Recently, three images of the Blessed Virgin Mary left an impression on me.

The first image was a small statue of a very pregnant Mary- the kind of pregnant where when you are sitting down, you can simply rest your dinner plate directly on your stomach.  No lap tray required.  Seeing Mary depicted this way was, quite frankly, shocking.  Naturally, we all KNOW that Mary was once nine months pregnant.  But in all my years in Christendom, I have never, ever, seen the realistic image of her in this state.  My son was Joseph in the annual Christmas holiday program one year, and he had to escort Mary in their journey across the stage to inquire about a room at the inn.  I am quite certain that in 17 years of this school production,  no one in charge of costumes has ever thought to give Mary a pregnancy “bump” as part of her ensemble.  After seeing that statue and being reminded of the reality of her carrying our Lord, I am wondering why not?

The second image is more familiar to life-long Catholics, but a little unsettling to those of us who are new to the Catholic world.  It was a statue of Our Lady of La Leche, the picture of Mary nursing the infant Jesus, and it is the founding image of the first shrine built in Mary’s honor in the United States.  When I saw this, it immediately brought to mind the La Leche groups that help mothers with breast-feeding.  Ah ha – light bulb moment.  You have to really get close and look at this image carefully to see what it is.  It is a sweet picture, but you don’t think about it much- those intimate moments between mother and child.  At least I don’t.

Lastly, I was confronted with a beautiful 3-part mosaic above the entrance to a large shrine in Orlando. The center panel was Christ, with a small lamb wrapped around his shoulders.  To the left, Abraham in his old age.  To the right, the Virgin Mother.  Both Abraham and Mary are turned slightly toward Christ, and both are pointing to him as if to say “Cast your eyes on the true Lamb of God, the center of all human history.  Our lives lead up to His.”  

All three images have helped me begin to understand what the Church has been saying about Mary for 2000 years- that her life brings into clearer focus the life of Christ.

Chick B