![]() ![]() Unmarried women wore their hair that way at the time so her hairstyle symbolizes virginity. It shows Mary without a veil and with her hair down. Raffaela Fazio Smith, in a series of informative articles she wrote for the Global Dispatches, notes that a fresco in the catacomb of Priscilla near Rome, dated to the 3 rd century, is the oldest representation of the Annunciation in art. It seems that early Christian artists chose not to use the lily to suggest Mary’s virginity. ![]() How did it become one of Mary’s attributes?Īs with many questions involving the evolution of symbols, the answer is not entirely clear. The white lily, symbolizing purity and chastity, has long been tied to this episode (photo 2, above). ![]() Mary asks how a virgin could conceive a child and Gabriel responds, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you therefore the child to be born will be holy….” Tradition has it that Mary conceived Jesus at that very moment. The holiday commemorates the Archangel Gabriel’s appearance to Mary, described in Luke’s gospel, when the angel announces that Mary will give birth to a boy. Lilies and the Annunciation On March 25th Christians of various denominations-Roman Catholics, Orthodox, Episcopalian, and others-celebrate the Feast of the Annunciation. Lilies in Cloister Window, Gloucester Cathedral, England As with other posts on this blog, I’ll illustrate the narrative with photos of stained glass, sculpture and painting that I’ve taken at cathedrals, churches, and museums on both sides of the Atlantic.Ģ. The lily, for example, has multiple associations with Mary, Joseph, the Archangel Gabriel, virgin saints and Easter, to name just a few, as well as multiple meanings. I’ve learned that floral symbolism can be complex. In today’s post we’ll investigate the symbolic use of lilies in Christian iconography. These days, I find myself wondering, “Who else in other places, times, and religious traditions found divine presence in a flower? Did Hera and Venus answer the prayers of ancient Greeks with flowers too? Is that how lilies and roses came to symbolize these goddesses?” The mystery in these flowers, no less than their sweet scent, draws me to the garden. It shook some long-held beliefs and opened me to a sense of wonder, which has only intensified with time, about the astounding scope of humanity’s unseen interconnections. The power of the coincidence boggled my mind too. I could easily see how that purple rose and its timing rendered my friend speechless. Therese with Purple Roses, Basilica of St. As far as I was concerned, the purple rose was a mistake!ġ. Growing up in a Lutheran denomination that dismissed prayers to saints as idolatry, I knew nothing of St. Therese’s emblem (photo 1) and the flower I presented was amazingly the sign they asked for. Therese to give a sign to confirm that their prayers were heard. Therese of Lisieux to intercede with God on their friend’s behalf. Among their petitions, the group asked St. My friend choked up and, with tears welling in her eyes, said, “I’ll talk with you later.” I left, perplexed.Ī week later, I received a handwritten note in which my friend explained that she and her prayer group were praying for a terminally ill man. The lighting in the flower shop must have tricked my eyes. Then she asked, “Is that a purple rose?” I nodded yes and said apologetically, “But it was supposed to be red.” The flower looked red when I selected it. When I presented the rose, my friend looked stunned and was silent for what seemed like minutes. I stopped at a florist to buy one long stemmed rose and have it wrapped in paper, on my way to say goodbye to her. My friend’s job was ending so I decided to give her a rose as a sign of friendship and support. For one of my friends, that flower represented an answer to a prayer.Ī Purple Rose The story in a nutshell, is this. It took off in 1998 when I played an unwitting part in a remarkable coincidence involving a rose. The use of flowers as symbols in sacred art has been an interest of mine for some time. I decided a week ago to write a post about the symbolism of flowers when crocuses, hyacinth, and daffodils-the heralds of spring-began to appear here in Iowa City. ![]()
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