Today's Gospel in Art: Solemnity of The Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary

Immaculate Conception with Six Saints, by Piero di Cosimo 1505 © Uffizi Museum, Florence

Source: Christian Art

Gospel of 8th December 2021 - Luke 1:26-38

The angel Gabriel was sent by God to a town in Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man named Joseph, of the House of David; and the virgin's name was Mary. He went in and said to her, 'Rejoice, so highly favoured! The Lord is with you.' She was deeply disturbed by these words and asked herself what this greeting could mean, but the angel said to her, 'Mary, do not be afraid; you have won God's favour. Listen! You are to conceive and bear a son, and you must name him Jesus. He will be great and will be called Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his ancestor David; he will rule over the House of Jacob for ever and his reign will have no end.'

Mary said to the angel, 'But how can this come about, since I am a virgin?' 'The Holy Spirit will come upon you' the angel answered 'and the power of the Most High will cover you with its shadow. And so the child will be holy and will be called Son of God. Know this too: your kinswoman Elizabeth has, in her old age, herself conceived a son, and she whom people called barren is now in her sixth month, for nothing is impossible to God.' 'I am the handmaid of the Lord,' said Mary 'let what you have said be done to me.' And the angel left her.

Reflection on the Painting

Isn't today's painting exquisite! It is such a beautiful depiction of Blessed Virgin Mary. The theme of the incarnation of Jesus in the womb of Mary does not have a long established pictorial tradition. Only from the Middle Ages onwards did artists start portraying Our Lady expectant. Our artist, Piero di Cosimo, places the Virgin on the central axis with the Dove of the Holy Spirit above and the fallen book on the ground, below a relief carved Annunciation scene (the theme of our Gospel reading). We can see further scenes in miniature from the life of Our Lady, on the hilltops behind her. On the left we see the Annunciation and Nativity; on the right we see the Flight into Egypt. The bright celestial light above the dove is illuminating the faces of the six saints who, with their carefully differentiated attributes, are contemplating the Virgin. Those closest to her are the bishop of Florence Antoninus Pierozzi and Philip Benizi, founder of the Order of the Servants of Mary.

It is a beautiful painting showing how God chose and prepared a Mother for his only-begotten Son in whom the Eternal Word would become flesh. One of her hands is gently pointing upwards, in acceptance of her mission. The other hand is lovingly protecting the womb from where soon, in the fullness of time, Jesus would be born into this world. But none of this could have happened without Marys' resounding yes. Saint Augustine wrote: 'God who created you without you, will not save you without you. Salvation requires our cooperation. We need to need to be saved. God has given us free will: freedom to love Him, freedom to obey Him, and freedom to be with Him. Mary gave us an example. It was not an easy "yes!".

Today's Gospel reading reminds us that we need to cooperate with God. The Bible tells us that God has given us all things… even His only son… Now it is up to us to cooperate with God. Today is a day to fill our spirits with The Spirit!

LINKS

Today's story - https://christian.art/en/daily-gospel-reading/1016
Christian Art - www.christian.art/