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                                                Intro Mary Garden

     FLOWERS OF OUR LADY AND MARY GARDENS SLIDE LECTURE 

                50 SLIDES AND NARRATION TEXT


SLIDES 11-20 AND TEXT



11.

       The white lily, and particularly
 the Madonna Lily, with its striking
 clarity of form and immaculate,
 translucent whiteness, has long been
 regarded as the special symbol of
 the spotless purity of Our Lady.
 
 In the 8th century St. Bede saw the
 translucent white petals to be a
 likeness of her pure body as she was
 assumed into heaven, and its golden
 anthers, of the glorious resplendance
 of her soul.

 In Renaissance art it was adopted in
 paintings of the Annunciation, and accordingly came to be known as
 Annunciation Lily and Mary's Lily.



12.




      Other flowers suggested to the faithful
 Mary's outward beauty, which so perfectly
 reflected the inner beauty of her holiness.

 This is Our Lady's Tresses from the
 braid-like form of its spiraling flowers.
 Still known today by the derived common
 name of Ladies' Tresses






13.


      Still other flowers suggested Our
 Lady's clothing and her adornment. The
 pendant blooms of Fuchsia were seen as
 Our Lady's Eardrops - fitting adornment
 for the ears which received the Angel's
 message of the Annunciation, as Mary
 "heard the word of God and kept it."

 This XXth Century English holy card,
 depicting two doves adorning Mary's ears with
 her Eardrops, shows how religious art and
 devotion have continued to employ Our Lady's
 flower symbols even down to the present day.







14.


      The violet, from the modest or
 humble manner in which its blooms
 peek out from under its leaves was
 adopted as the emblem of Our Lady's
 humility, and was also known as
 "Our Lady's Modesty".

 St. Bernard spoke of Our Lady as
 "the violet of humility, the lily
 of chastity and the rose of
 charity."

 A number of other flowers were
 associated with or named for the
 different virtues, and as such were especially associated with
 Our Lady, the model of all virtues.





15.




 The "Lily of the Valleys", a title
 applied by the Church Fathers to
 Mary from the Canticle of
 Canticles, denoted both her purity
 and her humility.  This name has
 been most fittingly applied to the
 low, white-flowered plant commonly
 known as Lily-of-the-Valley today,
 which so well symbolizes these
 virtues.







16.

     From its petals resembling doves, the
 columbine has been adopted as an emblem of
 the Holy Spirit.  The red columbine has been
 used especially for this purpose since its
 red spurs resemble also the tongues of flame
 with which the Holy Spirit descended upon
 the apostles at Pentecost.

 In paintings of the Madonna and in Mary
 Gardens the columbine recalls that Mary
 conceived of the Holy Spirit, of whom she
 is also the dwelling place or temple,
 according to the words of the angel: "And
 the Holy Spirit shall come upon thee."





17.


      Various fruits, such as the apple and the
 pear, have been used in art to denote the
 divine fruitfulness of Mary's womb.  In Mary
 Gardens and in portrayals of Mary Gardens, the
 strawberry has been widely used for this
 purpose since its low form is suitably
 proportioned to other low-growing symbolical
 plants such as the violet and the lily-of-the-
 valley.

 In flower and in fruit at the same time, the
 strawberry also  represents Mary's perpetual
 virginity.





18.

      Church bells were especially associated
 with Our Lady from their use to ring out the
 Angelus thrice daily, and were often given
 names and inscriptions honoring her role in
 the Incarnation.  Consequently, several
 bell-shaped flowers, such as the Gland Bell
 Flower shown here were known as Mary's Bells
 or Our Lady's Bells.

 The chimes of the Angelus Tower of St.
 Joseph's Church in Woods Hole, Massachusetts,
 beside which the Garden of Our Lady is
 planted, bear the inscriptions:

      "I will teach you of life and of life
eternal" and "Thanks be to God".





19.


     Some fifteen different flowers, of which
 the best known is perhaps the Ladyslipper
 Orchid shown here were at one time called Our
 Lady's Slippers. Legends tell us that these
 flowers sprang up where Our Lady trod on the
 way to visit Elizabeth, showing, in the words
 of the Canticle  of  Canticles applied to her,
 that "all her steps were most beauteous".

 Such legends, while not historical
 documentations, afford historical insight into
 the richness of the religious associations
 underlying the flower symbols of Our Lady.





20.






     The beauty and purity of Our Lady's
 Thimble - Harebell, or Bluebells of Scotland -
 bespeak the sublime perfection and elevation
 of Mary's thoughts as she sewed for the
 infant Savior, to be born of her womb.








      (Slides 21-30)