are at opposite ends of a spectrum. Most of us find ourselves somewhere in between both. We are aware of our tendency to do our own thing and to then hide from God, like Adam. Yet we also sense a call to turn towards God and to open ourselves completely to God’s presence, like Mary. Paul refers to this call in today’s second reading, when he tells us that God has chosen us in Christ to be holy and spotless and to live through love in God’s presence.
Today we celebrate the good news that at least one human being, Mary, has responded fully to that call of God. As we strive to answer that same call, we look to Mary for inspiration and for help. As we do in the Hail Mary, we ask her to pray for us, sinners, now and at the hour of our death, so that the grace and love of God that embraced Mary from the first moment of her existence would also touch our own lives.
While today’s feast celebrates Mary’s unique sinlessness, it does not for a moment suggest that she was any less human than we all are. Her holiness was lived amidst the struggles and sorrows of this world. Her son was a sign of contradiction, a sword pierced her own soul; she often puzzled over the words and actions of her son, and she suffered the unique agony of a parent who sees an offspring die tragically at a relatively young age. She knew the darker side of life, and, yet, in the midst of it all she remained completely open to God’s call and to God’s will for her life. She remained full of God’s light in the midst of the trials and struggles of life.
What was said to Mary in today’s gospel reading is said to all of us, ‘The Lord is with you’. The Lord is with all of us; he is present to all of us. Mary was completely open to the Lord’s presence to her. Because of her openness, her responsiveness, God’s Son was formed within her. The season of Advent calls on us to be as open to God’s presence as Mary was, so that God’s Son may also be formed in our own lives, and so that we too can offer God’s Son to the world as she did.
And/Or
(viii) Feast of the Immaculate Conception of Mary
This morning we celebrate the good news that from the beginning of her life there was no darkness in Mary, no sin in her. God’s light filled her life and shone through her from the first moment of her existence. She always did what God wanted; she was full of goodness. If sin is turning away from God, today’s feast celebrates how Mary has always been totally turned towards God, completely open to God’s call and to God’s presence. Her openness to God’s call is shown especially in her final words in today’s gospel reading, ‘I am the handmaid of the Lord. Let what you have said be done to me’. She declares that she lives to serve God, to do whatever God asks. That is why the angel Gabriel greeting her with the words, ‘Hail, full of grace’. Mary is full of God’s gracious love, full of God’s light.
We live in a world where we are very aware of the presence of sin and evil. The first reading presents Adam refusing to do what God had asked of him. That portrayal of Adam in the first reading stands in contrast to the portrayal of Mary in the gospel. They are at opposite ends of a spectrum. Most of us find ourselves somewhere in between both. We know that we sin, we fail to live as God wants us to live. Yet we also sense a call to turn towards God and to open ourselves completely to God’s presence, like Mary; we know that in the words of today’s second reading, God has chosen us in Christ to be holy and spotless and to live through love in God’s presence.
Today we celebrate the good news that at least one human being, Mary, has responded fully to that call of God. As we strive to answer that same call, we look to Mary for inspiration and for help. In the words of the Hail Mary, we ask her to pray for us, sinners, now and at the hour of our death, so that the grace and love of God that embraced Mary from the first moment of her existence would also touch our own lives.
Today’s feast celebrates Mary’s great holiness and goodness. This holiness was lived in the midst of all the struggles and sorrows of this world. Mary was honoured in being the mother of Jesus, yet that very honour brought her a special suffering. She often puzzled over the words and actions of her son, and she suffered the very special agony of a parent who sees her own child, her own flesh and blood, die tragically and painfully in the prime of life. She knew the darker side of life, and, yet, in the midst of it all she remained completely open to God’s call and to God’s will for her life. She remained full of God’s light in the midst of the darkness and struggles of life.
What was said to Mary in today’s gospel reading is said to all of us, ‘The Lord is with you’. The Lord is with all of us; he is present to all of us. Mary was completely open to the Lord’s presence to her. Because of that openness, God’s Son was formed within her. The season of Advent calls on us to be as open as Mary was to the Lord’s presence to us, so that God’s Son may also be formed in our own lives, and so that we too can offer God’s Son to the world as she did.
And/Or
(ix) Feast of the Immaculate Conception of Mary
This morning we celebrate the good news that from the beginning of her life there was no darkness in Mary, no sin in her. The light of God’s grace filled her life and shone through her from the first moment of her existence. She was full of goodness, full of grace in the words of Gabriel’s greeting in today’s gospel reading, from the beginning of her life in the womb. If sin is turning away from God, today’s feast celebrates how Mary has always been totally turned towards God, completely open to God’s call and to God’s presence. Her openness to God’s call is shown especially in her final words in today’s gospel reading, ‘I am the handmaid of the Lord. Let what you have said be done to me’. She not only physically gave birth to Jesus, the Word of God, but she gave birth to the Word in her whole life. She was the perfect representative of the seed that fell on good soil who, in the words of Luke’s gospel, ‘hear the word, hold it fast in an honest and good heart, and bear fruit with patient endurance’. If we speak of the holiness of Mary, that is what her holiness consists in.
We live in a world where we are very aware of the presence of sin and evil. The first reading is part of the story of Adam and Eve given to us in chapters 2 and 3 of the Book of Genesis. In the story God placed Adam in a beautiful garden with all kinds of delights, trees that were pleasant to the sight and good for food. There was only one tree of which God asked Adam not to eat, the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. That was the only tree in the garden that was out of bounds to Adam. Yet, Adam and Eve were tempted to eat from this tree that was out of bounds and they could not resist the temptation. In spite of all the many ways that God had blessed them in the garden, they looked for more, more than they were entitled. Rather than surrendering to God’s word and to God’s desire for their lives they sought to satisfy their own selfish desires. We know that at times we can all be like Adam; we fail to give ourselves over to doing what God asks of us. Yet we also sense a call to turn towards God and to open ourselves more completely to God’s word and God’s will for our lives. In the words of today’s second reading, God has chosen us in Christ to be holy and spotless and to live through love in God’s presence. That vision for human living attracts us and draws us. Deep within us we have this yearning to become the person that God desires us to be and calls us to be.
Today, on this feast of the Immaculate Conception, we celebrate the good news that at least one human being, Mary, has responded fully to God’s call to be holy and to live through live in God’s presence. As we strive to answer that same call, we look to Mary for inspiration and for help. In the words of the Hail Mary, we ask her to pray for us, sinners, now and at the hour of our death, so that the grace and goodness of God that embraced Mary from the first moment of her existence would also touch our own lives. Her story can become our story. In her we see the person we are called to be. She was full of grace and we too have been greatly graced. The Holy Spirit that came upon Mary has come upon us. God now only calls us to a certain way of life but empowers us to live that life through his grace, through his gift of the Holy Spirit. It is the Holy Spirit who enables us to be holy in the way that Mary was. We need to keep praying for a fresh outpouring of the Spirit in our lives, and Advent is a good time to make such a prayer.
Today’s feast celebrates Mary’s great holiness and goodness. This does not in any way make Mary remote from us. Her holiness, he goodness, her complete fidelity to God’s word, was lived out in the midst of all the struggles and sorrows of this world. Because of her special relationship to Jesus, a sword pierced her heart. This morning’s gospel reading portrays her as disturbed by the greeting of Gabriel and full of questions. Yet, in spite of her doubts and question, she acted in response to God’s word. She would often puzzle over the words and actions of her son. She suffered the agony of a parent who sees her own child die tragically and painfully in the prime of life. Mary plumbed the darker depths of human experience, and, yet, in the midst of it all she remained completely open to God’s life-giving word and to God’s presence and call. She remained full of God’s light in the midst of the darkness and struggles of life.
The season of Advent calls on us to be as open as Mary was to the Lord’s presence to us, even in our times of struggle and confusion. If we are, then our lives, like the life of Mary, will be a source of blessing for others.
And/Or
(x) Feast of the Immaculate Conception of Mary
Gerard Manley Hopkins, in his poem, ‘The Blessed Virgin compared to the air we breathe’, concludes with a prayer to Mary, ‘Be thou then, O thou dear Mother, my atmosphere; My happier world, wherein To wend and meet no sin’. Today’s feast celebrates Mary as that happier world wherein we meet no sin. In the Lord’s Prayer we pray ‘Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven’. Mary’s life was a constant ‘yes’ to God’s will. God’s will was done in and through her life on earth, as it is in heaven. God ruled in her life. The fullness of God’s love and grace touched Mary from the first moment of her conception. She was untouched by that sin of Adam referred to at the beginning of today’s first reading. Because Adam rebelled against God’s will for his life, he was uncomfortable in God’s presence. He hid from God and God had to call out to him, ‘Where are you?’ Mary had no reason to hide from God because she was always open to doing God’s will. She lived her life in the light of God’s presence. She was, in that sense, full of God, or in the words of the angel Gabriel ‘full of grace’. It was because Mary was so full of God from the first moment of her conception that she could respond to God’s call to her through the angel Gabriel with the words, ‘Let what you have said be done to me’.
The principal church in our Diocese is in Marlborough Street. We usually call it the Pro-Cathedral. However, its official title is Saint Mary’s (the Immaculate Conception). We don’t often speak of Mary as Saint Mary. We have other ways of referring to her. Yet, today’s feast celebrates Mary’s sainthood, her sanctity, her holiness. We consider her the greatest of all the saints because we believe that she was holy or saintly from the first moment of her conception. In some mysterious way that we do not fully understand, Mary was completely open to God’s love and God’s will from the first moment of her existence in her mother’s womb. We do not make this claim about any other saint in the church. The church has always been careful not to make a kind of goddess out of Mary. She is simply the greatest of the saints. This belief in Mary’s holiness or sinlessness from her conception in her mother’s womb has ancient roots in the church, even though it was not officially proclaimed by the church until 1854 when on the 8th of December Pope Pius IX promulgated the doctrine of the Immaculate Conception.
No more than any of the other saints, Mary was not removed from the struggles and sufferings of the human condition. Something of her struggle comes through in today’s gospel reading She was initially deeply disturbed by the words of the angel Gabriel. She was full of questions in response to Gabriel’s good news, ‘How can this come about, since I am a virgin?’ Luke goes on to tell us in his gospel that Simeon announced to her that a sword would pierce her soul. Luke also tells us that when she and Joseph found their son in the Temple after much searching they did not understand what he said to them. The evangelist Mark has Mary coming with other members of her extended family to take Jesus back home, away from his ministry, because people were saying that he is out of his mind. The evangelist John has Mary standing at the foot of the cross with some other women and the beloved disciples, suffering the agony of watching her only Son die a slow and painful death. There is a very human picture of Mary in the gospels. It was in the midst of all the struggles and pains of life that she lived out her ‘yes’ to God’s will for her life.
Mary’s holiness from her conception does not remove her from us. She is our companion on our pilgrim journey. She is given to us as a perpetual help. That is why we ask her to pray for us ‘sinners’ now and at the hour of our death. We may be sinners but Paul reminds us in the second reading that before the world was made God ‘chose us in Christ to be holy and spotless and to live through love in his presence’. Paul spells out there our calling from the beginning of time, a calling that is worthy of our identity as people made in the image of God. Mary has lived that calling to the full; she was holy and lived through love in God’s presence. We look to her to help us to live out that same calling. In the words of the Preface of today’s Mass, she is an advocate of grace for God’s people, for all of us. She prays for us for the grace we need to be as generous as she was in responding to God’s purpose for our lives.
Fr. Martin Hogan.
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Saints&Reading: Monday, April 8, 2024
march 26_April 8
Synaxis of the Archangel Gabriel
Troparion
Gabriel, commander of the heavenly hosts, / we who are unworthy beseech you, / by your prayers encompass us beneath the wings of your immaterial glory, / and faithfully preserve us who fall down and cry to you: / “Deliver us from all harm, for you are the commander of the powers on high!”
The Lord chose the Archangel Gabriel to announce to the Virgin Mary the Incarnation of the Son of God from Her to the great rejoicing of all mankind. Therefore, on the day after the Feast of the Annunciation, the day the All-Pure Virgin is glorified, we give thanks to the Lord and venerate His messenger Gabriel, who contributed to the mystery of our salvation.
Gabriel, the holy Archistrategos (Leader of the Heavenly Hosts), is a faithful servant of the Almighty God. He announced the future Incarnation of the Son of God to those of the Old Testament; he inspired the Prophet Moses to write the Pentateuch (first five books of the Old Testament), he announced the coming tribulations of the Chosen People to the Prophet Daniel (Dan. 8:16, 9:21-24); he appeared to Saint Anna (July 25) with the news that she would give birth to the Virgin Mary.
The holy Archangel Gabriel remained with the Holy Virgin Mary when She was a child in the Temple of Jerusalem, and watched over Her throughout Her earthly life. He appeared to the Priest Zachariah, foretelling the birth of the Forerunner of the Lord, Saint John the Baptist.
The Lord sent him to Saint Joseph the Betrothed in a dream, to reveal to him the mystery of the Incarnation of the Son of God from the All-Pure Virgin Mary, and warned him of the wicked intentions of Herod, ordering him to flee into Egypt with the divine Infant and His Mother.
When the Lord prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane before His Passion, the Archangel Gabriel, whose very name signifies “Man of God” (Luke. 22:43), was sent from Heaven to strengthen Him.
The Myrrh-Bearing Women heard from the Archangel the joyous news of Christ’s Resurrection (Mt.28:1-7, Mark 16:1-8).
Mindful of the holy Archangel Gabriel's manifold appearances and his zealous fulfillment of God’s will and confessing his intercession for Christians before the Lord, the Orthodox Church calls upon its children to pray to the great Archangel with faith and love.
The Synaxis of the Holy Archangel Gabriel is also celebrated on July 13. All the angels are commemorated on November 8.
VENERABLE MALCUS OF CHALCIS , MONK IN SYRIA (4th c.)
The Life of Saint Malchus, the Captive Monk, was written by St. Jerome in his monastery in Bethlehem. The composition is original in that St. Jerome reports the solitary man telling his own life story to him.
I was an only child and tenant of a small farm at Nisibis. When my parents were coercing me to marry because I was the last descendant of the family and their sole heir, I told them that I preferred to be a monk. With what threats my father assailed me, with what coaxing my mother pursued me to betray my chastity, you can judge by the fact that I left both home and my parents.
In Bethlehem, St. Jerome writes the story Malchus told him since I could not go to the East because of the proximity of Persia and the Roman guard, I turned to the West, taking very few provisions, merely enough to keep me alive. To be brief, I finally reached the desert of Chalcis. There, having found a community of monks, I placed myself under their guidance, earning my living by the toil of my hands and curbing the lust of the flesh with fasting.
After many years, the thought occurred to me that I should return to my native land while my mother was still alive (I had heard of my father’s death) to comfort her in her widowhood. After her death, I could sell our possessions, give part of the proceeds to the poor, erect a monastery with another part, and (why should I blush to confess my infidelity) reserve the rest to take care of my own needs.
My Abbot protested that my desire to return home was a temptation from the Devil and that under a virtuous pretext lay concealed the snares of our ancient enemy; in other words, the dog was returning to its vomit.
Many monks, he said, had been deceived in this way, for the Devil never comes without disguises. When persuasion failed, he begged me on his knees not to desert him, not to ruin myself, not to look back having put my hand to the plough.
Alas, miserable creature that I am, I did not relent. He escorted me from the monastery as if he were attending a corpse in a funeral procession. Bidding me a last farewell, he said: “I see, my son, that you are marked by the brand of Satan. I do not seek the causes nor do I accept excuses. The sheep that leaves the sheepfold straightway exposes itself to the teeth of the wolf.”
I decided to travel in company to decrease the danger of surprise attack by nomad Saracens, always wandering back and forth on the road. There were about 70 in my company, men women and children. Suddenly, Ishmaelites, riding upon horses and camels, descended upon us in a startling attack. We were seized, scattered and carried off in different directions. A woman of the company and I fell by lot into the hands of the same master.
The slave Malchus is content tending sheep in solitude and prayerWe were lifted up onto camels and traveled through the vast desert until we arrived at its heart, where the master’s household was. There I was assigned the task of pasturing the sheep and, in contrast to the evils I might have been subjected to, I enjoyed the comfort of rarely seeing my master and fellow slaves.
Alone in the desert, I lived on cheese and milk; I prayed continually; I sang the psalms I had learned in the monastery. In fact, I was delighted with my captivity and I thanked God for his judgment, for the monk whom I had nearly lost in my own country I had found again in the desert.
But nothing is ever safe from the Devil. How multiple and unspeakable are his deceits. My master, seeing his herd increase and finding in me nothing of fraud – for I obeyed the Apostle’s injunction that masters were to be served as faithfully as God himself – desired to reward me to better insure my fidelity. So he offered me in marriage the woman slave who had been taken captive with me.
When I refused and said that I was a Christian and it was not lawful for me to have for wife one whose husband was living (her husband had been captured with us and carried off by another master), my implacable master was seized with fury. Drawing his sword he started to attack me. If I had not made haste to throw my arm about the woman, he would have shed my blood then and there.
All too soon for me, night came on, darker than usual. I led my new bride into a ruined cave nearby. Realizing the full force of my captivity and, throwing myself down on the ground, I began to lament and sob for the monk I was on the point of losing. “Of what avail to have renounced parents, country, property for the Lord, if I now do the very thing that I would not do when I renounced them. What shall I do, my soul, perish or conquer?”
Prepared to turn the blade of my sword against myself rather than suffer the death of the soul, I told the woman, “Farewell, unhappy woman. I am yours to have as a martyr rather than a husband.”
Then to my surprise, the woman threw herself at my feet and beseeched me not shed my blood, for she said, even if her husband would return to her, she would preserve the chastity that captivity had taught her and would rather die than lose it.
“Take me, therefore, as a spouse in chastity,” she said, “and love the bond of the soul rather than that of the body. Let our master believe you a husband; Christ will know the brother.”
I confess that I was amazed and, admiring the virtue of that woman, I loved her more than if she were my spouse. Never, however, did I look upon her nude body; never did I touch her flesh, fearing to lose in peace what I had preserved in conflict.
Many days passed in wedlock of this kind. Our marriage rendered us more pleasing to our master; there was no suspicion of flight. Sometimes I was absent for a whole month, all alone, the trusted shepherd of the flock...to be continued
ISAIAH 14:24-32
24 The Lord of hosts has sworn, saying, “Surely, as I have thought, so it shall come to pass, And as I have purposed, so it shall stand: 25 That I will break the Assyrian in My land, And on My mountains tread him underfoot. Then his yoke shall be removed from them, And his burden removed from their shoulders. 26 This is the purpose that is purposed against the whole earth, And this is the hand that is stretched out over all the nations. 27 For the Lord of hosts has purposed, And who will annul it? His hand is stretched out, And who will turn it back?” 28 This is the burden that came in the year that King Ahaz died. 29 “Do not rejoice, all you of Philistia, Because the rod that struck you is broken; For out of the serpent’s roots will come forth a viper, And its offspring will be a fiery flying serpent. 30 The firstborn of the poor will feed, And the needy will lie down in safety; I will kill your roots with famine, And it will slay your remnant. 31 Wail, O gate! Cry, O city! All you of Philistia are dissolved; For smoke will come from the north, And no one will be alone in his appointed times.” 32 What will they answer the messengers of the nation? That the Lord has founded Zion, And the poor of His people shall take refuge in it.
GENESIS 8:21-9:7
21 And the Lord smelled a soothing aroma. Then the Lord said in His heart, “I will never again curse the ground for man’s sake, although the imagination of man’s heart is evil from his youth; nor will I again destroy every living thing as I have done. 22 “While the earth remains, Seedtime and harvest, Cold and heat, Winter and summer, And day and night Shall not cease.”
1 So God blessed Noah and his sons, and said to them: “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth. 2 “And the fear of you and the dread of you shall be on every beast of the earth, on every bird of the air, on all that move on the earth, and on all the fish of the sea. They are given into your hand. 3 “Every moving thing that lives shall be food for you. I have given you all things, even as the green herbs. 4 “But you shall not eat flesh with its life, that is, its blood. 5 “Surely for your lifeblood I will demand a reckoning; from the hand of every beast I will require it, and from the hand of man. From the hand of every man’s brother I will require man's life. 6 “Whoever sheds man’s blood, By man his blood shall be shed; For in the image of God He made man. 7 And as for you, be fruitful and multiply; Bring forth abundantly in the earth And multiply in it.”
#orthodoxy#orthodoxchristianity#easternorthodoxchurch#originofchristianity#spirituality#holyscriptures#bible#wisdom#saints
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Synaxis of the Archangel Gabriel
Commemorated on March 26
Gabriel, commander of the heavenly hosts, we who are unworthy beseech you, by your prayers encompass us beneath the wings of your immaterial glory, and faithfully preserve us who fall down and cry to you: “Deliver us from all harm, for you are the commander of the powers on high!”
The Archangel Gabriel was chosen by the Lord to announce to the Virgin Mary about the Incarnation of the Son of God from Her, to the great rejoicing of all mankind. Therefore, on the day after the Feast of the Annunciation, the day on which the All-Pure Virgin is glorified, we give thanks to the Lord and we venerate His messenger Gabriel, who contributed to the mystery of our salvation.
Gabriel, the holy Archistrategos (Leader of the Heavenly Hosts), is a faithful servant of the Almighty God. He announced the future Incarnation of the Son of God to those of the Old Testament; he inspired the Prophet Moses to write the Pentateuch (first five books of the Old Testament), he announced the coming tribulations of the Chosen People to the Prophet Daniel (Dan. 8:16, 9:21-24); he appeared to Saint Anna (July 25) with the news that she would give birth to the Virgin Mary.
The holy Archangel Gabriel remained with the Holy Virgin Mary when She was a child in the Temple of Jerusalem, and watched over Her throughout Her earthly life. He appeared to the Priest Zachariah, foretelling the birth of the Forerunner of the Lord, Saint John the Baptist.
The Lord sent him to Saint Joseph the Betrothed in a dream, to reveal to him the mystery of the Incarnation of the Son of God from the All-Pure Virgin Mary, and warned him of the wicked intentions of Herod, ordering him to flee into Egypt with the divine Infant and His Mother.
When the Lord prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane before His Passion, the Archangel Gabriel, whose very name signifies “Man of God” (Luke. 22:43), was sent from Heaven to strengthen Him.
The Myrrh-Bearing Women heard from the Archangel the joyous news of Christ’s Resurrection (Mt.28:1-7, Mark 16:1-8).
Mindful of the manifold appearances of the holy Archangel Gabriel and of his zealous fulfilling of God’s will, and confessing his intercession for Christians before the Lord, the Orthodox Church calls upon its children to pray to the great Archangel with faith and love.
The Synaxis of the Holy Archangel Gabriel is also celebrated on July 13. All the angels are commemorated on November 8.
[Text from OCA]
Supreme commander Gabriel, you are the glorious intercessor and servant before the all-radiant, worthy, all-powerful, infinite and awesome Trinity. Ever pray now that we may be delivered from all tribulations and torments, so that we may cry out to you: “Rejoice, protection of your servants!”
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Title: The Virgin from The Virgin and Child with Saint John and an Angel
Artist: Sandro Botticelli
Date: 1490
Style: Renaissance
Genre: Religious Painting
#art#art history#painting#renaissance#religious#history of art#artist#arthistory#artwork#artgallery#paintings
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St. Elizabeth of the Visitation
Saint of the Day
St. Elizabeth of the Visitation (1st c.) was the wife of Zachary, a temple priest, and the cousin and close companion of the Blessed Virgin Mary. She is the one whom Our Lady visited in haste after the Annunciation. The Angel Gabriel had told Mary that Elizabeth was expecting a miraculous child in her old age. Upon hearing Mary's voice, who was then carrying the Son of God in her womb, Elizabeth's unborn child leaped in her womb by the power of the Holy Spirit. It was with Elizabeth that Mary first shared the joy of the Incarnation of Jesus Christ. St. Elizabeth gave birth to St. John the Baptist, the prophet who prepared the way for Jesus' ministry. St. Elizabeth is described in the Gospel of Luke as “righteous in the eyes of God, observing all the commandments of the Lord blamelessly.” St. Elizabeth shares a feast day with her husband, Zachary, on November 5th.
#allsoulspriory#frjohnkelmy#paxabbey#thefellowshipcorner#christsapostoliccatholicchurch#saintoftheday
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P.3. AND SO HE GETS TO DIE A SAINT
Catholicism always was a part of MCR. “I was raised Catholic, which turned me off from religion because I had a very bad experience”, as Gerard once said. But we can still see a lot of religious things through the years and even now in the new era.
Let’s start with angels that have been mentioned earlier. The first angel we saw was the one at the Shrine show and also we had them in tour promo materials.
The total number of these angels is at least 7 (including the broken ones in promo videos). So here’s some thoughts.
The Book of Revelations in the Bible is especially important in general because it focuses on the idea of the Apocalypse, linking together the themes of catholicism and the apocalyptic one.
Let’s consider some key elements of the Book of Revelation that can be linked to the mcr tour:
· The important number in the BoR is seven (this book begins with the prophet John addressing the book to the Seven Churches of Asia, mentions a seven-headed dragon, seven seals that need to be opened, seven angelic trumpets, seven Spiritual Figures, seven bowls poured onto Earth) à it can be linked to the 7 statues of angels we can find in MCR merch, posters and other promotional items.
· In Chapter 4 of Revelation the Four living creatures (Angels) are described. Couldn’t it be the potential link to four members of the band?
· Seven seals:
o 1st – 4th seals: it brings Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse down on Earth:
1st – on a white horse, carries a bow and a crown – Conquest, ivoking Pestilence (plague from Foundations lyrics, pandemic)
2nd – on a red horse, carries a sword – War
3rd – on a black horse, carries the scales – Famine
4th – on a pale horse – Death (Foundations lyrics again)
o 5th seal : “when he had opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of them that were slain for the word of God […] How long dost thou not judge and avenge our blood?” (Foundations lyrics: You must fix your heart and you must build an altar where it swells)
o 6th seal: the sixth seal will be the literal cosmic disturbances caused by nuclear war or a global earthquake that causes volcanic debris to pollute the atmosphere, which turns the moon blood red and the sun dark – link to A
o 7th seal: the final judgement which will determine who is worthy of Heaven and who isn’t (Foundations lyrics: and so he gets to die a saint but she will always be a whore)
· In Chapter 12 of Revelations there is a War in Heaven – led by Archangel Michael against the serpent/Satan
o The image of the Woman of the Apocalypse (who gives birth to a child who the dragon = Satan wants to kill) is important in this interpretation.
o The Woman of the Apocalypse can also be translated as The Woman Clothed With the Sun and is considered to be Virgin Mary (C).
o One of the best-known paintings of this woman is William’s Blake “The Great Red Dragon and the Woman Clothed with the Sun”:
This creature ow William Blake is very similar to the monster appeared in Watchmen comic (where Blake’s quote from Tyger poem appears too) :
William Blake is the painter & author, who links The Watchmen war & the Catholicism themes.
· In Chapter 15: John writes of seven angels with seven plagues, the last plagues ever to occur. He states that until the plagues are complete no one can enter the Temple of God (plagues à link to Foundations lyrics)
· The seven bowls judgement in Chapter 16 are plagues brought on Earth, punishing those who went against God:
o Noisome and grievous sores (“scabs” t-shirt from Sacramento AFTERSHOCK festival)
o Sea turns to blood (blood, everywhere is blood when it comes to MCR :))
o Rivers & Springs turn to blood
o A major heatwave causes the Sun to burn with intense heat and to scorch people with fire: burning man from the merch truck as well as Foundations lyrics (Will you welcome your extinction in the morning rays)
o The kingdom of the beast is plunged into darkness
o The Euphrates River dries up to facilitate the crossing of the armies from the east, on their way to Israel for the battle of Armageddon - war reference
o Earthquakes & hailstones: link to the apocalypse again
· Chapter 17 – the Whore of Babylon is introduced (but she will always be a whore lyrics). She is described as the "Mother of Harlots" and is drunk with the blood of the saints - link to he gets to die a saint lyrics and to Vampires (blood drinking).
Another link to catholicism is Gerard praying before various songs. He says the Lord’s Prayer during shows: “Our Father, Who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name...”
There is also a religious reference in the Offering video: the cross the character is wearing on their back is the same cross worn by Templars during crusades (that links to the Foundations lyrics: and as you stumble through your last crusade)
Another cross, used during Crusades time, is the Jerusalem cross which is meant to represent either:
· Five wounds of Christ
· Christ and the four evangelists (number 4 again – as the number of members of the band)
· Christ and the four quarters of the world
The cross bears a striking resemblence to the MCRX logo:
And to add some fun here.
To follow with the Jerusalem cross, the symbol very similar to it is the Alchemy sign which means Vinegar, linking the cross to the t-shirt from MK3:
Gerard’s vinegar shirt was paired with Frank’s shirt “Piss”. The expression “piss and vinegar” means aggressive energy.
So, the conclusion #2: we have connections to the religious side of the MCR, the otherworldy things and some connections to crusaders times where plague (”we are all plagued”) was very common.
PS: just for funsies, we could also consider the movie Priest (2011) and the manhwa (Korean comic) of the same title to play a part in this. There were no direct references to the movie during the tour, other than that the cross the main character of the movie has tattooed on his forehead resembles the Living With Ghosts logo, but as I (Cathy) watched the movie, I couldn’t help noticing some very strange and very obvious connections.
So:
o Priest tells the story of humanity's battle against 12 fallen angels - connection to the tour posters (angels again) + reference to catholicism
o The plot says about a Holy Knight named Vascar De Gullion who 'loses faith' and wanders the earth in a 'blood rage.' - references to both vampires and catholicism
o The comic mentions order of St. Vertinez – their real name is Michael’s Sword (references to catholicism) and consists of four members (number of MCR members).
o One of the priests of the Michael’s Sword Order first appears praying at a ruined shrine (the 2019 reunion concert took place at the Shrine)
o Priest named Anthony loses his hand and replaces is with a hook (possible connection to Frank’s injury? that is a stretch but hey, we’re just having fun here)
o It is important to notice that both the manhwa and the movie join all themes of the concept together - vampires, priests (Catholic references to prayers, God etc.), the war (between vampires and humans, mentioned at the very beginning of the movie) and the apocalypse (after the war).
The universe of the movie strongly resembles Danger Days universe – there is a main Company (Church) that commands a City and expects perfect obedience from its citizens. Everything outside the City is called Wastelands and everyone living there is considered by the Church to be a disease ridden vermin. The movie mentions the War that caused the Apocalypse - a war between humans and vampires.
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