Spiritual Ponderings
Images of Blessed Virgin Mary
 
I believe since the very beginning of my Spiritual Ponderings, I have always devoted the month of October to exploring different images of the Blessed Virgin Mary.  I invite you to check out my website www.mayjesuschristbepraised to see past reflections.  Along most of this spiritual journey, I have been assisted by Ann Ball and her book: The Other Faces Of Mary: Stories, Devotions and Pictures of the Holy Virgin Around the World.
 
Our first image his month is called Santa Maria la Real de Najera.  This image of Mary is a common image of the Blessed Virgin found on the great pilgrim route known as the El Camino which was made famous a few years ago by a movie called The Way that starred Martin Sheen and was directed by his son Emilio Estevez.  The ultimate destination of the El Camino is the great church of St. James in Santiago Compostela. 
 
According to legend there was a young king who went out hunting with his falcon and upon spotting a partridge he released his falcon to hunt its prey.  The falcon did not return right away and so the king went off looking for it.  He discovered the falcon and partridge both standing in a cave before a byzantine style carved statue of the Blessed Virgin Mary.  The king, according to legend also discovered a vase filled with freshly cut lilies.  Later that year the king successfully retook the land of Cohorra from the Muslims.  He attributed his victory to the special image of the Blessed Virgin Mary and had a monastery built upon the cave where the image was found and he created a special order of knights in honor of the Blessed Virgin Mary.  This order in addition fighting to keep Christians safe also took an oath to attend Mass every Saturday. 
 
The image of Santa Maria la Real de Najera is presents Mary as an enthroned queen holding her grown Child Jesus who is seated on her knees.  The Christ-child figure hands are carved in a way that makes it look like he is offering a blessing to all who are passing by.
 
As I reflect on this image of the Blessed Virgin Mary and on the legend that accompanies it, I am drawn first to the story of the hunting falcon and the partridge being found together in front of the Blessed Virgin Mary.  It reminds me of the Scripture passage from Isaiah about the Lord’s Holy Mountain:  “And the wolf will dwell with the lamb, and the leopard will lie down with the young goat, and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little boy will lead them. Also the cow and the bear will graze, their young will lie down together, and the lion will eat straw like the ox. The nursing child will play by the hole of the cobra, and the weaned child will put his hand on the viper’s den. They will not hurt or destroy in all my holy mountain; for the earth will be full of the knowledge of the Lord As the waters cover the sea.” Isaiah 11: 6-9.  The image of the hunter and the prey sitting together is a great image that invokes peace. 
 
The fact that a monastery is built upon the location is even more poetic if you think of it as the people building their life of prayer that comes from honoring the Blessed Virgin Mary the Queen of Peace.  The Blessed Virgin Mary can be referred to as the queen of peace for many reasons.  The first is that she gives us Jesus the Prince of Peace.  This Jesus that we receive from her is the same Jesus who instead of destroying us chose to offer us peace.  Jesus, the leader of an army of angels, instead of sending them into the world to destroy the world, he sends them to a group of shepherds to proclaim the Good News of the Incarnation.  The second reason the Blessed Virgin Mary can be called the Queen of Peace is that she shows us that following Jesus in good times and in bad brings about a sense of peace that our circumstances cannot take away from us.  The third reason is that the Blessed Virgin Mary reminds us that our God is not a God who enforces His will upon us but rather He is a God who invites us, His creatures to be a part of His divine plan.  God did not send Gabriel to intimidate Mary into saying “yes” like a mob boss sending a goon to make Mary an “offer she can’t refuse.”  Instead Gabriel asks and invites Mary to say “yes” to God’s plan.  In the same way God does not force Himself on us but rather he invites us to participate in His divine plan for us.
 
 
 
 
PRAYER TO THE IMMACULATE QUEEN OF PEACE
Most holy and immaculate Virgin, Mother of Jesus and our loving Mother, being his Mother, you shared in His universal kingship. The prophets and angels proclaimed Him King of peace. With loving fervor in our hearts we salute and honor you as Queen of peace. We pray that your intercession may protect us and all people from hate and discord, and direct our hearts into the ways of peace and justice which your Son taught and exemplified. We ask your maternal care for our Holy Father who works to reconcile the nations in peace. We seek your guidance for our Head of State and other Leaders as they strive for world peace.
               
Glorious Queen of peace, grant us peace in our hearts, harmony in our families and concord throughout the world. Immaculate Mother, as patroness of our beloved country, watch over us and protect us with your motherly love.
Amen.