I was sitting at my desk when someone said, “You’re surrounded!” Sure enough, there, on three walls in my office, was Our Lady of Perpetual Help, only one image of which I had personally placed there. As she does so often in my life, she was present without me even realizing. The original image can be found in Saint Alphonsus Church in Rome, and can be traced back to 1495, though there is a tradition that holds Saint Luke the Evangelist originally painted it. As an icon it is considered a window into Heaven by the Eastern Church. Celebrating her Feast Day today, let us contemplate the meaning behind this famous image.
What draws us in first is Our Lady’s expression. Sad? Serious? Solemnly she looks directly at the viewer, perhaps in dialogue with us. The child Jesus, however, looks towards the side over His shoulder, and on further inspection, we see his gaze on the angel. We know from the Greek letters that it is Saint Michael and Saint Gabriel that flank Our Lady and Jesus and hold the instruments of the Passion: Gabriel to remind us of the Annunciation and Incarnation, and Michael to remind us of our angelic helpers. It’s interesting to note that the angels are holding the instruments as if they are presenting them, almost like a gift or a trophy. We don’t typically think of our sufferings as gifts when we are in the midst of them, but when we are able to look back on them through the eyes of faith, we can see the triumph of the Cross in our own crosses. Our Lady and Jesus wear crowns, signifying their own triumph over the Cross. Mary is Queen and Christ reigns as King, and we are theirs.
Jesus, in an almost startled response to the instruments of His Passion, clings to His mother’s hands, so eager for her comfort and care that He has lost His shoe. Another interpretation of the shoes is that one is bound closely to His foot, representing His Divinity, while the other hangs loosely, representing His Humanity. For me, it is a reminder of Our Lady’s care for every aspect of our life. Whether great or humble, day-to-day, or once in a lifetime, Our Lady is present to it. I can be like Jesus and run to Mary for anything, great or small. Our Lady herself wears red, the color worn by virgins, and blue, the color worn by mothers in the time of Christ. Our Lady knows how to navigate the complex mysteries and paradoxes of our own lives.
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Mary’s hands are the midpoint of the icon. Even the slant of her hands tell us something—they are pointing to her Son, our Redeemer. She gazes at us and points to her Son—emphasizing her role as Mediator between us and Jesus. This is not a diplomatic mediation because both parties can’t get along, but rather a maternal mediation. She takes us and presents us to her Son.
As the Council Fathers of Vatican II stated, “This maternity of Mary in the order of grace began with the consent which she gave in faith at the Annunciation and which she sustained without wavering beneath the cross, and lasts until the eternal fulfillment of all the elect. Taken up to heaven she did not lay aside this salvific duty, but by her constant intercession continued to bring us the gifts of eternal salvation. By her maternal charity, she cares for the brethren of her Son, who still journey on earth surrounded by dangers and difficulties, until they are led into the happiness of their true home” (Lumen Gentium, 62).
Jesus clings to His mother’s hands as He looks at the instruments of His Passion. He reminds us to cling to Mary when we face our own crosses. She too is eager to hold us, carry us, guide us. She accompanies us on the journey. As she does physically in my office, Our Lady is eager to surround us with her care.
Sr. Mary Claire of the Holy Family is a member of the Society of Our Lady of the Most Holy Trinity (SOLT) and currently serves in Corpus Christi, TX. She loves Jesus and Mary, and her students would say every Saint is her favorite. She graduated with a degree in elementary education and is currently working on a Masters in Theology from her Alma Mater, Franciscan University. A Tennessee girl who could live off Dr. Pepper and popcorn, she loves road trips, especially this one we are on to Heaven.
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