OUR MOTHER IN THE NEW YEAR

 

 

 

Why do we celebrate the feast of MARY THE MOTHER OF GOD on New year's day?

In his Apostolic Letter, Marialis Cultus, Pope St. Paul VI explained: “This celebration, placed on January 1 …is meant to commemorate the part played by Mary in this mystery of salvation. It is meant also to exalt the singular dignity which this mystery brings to the “holy Mother…through whom we were found worthy to receive the Author of life.” It is likewise a fitting occasion for renewing adoration of the newborn Prince of Peace, for listening once more to the glad tidings of the angels (cf. Lk. 2:14), and for imploring from God, through the Queen of Peace, the supreme gift of peace.”

                                                Icon-Lyuba Yatskiv- Ukraine

As we enter the new year, we ask the MOTHER OF GOD (and our Mother) to bless us through the gift of her Son, Jesus, who  guides us along the narrow path to the heavenly homeland.

HOLY FAMILY

 

Pope St. John Paul II writes:

For every believer, and especially for Christian families, the humble dwelling place in Nazareth is an authentic school of the Gospel. Here we admire, put into practice, the divine plan to make the family an intimate community of life and love; here we learn that every Christian family is called to be a small “domestic church” that must shine with the Gospel virtues. Recollection and prayer, mutual understanding and respect, personal discipline and community asceticism and a spirit of sacrifice, work and solidarity are typical features that make the family of Nazareth a model for every home.

Prayer to the Holy Family:

Jesus, Mary and Joseph,
in you we contemplate
the splendor of true love; to you we turn with trust.
Holy Family of Nazareth,
grant that our families too
may be places of communion and prayer, authentic schools of the Gospel
and small domestic churches.
Holy Family of Nazareth,
may families never again experience violence, rejection and division;
may all who have been hurt or scandalized find ready comfort and healing.
Holy Family of Nazareth,
make us once more mindful
of the sacredness and inviolability of the family, and its beauty in God’s plan.
Jesus, Mary and Joseph, Graciously hear our prayer.
Amen.     (Pope Francis, Amoris Laetitia, 325)

Both icons are by Kateryna Shadrina a Ukrainian contemporary artist. In addition to painting, she creates graphics and bas-reliefs. Her works are in private collections in Ukraine, Russia, France, Italy, Australia, Canada, USA and the Netherlands.

 "I came to icon painting consciously. The impetus for this was the theoretical basis. I wanted to make art that makes sense, and the language of icon painting is meaningful and comprehensive. Some say that the icon is a spatial boundary between the visible and invisible world - in that case, the study of sacred art is not just exciting but also responsible."

HOLY INNOCENTS TODAY

 

Today is the FEAST of the HOLY INNOCENTS- when the baby boys living at the time of Jesus’ birth were all slaughtered due to the raging jealousy of the mad King Herod. It is also when Joseph flees with Mary and the Child into Egypt to escape this misery.  Today we remember the many women and children who must flee the angry, insane leaders of corrupt governments throughout the world.

This striking icon by the Ukrainian artist Lubya Yatskiv graphically expresses this feast  with Rachel crying over her dead, as well as the Holy Family in flight.  We pray for innocents past and present!

HE IS BORN UNTO US

 

This colorful and unusual painting is by YULIA CHAIKA, a visual artist born and raised in Kyiv, Ukraine. Since the quarantine due to the covid 19 she has lived in Spain.

She works with various types of art such as painting, illustration, icon painting, digital art, jewelry, and leatherworking. In her art work, she seeks inspiration in nature, mythology, and literature, as well as everyday objects. 

Having received an academic education at the Boychuk Kyiv Academy of Decorative and Applied Arts, the artist devoted most of her career to creating jewelry and icon painting, but after moving to Spain in 2020, she  focuses on painting.

 

CHRISTMAS BLESSINGS- EVEN IN WAR

 

I love this painting by the Ukrainian artist OSTAP LOZYNSKY, who died January 6, 2022 at the age of 38. He would have known of the beginning days of the invasion in his country, and I wonder if this icon portrays some of the anguish his people must have known that Christmas.  The very worried looking (and perhaps exhausted) Mary gives an indication of what lies ahead for her family. The Christ Child and His father look as if they are falling asleep- mirroring each other in their pose.  However one interprets this lovely piece, it is a reminder to us all, that we need to pray for peace throughout our world, be it Ukraine, the Middle East, Sudan, Nigeria, or Haiti.

Christmas  Blessings  to  All.

GOD WITH US- EMMANUEL

 

 

O EMMANUEL

                                                           Anna Kolisnyk- Ukraine

Latin: O Emmanuel, Rex et legifer noster, exspectatio Gentium, et Salvator earum: veni ad salvandum nos, Domine, Deus noster.

English: O Emmanuel, our king and our lawgiver, the hope of the nations and their Savior: Come and save us, O Lord our God.

KING OF NATIONS

 

O REX GENTIUM

Latin: O Rex Gentium, et desideratus earum, lapisque angularis, qui facis utraque unum: veni, et salva hominem, quem de limo formasti.             Fra Angelica

English: O King of the nations, and their desire, the cornerstone making both one: Come and save the human race, which you fashioned from clay.

O MORNING STAR

 

O ORIENS

Latin:

O Oriens,
splendor lucis aeternae, et sol justitiae:
veni, et illumina sedentes in tenebris, et umbra mortis.

English: O Morning Star, splendor of light eternal and sun of righteousness: Come and enlighten those who dwell in darkness and the shadow of death.

KEY OF DAVID

 

Tweet

O CLAVIS DAVID

Latin: O Clavis David, et sceptrum domus Israel; qui aperis, et nemo claudit; claudis, et nemo aperit: veni, et educ vinctum de domo carceris, sedentem in tenebris et umbra mortis.

English; O Key of David and sceptre of the House of Israel; you open and no one can shut; you shut and no one can open: Come and lead the prisoners from the prison house, those who dwell in darkness and the shadow of death.

In the book of the prophet Isaiah, chapter 22, it is God who will place the key of David as a sign of authority. Of course, we know this authority is given to Jesus who will save us by opening the gates of “hell”, freeing us from the prison of sin that we might enter into His Kingdom.  

SORROWFUL BACK MADONNA

 

My one regret when I visited Poland in the late 1980s, was that I did not get to see the shrine at Czestochowa. We stayed in Krakow, where I attended Mass in the great Cathedral and we visited Auschwitz, but the back roads through the countryside were so narrow and winding that travel was slow. Hard to believe, but the Velvet Revolution in what is now the Czech Republic (where I was staying) was only ten years prior.  The Berlin Wall had come down, but the peoples of these countries were still poor and none more so than the Poles. But of all the Eastern countries, they had kept their faith alive through the era of Communism- and paid for it dearly.

OUR LADY OF CZESTOCHOWA, also known as the Black Madonna, is a famous painting of the Virgin Mary holding the Child Jesus.  This image of Our Lady is recognized throughout the entire world, largely due to the devotion shown by the Polish St. (Pope) John Paul II.

 

It is located in the monastery of Jasna Gora in Poland. The painting is a significant part of Polish culture and history, and is said to have been painted by St. Luke on a table built by St. Joseph. 

The painting is called the Black Madonna because of the soot that has built up on it over centuries from candles and votive lights that have been burned in front of it. 

The painting has two gashes on the face of the Virgin Mary, which are said to be the result of a soldier angrily slashing the image when it was thrown on the ground to lighten the load of a wagon.  The scars are said to be an integral part of the image, and even her face has the appearance of a gentle saddness, a reminder that Mary is the Mother of Sorrows.

The origin of this icon is known only in heaven. Its history before it arrived in Poland 600 years ago is shrouded in numerous legends that trace the icon's origin to St. Luke the Evangelist, who painted it on a cedar table top from the Holy Family house. Or that the painting was discovered in Jerusalem in 326 by St. Helena, who brought it back to Constantinople and presented it to her son, Constantine the Great.

The oldest documents from Jasna Góra state that the picture traveled from Constantinople via Belz. Eventually, it came into the possession of Władysław Opolczyk, Duke of Opole, and adviser to Louis of Anjou, King of Poland and Hungary.

Art historians say that the original painting was a Byzantine icon created around the sixth or ninth century. They agree that Prince Władysław brought it to the monastery in the 14th century. 

The Virgin Mary is shown as the "Hodegetria" version (meaning "One Who Shows the Way" or “Οδηγήτρια” in Greek). In it, Mary directs attention away from herself, gesturing with her right hand toward Jesus as the source of salvation. In turn, the Child extends His right hand toward the viewer in blessing while holding a book of gospels in His left hand. 

 Ukrainians have a special devotion to the Madonna of Częstochowa. The icon is often mentioned in Ukrainian folk songs from the 16th and 17th centuries. 

The feast day of Our Lady of Częstochowa is celebrated on August 26.

MADONNAS OF PRAGUE

 

 

.

My favorite city in Europe is Prague, but unfortunately so many religious sites are now museums, since Communism took over this great city. One is the Convent of St. Agnes of Bohemia (formerly a monastery of the Poor Clares), which now houses the medieval collection (1200-1550) of the National Gallery in Prague. 

Unlike so many Black Madonnas,  the MADONNA OF BREZNICE cannot be attributed to the Byzantine style, candle smoke, or the 'saponification of the white lead' in the paint. For around her halo reads: "Nigra sum sed formosa filia Jerusalem)." ("I am black but beautiful, O daughters of Jerusalem.”)  from the Song of Songs 1:4-5.

The painting bears a Latin inscription on the back, which reads in English: "This image of the glorious Virgin, commissioned by (…) the most illustrious King of Bohemia, was painted to resemble the image in Roudnice, which Saint Luke painted with his own hand. A.D. 1396".

There are at least half dozen other Black Madonnas in Prague.

The Black Madonna on the House of the Black Madonna.

The17th century wood Madonna stands inside a gilded cage on the corner edge of a Cubist-style house which now houses an art museum dedicated to cubism.  The statue at the House of the Black Madonna today is actually a copy from the late 1990s when the building underwent restoration. The original is in the possession of the Prague City Gallery and is sometimes displayed at the House of the Stone Bell at Old Town Square.The exact origin of the hardwood statue isn’t clear, but it dates to at least the 17th century. (Below)  

Another Black Madonna statue sits in the Santa Casa (Holy House) at the Loreta in the Prague Castle district. The shrine, a free-standing elaborately decorated house in the middle of the monastery complex, has several depictions of Mary including a dark wooden statue behind a golden fence.

The house is a full-scale copy of the Basilica della Santa Casa in the town of Loreto in the hills of the Marche region of Italy. The shrine is supposedly the house where Mary lived and home to Our Lady of Loreto, a highly venerated Black Madonna. The Christian legend holds that angels transported the house from Nazareth to Italy.

Painted and framed Black Madonna icons with gilding and jewels can be seen in the back of the Church of St. Thomas Church in the Malá Strana district. The origin is lost in time. (Right)

There is also one above the doorway to  a residential building on Truhlářská Street, though this one actually may be simply due to pollution darkening the stonework. When the rest of the building was cleaned, the Madonna was left black, though. (Below)

ANOTHER MORENITA

 

OUR LADY OF MONTSERRAT is one of the Black Madonnas of Europe, and given the familiar Catalan name, La Moreneta ("the little dark-skinned one" or "the little dark one"). Believed by some to have been carved in Jerusalem in the early days of the Church, it is more likely a Romanesque sculpture in wood from the late 12th century. Pope Leo XIII granted the image a canonical coronation on 11 September 1881

The mountain of Montserrat has been of religious significance since pre-Christian times, when the Romans built a temple to honor the Roman goddess Venus.

By one account, the image of the Madonna was moved to Montserrat in 718, to avoid the danger posed by invading Saracens.

 Legend says the Benedictine monks could not move the statue to construct their monastery, choosing to instead build around it. The statue's sanctuary is located at the rear of the chapel, where an altar of gold surrounds the icon, and is now a site of pilgrimage.

 In 2001, renovators working for the government observed that the black hands and face of La Moreneta had over the centuries undergone a change in color. They attribute the change—from a lighter tone to black—either to prolonged exposure to candle smoke or a chemical reaction caused by a varnish used as a paint sealant.

 The statue was repainted black by successive generations of restorers. A series of tests, including X-rays, revealed the statue's original color and also showed that the last repainting took place at the turn of the 19th century.

This statue has always been considered one of the most celebrated images in Spain. However, like Our Lady of Einsiedeln in Switzerland, its popularity is limited to a regional rather than a universal scope. The shrine has received innumerable pilgrims over the years, currently at the rate of at least one million per year. This multitude includes secular and ecclesial rulers as well as a number of canonized Saints. The most notable of these was St. Ignatius of Loyola, who laid down his sword and embarked on his religious mission "after spending a night praying before the image."

The hymn to the Virgin of Montserrat, known as "el Virolai" and sung at noon each day by the Escolania de Montserrat boys' choir, begins with the words: "Rosa d’abril, Morena de la serra..." (Rose of April, dark-skinned lady of the mountain...). Therefore, this virgin is sometimes also known as the "Rosa d'abril". Her feast is kept on April 27.

 

LA MORENITA

 

In our first Blog on Black Madonnas, we mentioned that the dark skin color is often due to smoke from candles lit by pilgrims, as well as oil lamps.  It can also be due to the effects of oxidation on the original colors. In Byzantine art, especially in icons, the oxidation of the silver leaf, used for the face of the Madonna, darkens the pigments, making them black.

But in some cases, especially in countries such as Africa or South America, the Virgin has been depicted with features close to those of the local people. For me the best example is OUR LADY OF GUADALUPE, who Hispanics refer to as “La Morenita”- the dark-faced one. Her complexion is mestiza (i.e., mixed races), a combination of Mexican and Spanish. She is not black, like so many of the famous madonnas. Rather her brown skin tone reflects the peoples in the land in which she appeared.

The apparitions  to Juan Diego in 1531 were seen only ten years after the conquest of central Mexico by the Spanish, at a time when the indigenous people of the Americas were devastated.

The idea of a brown-skinned Mother of God, was critical to the eventual conversion of millions of indigenous people to the faith.

Unlike most Black Madonnas, she is not holding the Christ Child, but rather is pregnant with Him. Is this why we keep her feast in the middle of Advent? With us today, she is awaiting the birth of the Savior.

 Her basilica in Mexico City is the most visited Catholic pilgrimage site in the world, and the world’s third most-visited sacred site. Hers is one of the most iconic images associated with Catholicism. St. (Pope) John Paul II declared Our Lady of Guadalupe to be the Patroness of all the Americas.

Guadalupe: The Miracle and the Message” (2015): A TV special produced by the Knights of Columbus. 

“The message of Our Lady of Guadalupe helped to build bridges between cultures and worlds and began the transformation of our continent into a Christian continent of hope,” said Supreme Knight Carl Anderson, executive producer of the film. “The apparition helped to unite the entire continent in a way that didn’t exist before. Through her intercession, then and now, those throughout this hemisphere have found a deep and shared sense of faith, hope and identity.”

THE TREE OF JESSE

 O RADIX JESSE  (December 19)

Latin: O radix Jesse, qui stas in signum populorum,] super quem continebunt reges os suum, quem Gentes deprecabuntur veni ad liberandum nos, jam noli tardare.

English O Root of Jesse, standing as a sign among the peoples; before you kings will shut their mouths, to you the nations will make their prayer: Come and deliver us, and delay no longer.

From Isaah  11:1  we read:

A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse;  

 from his roots a Branch will bear fruit. 

The Spirit of the Lord will rest on him—
    the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding,
    the Spirit of counsel and of might,
    the Spirit of the knowledge and fear of the Lord
and he will delight in the fear of the Lord.

He will not judge by what he sees with his eyes,

    or decide by what he hears with his ears;
 but with righteousness he will judge the needy,
    with justice he will give decisions for the poor of the earth.
He will strike the earth with the rod of his mouth;
    with the breath of his lips he will slay the wicked.

The above illuminated manuscript from the 13 century depicts the genealogy of Jesus, as Jesse reclines at the base of the tree. Some of Jesus’ ancestors appear up the tree, King David is among them. The Virgin Mother is above him and Jesus and the Holy Spirit appear at the top. Often the Virgin is seen holding the Child Jesus as seen below in the lovely wood panel from the lectern at Lourdes.

 

O ADONAI

 

 

 

 

O ADONAI *    (December 18)

Latin: O Adonai, et Dux domus Israel, qui Moysi in igne flammae rubi apparuisti, et ei in Sina legem dedisti: veni ad redimendum nos in brachio extento.

English: O Adonai, and leader of the House of Israel, who appeared to Moses in the fire of the burning bush, and gave him the law on Sinai: Come and redeem us with an outstretched arm.

                    Exodus 3:2  & Nehemiah 9:13

 *Adonai is the plural of the Hebrew word Adon, which means “lord” or “master.” It was first used as God's title before it was used as God's name. The plural and capitalized Adonai is used because, according to beliefs, God is the lord of all humanity and thus is the “lord of all lords.”

It was Adonai who led the Chosen People out of captivity in Egypt “by the mighty arm of his power” and gave them His law on Mount Sinai. It refers to God’s absolute sovereignty over creation. In the New Testament, the Hebrew adonai becomes the Greek kyrios, but the meaning—Lord—is the same, and it still carries that sense of God's complete sovereignty over all creation.

OUR LADY OF CZESTOCHOWA, also known as the Black Madonna, is a famous painting of the Virgin Mary holding the Child Jesus.  This image of Our Lady is recognized throughout the entire world, largely due to the devotion shown by the Polish St. (Pope) John Paul II.

 

It is located in the monastery of Jasna Gora in Poland. The painting is a significant part of Polish culture and history, and is said to have been painted by St. Luke on a table built by St. Joseph. 

The painting is called the Black Madonna because of the soot that has built up on it over centuries from candles and votive lights that have been burned in front of it. 

The painting has two gashes on the face of the Virgin Mary, which are said to be the result of a soldier angrily slashing the image when it was thrown on the ground to lighten the load of a wagon.  The scars are said to be an integral part of the image, and even her face has the appearance of a gentle saddness, a reminder that Mary is the Mother of Sorrows.

The origin of this icon is known only in heaven. Its history before it arrived in Poland 600 years ago is shrouded in numerous legends that trace the icon's origin to St. Luke the Evangelist, who painted it on a cedar table top from the Holy Family house. Or that the painting was discovered in Jerusalem in 326 by St. Helena, who brought it back to Constantinople and presented it to her son, Constantine the Great.

The oldest documents from Jasna Góra state that the picture traveled from Constantinople via Belz. Eventually, it came into the possession of Władysław Opolczyk, Duke of Opole, and adviser to Louis of Anjou, King of Poland and Hungary.

Art historians say that the original painting was a Byzantine icon created around the sixth or ninth century. They agree that Prince Władysław brought it to the monastery in the 14th century. 

The Virgin Mary is shown as the "Hodegetria" version (meaning "One Who Shows the Way" or “Οδηγήτρια” in Greek). In it, Mary directs attention away from herself, gesturing with her right hand toward Jesus as the source of salvation. In turn, the Child extends His right hand toward the viewer in blessing while holding a book of gospels in His left hand. 

 Ukrainians have a special devotion to the Madonna of Częstochowa. The icon is often mentioned in Ukrainian folk songs from the 16th and 17th centuries. 

The feast day of Our Lady of Częstochowa is celebrated on August 26.

THE GREAT Os- ADVENT

 

The O ANTIPHONS (also known as the Great Advent Antiphons or Great Os) are Magnificat antiphons used at Vespers on the last seven days (17 to 23 December) of Advent in Western Christian traditions. They likely date to sixth-century Italy, when Boethius refers to the text in The Consolation of Philosophy. For us they are one of the key musical features of the days leading up to Christmas.

The texts are best known in the English-speaking world in their paraphrased form in the hymn "O Come, O Come, Emmanuel".

 Their repeated use of the imperative "Come!" embodies the longing of all for the Divine Messiah. They are verses extracted from the Old Testament prophets, namely Isaiah.

 Each text, in the original Latin, begins with the vocative particle "O". Each antiphon is a title of Christ, one of his attributes mentioned in Scripture. They are:

 17 December: O Sapientia (O Wisdom)

18 December: O Adonai

19 December: O Radix Jesse (O Root of Jesse)

20 December: O Clavis David (O Key of David)

21 December: O Oriens (O Dawn of the East)

22 December: O Rex Gentium (O King of the Nations)

23 December: O Emmanuel

 The first letters of the titles, from last to first, appear to form a Latin acrostic, Ero cras, meaning 'Tomorrow, I will be [there]', mirroring the theme of the antiphons. This is formed from the first letter of each title –Emmanuel, Rex, Oriens, Clavis, Radix, Adonai, Sapientia.

O SAPIENTIA

Latin: O Sapientia, quae ex ore Altissimi prodiisti, attingens a fine usque ad finem, fortiter suaviterque disponens omnia: veni ad docendum nos viam prudentiae.   Ecclesiasticus 24:3 & Wisdom 8:1

English: O Wisdom, coming forth from the mouth of the Most High, reaching from one end to the other, mightily and sweetly ordering all things: Come and teach us the way of prudence.   Icon: Sophia the Wisdom of God, Novgorod 15th Century

BLACK MADONNAS

 

For Advent, I thought it would be interesting to see some of the BLACK MADONNAS from around the world.  We will also consider the GREAT Os  (Antophons sung at Vespers during the last days of Advent).

I think the first Black Madonna I can remember encountering was at the beautiful Abbey in Einsiedeln, Switzerland. The term Black Madonna refer to statues or paintings in Western Christendom of the Blessed Virgin Mary and the Infant Jesus, where both figures are depicted with dark skin, examples of which can be found both in Catholic and Orthodox countries.

The paintings are often icons, which are Byzantine in origin or style, some of which were produced in 13th or 14th-century Italy. Other examples from the Middle East, Caucasus or Africa, mainly Egypt and Ethiopia, are even older.

Statues are often made of wood and painted, though occasionally are made of stone. About 400–500 Black Madonnas have been recorded in Europe, with the number related to how they are classified. There are at least 180 Vierges Noires in Southern France alone. Years ago, while staying in the French countryside, I can't remember how many small village churches had a Black Madonna.

There are hundreds of copies made since the medieval era. While some are displayed in museums, most are in churches or shrines and are venerated by the faithfiul. Some are associated with miracles, attracting substantial numbers of pilgrims.

One of the oldest Black Madonnas is in the great Benedictine Abbey at EINSIEDELN in Switzerland. In 853, while living in seclusion near a small lake, St. Meinrad (d. 861) had a small chapel built near his cell in which he placed a statue of the Blessed Virgin with the Infant resting on her arm. This statue had been given to him by the Abbess Hildegard, Superior of a monastery in Zurich.

In 948, after a church had been built on the site of St. Meinrad's little cell and chapel,and  just before the ecclesial dedication ceremony for the building, Our Lord appeared and was seen to perform the Mass of Consecration. When Bishop Conrad of Constance arrived for the service, an unknown voice was heard to say: "Stop, brother, the church has been consecrated by God." 

Over the centuries, the church and monastery have been damaged by fire several times, but the statue has remained unharmed. The lineage of the present Black Madonna statue at Einsiedeln is not entirely clear. Today's holy figure is not St. Meinrad's original Virgin from the ninth century, but most likely is a statue carved in the fifteenth century and restored in the eighteenth.

This Madonna did not start out as black, but the faces of the Virgin and Child have been darkened by the smoke and fumes of the many votive candles.

Einsiedeln has evolved into a healing shrine, where for many centuries people have found relief from their mental and physical ailments.

The Black Madonna of Einsiedeln in the Chapel of Grace attracts around 800,000 pilgrims and tourists every year. The feast of Our Lady of Einsiedeln is July 16 and is greatly celebrated in Switzerland, Germany and Austria.