Many years before Our Lady revealed herself as the Immaculate Conception to St. Bernadette in 1858, artists strove to convey her privileges visually to the faithful. Art Historian, Elizabeth Lev explores some of the artistic devices employed to illustrate Mary’s mysterious glories.

Artists of the Counter-Reformation bring home the Church’s complex and difficult teachings on the Virgin Mary.

Source: Depicting the Virgin Mary during the Counter-Reformation–Aleteia

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(Image courtesy of ANDREW MURRAY)

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(Featured Image and Scene-titles taken from The Shrine of Fatima’s official webpage)

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“All the greatness of the Blessed Virgin was accomplished by the humility of her most holy Heart. From the first to the last moment of her life, her humility never ceased to invoke and draw upon her grace after grace, perfection after perfection, holiness upon holiness, until it brought her to the summit of the grace and holiness that, next to that of Christ, ever was or shall be greatest among men. As St. Bernard puts it: “It was just that she who considered herself the least of creatures, even though she was above all others, should have been honored as the worthiest and holiest of all.” Would you observe the admirable effects of such prodigious humility in the Heart of the Queen of the humble? Consider Mary throughout the course of her life, and you will see that, just as the life of Jesus was a constant exercise of humility, so the life of His Blessed Mother constituted a perpetual practice of the same virtue.”  (The Admirable Heart of Mary by St. John Eudes )

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“How noble did Mary appear in the heaven of the Divine Plan! A great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun. No more brilliant or splendid figure can be created by the mind of mortal man. Mary was not merely predestined for grace and glory with the holy angels and the elect of God and chosen for the greatest measure of grace and glory after Christ. She was also selected to fill the role of Mother of God, for she indeed is the Godbearer, the truly natural Mother of the Only-Begotten Son of God. She was the predestined Mother of Christ, having been predestined before all creatures, together with Christ, the firstborn of every creature. For Christ had been predestined to be the Son of Mary, just as Mary had been predestined to be the Mother of Christ. The light of the sun reflects the dignity of motherhood, which God had ordained for her. With a radiance surpassing that of the moon, her position above the moon signifies the excellence of her grace. The crown of stars bespeaks the dignity of her special glory. For to these three things had Mary been predestined: motherhood, grace, and glory. What a truly noble act of predestination, a selection so unique and ineffable that words cannot express it aptly!”

St Lawrence of Brindisi

(Taken from CatholicCulture.org)

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A tour of the architecture of the Cathedral of Notre Dame of Chartres, France an early example of the Gothic style and the religious significance of many details.

Chartres Cathedral (Notre Dame de Chartres), c.1145 and 1194 – c. 1230

0 – 9:17 West Façade and Royal Portal
9:17 – 16:44 Interior, Flying Buttresses, and Stained Glass
16:44 – 18:55 South Porch and Saint Theodore

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“A chapel in the city of Viacha, in the province of Ingavi, Bolivia, is responsible for housing the Virgin of the Litanies. This is quite a special image — not only because visiting it involves a trip to a city 4,200 meters above sea level, but also because the image itself is only 4.7 cm tall, making it a contender for the smallest image of the Virgin Mary in the world…”

Read More: The world’s smallest image of the Virgin Mary: Our Lady behind a magnifying glass

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Iraqi refugee Mothana Butres of Zahle, Lebanon, works on an icon in this undated photo. CNS photo/courtesy of Mothana Butres

When Islamic State fighters overran Qaraqosh, Iraq, in the summer of 2014, Mothana Butres was able to grab only a single volume from his father’s collection of thousands of Syriac books and manuscripts. The handwritten, 600-year-old book of Syriac hymns now inspires much of Butres’ work as an iconographer…

Source: Iraqi iconographer honors his Syriac roots – TheCatholicSpirit.com : TheCatholicSpirit.com

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