During the Advent and Christmas seasons, The B.C. Catholic is featuring the art of members of the Epiphany Sacred Arts Guild. On this, the final week, we’re sharing Our Lady of Humility by B.C. iconographer Patricia Ballard.
This icon is a visualization of the passage from the Book of Revelation (Chapter 12): “A great portent appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet and on her head a crown of twelve stars.”
The stars on Mary’s cloak shows that she was a virgin before, during, and after the birth of Jesus. In ancient Rome, pregnant women wore veils to denote their altered state of life, with new life growing within them. Ballard says the veil was adopted by Christian nuns to denote their new state of life of total consecration to God, with the life of Christ growing within them. In this image, the veil honours both the state of marriage and the state of consecrated life.
The crown of 12 stars affirms Mary’s honour of being Queen of heaven and earth. Her greatest honour is her title of Mother of God, yet she remains a most humble being.
The icon was written in 2008, after a 1390 work by Lippo di Dalmatio.
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