 Every great saint had devotion to Mary, but one of the stories which I find impressive is that of St. John Damascene, (d. 749). It is said that during the time of those who sought to destroy icons (iconoclast heresy) the iconoclast emperor betrayed him to the enemy, a caliph who subsequently cut off one of John’s hands as punishment. That night John prayed before an icon of Mary and his hand was miraculously restored. In thanksgiving he wrote an icon known as the "Three Handed Icon" because in addition to Mary’s two hands he included his own restored hand, giving her the appearance of having three hands.* Regardless of the veracity of this story, what is more important is that we recognize St. John’s devotion to Mary demonstrated by his trust in the power of her intercession during his time of suffering. And is this not what a mother does but be present to her children when they suffer, doing all she can to alleviate the pain and heal the wound? Mary’s motherly heart includes everyone; we do ourselves a disservice if we neglect to turn to her when we are in need. Therefore, it is important that we pay attention to the memorial added to the Church calendar in 2018 that honors Mary as Mother of the Church, (celebrated the Monday after Pentecost).**  The true devotion to Mary of St. John Damascene is evidenced in his moving and insightful comment about her: “she… has captivated my spirit…day and night I see her in my imagination. It is she, the Mother of Virtue, who gives me eloquence.” The description of Mary as the Mother of Virtue is one which invites reflection. Jesus, the Son of God and son of Mary, is virtue embodied. As His mother, then, Mary can be seen in such a light as well. But we must also remember that her true Spouse is the Holy Spirit, the giver of graces. (At the Annunciation Mary was ‘overshadowed’ by the Spirit to conceive Jesus.) Consequently, all the virtues that flow from the Spirit can also be attained or enhanced through the intercession of Mary. As one immaculately conceived and always willing to follow the will of God, Mary embodied virtue as well; it is to her that St. John Damascene, a renowned speaker, lovingly attributed his gift of eloquence.  Pentecost Sunday, the memorial of Mary as Mother of the Church, and Trinity Sunday (respectively) are celebrations which provide an excellent opportunity to consider the virtues we have received and how well we utilize them. God freely bestows gifts not only because of His love, but because He wants to offer empowerment so we can accomplish the mission of the Church and be protected from the enemy and his minions. We were given the Theological Virtues of faith, hope, and love at Baptism and so it is important to be conscious of these all the time; it would be good to develop the habit of intentionally utilizing them as we go through the day. Every day we face temptations from the world, arising from the many stealthy ways in which the enemy tempts us to doubt our faith, to subtly move away from gospel values bit by bit, to accept the values and norms of anti-Christian society, and then to lose hope about it all. We are tempted to react in worldly ways that are antithetical to love, such as unforgiveness and putting ourselves and our convenience ahead of others. In all this, we can lose the voice of God because we stop listening; it is not because the Holy Spirit stops speaking. Therefore, we need to use the weapons we have been given, to ‘use every arrow in our quiver,’ in order to keep from falling into traps set to weaken and ultimately draw us into apathy and ‘lukewarmness’ and then to fall away altogether.  In addition are the Cardinal Virtues of justice (giving God and others what is rightly due them), prudence (discerning the correct action), temperance (restraint, balance, moderation), and fortitude (remaining steadfast in the Christian life).*** Also mediated by the Holy Spirit, these virtues strengthen our desire and ability to grow as holy disciples of Jesus, and all four are intimately attached to each other. Cultivating the virtue of justice assists us as we live in a culture which places ‘self’ first, often not caring about God or in direct opposition to Christian values; prudence helps in discerning what is the correct way to act; temperance helps in maintaining restraint so that we forgive when hurt and then aids in resisting vengeful responses; fortitude assists in remaining true to gospel values taught by Jesus, particularly the beatitudes. To not get caught up in sinful responses, but rather to grow in holiness and in love of our Lord, we ought to prayerfully reflect upon them, asking the Sprit to help us better utilize all the virtues.  Mary ‘captivated the spirit’ of St. John Damascene and many other holy men and women. He obviously loved his mother Mary dearly and held her as his model to live the faith courageously and faithfully according to his call. He turned to her in prayer often, no doubt to ask her intercession so that he could stay strong in the face of his foes. Our adversaries are as numerous, many of them invisible, so it would be wise to also turn to Mary our mother to keep us united in resisting evil, in building the Kingdom, and in glorifying God. With the help of the Holy Spirit and with our caring Mother Mary, we are in good hands.  May our spirits and our hearts be captivated by Mary, our mother! May the Holy Spirit reside in our hearts, assisting with the graces and gifts we need! And may we celebrate our Triune God, the giver of all good things, with joy, glorifying Him with our life! Let us meet in the hearts of Jesus and Mary! Peace!
©Michele L. Catanese * Remember, all icons contain rich symbolism and are not meant to be portraits. If you look closely at the icon, titled The Three Handed Mother of God, (see Images below), you will easily see three hands: one hand holds the child Jesus, another points to Him, and another seems to beckon us to her heart. Though we may never know, one wonders which hand represents St. John Damascene’s restored hand. It makes for an interesting meditation. ** The celebration was added to the church calendar in 2018 by Pope Francis. Previous popes have written about this title of Mary as Mother of the Church, most notably Pope Leo XIII, Pope Paul VI, Pope St. John Paul II and Pope Benedict XVI. See https://mycatholic.life/saints/saints-of-the-liturgical-year/mary-mother-of-the-church-memorial/ *** You can find more on the Cardinal Virtues here: https://www.corpuschristiphx.org/blog.php?month=201903&id=381720692&cat=&pg=1&title=The+Four+Human+%26+Cardinal+Virtues Images: 1. Icon; The Three Handed Mother of God by Fr. William Hart McNichols. This icon can be found at fineartamerica.com/featured/the-three-handed-mother-of-god-102-william-hart-mcnichols.html 2. Oil Painting; The Starry Night by Vincent van Gogh. (1889) 3. My photo; Our Lady of the Annunciation, Llubljana, Slovenia. If you look closely you can see the Annunciation in the bottom painting and atop it is Mary as Queen of Heaven. It seemed to symbolically say that Mary's virtues carried her to the heights. 4. Illumination; Prudentia, Justitia, Fortitudo, Temperantia (Prudence, Justice, Courage, Temperance), the Four Cardinal Virtues, found in a manuscript. British Museum Library. 5. Icon; St. John Damascene. For more on this saint: www.catholicireland.net/saintoftheday/st-john-of-damascus-675-749-monk-and-defender-of-icons/ 6. Icon; The Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of the Church; by Fr. William Hart McNichols. This icon can be found at fineartamerica.com/featured/the-blessed-virgin-mary-mother-of-the-church-william-hart-mcnichols.html Note: In compliance with GDPR rules, I wish to make it clear that I do not gather any information on any of my readers at any time. Comments are closed.
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