Dear Good Samaritans,

On Sunday we are going to celebrate the Feast of Mary, the Mother of God. In our Episcopal calendar her feast day falls today, August 15th. But, she is so important to the story of our salvation through Jesus Christ that we are transferring her feast to Sunday so that many more of us can celebrate it. Many years ago now National Geographic ran a cover story with the title: How the Virgin Mary Became the World’s Most Powerful Woman. Christmas carols paint her as ‘meek’ and ‘mild.’ But, she has had such an impact on the world that corrupt regimes have been toppled because of her inspiration, her Magnificat, her song that we hear in the Gospel of Luke, has been banned for giving dignity to the marginalized and proclaiming God’s love and care to those society thinks are lowly. She hardly speaks in the New Testament, but when she does it is with authority and love.

We do not worship Mary. As a matter of point even denominations most devoted to her do not worship her. But, she stands as a testament to the love of God made manifest in Jesus. Without Mary, there would be no Jesus. Plain and simple. And, as the person who was the most connected—literally through their very bodies—but also with him as a steadfast disciple, Mary has much to teach us about faith, love, and care. And she does it all, with her life and her words, by pointing us to Jesus, who is our redeemer and hers.

Gratia Plena by Steven Heilmer

To get our minds thinking about this incredible person, this powerful woman, who is ever guiding us to Jesus, I want to share with you two of, at least in my opinion, the most moving depictions of Mary that I have ever encountered.

The first is only a short drive away. In the Chapel of St. Ignatius at Seattle University there is a statue of the Virgin Mary (Gratia Plena by Steven Heilmer). Atop the statue is a golden bowl filled with milk spilling over the background of the rough-hewn marble. Careening down the front of the sculpture appears to be milk, liquid and flowing. But the more you look at what amounts to spilt milk, something else emerges. The milk is not haphazardly spilled but outlines a woman and her robes, almost as if she is being created by the milk or coming out of it. The bowl at the top, abundantly filled with milk, doubles as a halo for the Mother of God.

Mother and Child: Hood by Henry Moore

The second is much farther away. Nestled into the Minor Canons’ Aisle at St. Paul’s Cathedral in London is another sculpture of Mary (Mother and Child: Hood by Henry Moore). This version is more instantly recognizable. It is easy to see, even though it is a bit abstract, the shape of a woman holding a child, Mary holding the baby Jesus. However, that’s not all. People are invited to walk around the sculpture. It is almost alive as it transforms before your eyes. As you take in the sculpture from all sides something else comes into focus. This statue of Mary shows the progression from conception, to gestation, to parenting; or as the artist calls it, the three stages of motherhood.

In both pieces the simple and the mundane things in life—rock, milk, parenting—things that we so often can take for granted, are changed before our very eyes into the extraordinary. Happy Feast of Mary, the Mother of God. May we appreciate this simple peasant girl from Nazareth and see with holy eyes, in her, the bearer of God into the world, his most devout disciple, and perhaps the most powerful woman in the world.

Peace,

Fr. Chris