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                                               Intro Mary Garden

     FLOWERS OF OUR LADY AND MARY GARDENS SLIDE LECTURE 

                50 SLIDES AND NARRATION TEXT


SLIDES 21-30 AND TEXT



21.







      Our Lady's Pincushion, or sea pink, was
 one of many plants which brought to mind Our
 Lady's sewing work in preparation for the
 birth of the Divine Child.











22.




      Here is another twentieth Century English
 holy card, this one based on Our Lady's
 Pincushion, just shown, which is commonly known
 as Thrift in England. Mary sewing for the Christ
 Child is the model for all mothers sewing for
 their families; for all religious and members
 of church altar societies sewing priestly
 vestments and altar linens, and for all who
 sew for Christ's poor.










23.




     According to an old legend Our
 Lady's Bedstraw, a native Palestine
 plant, was the natural bedding on
 which Mary laid the Holy Child in
 the manger at Bethlehem, bursting
 into its golden flowers when the
 Divine Child was laid on it - a
 symbol of his divinity.









24.

     From the white markings on its
 leaves Dead Nettle was named Madonna's
 Milk, according to a legend that these
 marks first appeared on this and other
 plants, such as Our Lady's Thistle or
 Milk Thistle, after drops of the Virgin
 Mother's immaculate milk fell on them
 while she nursed the Infant Jesus.

 This symbolism turns our thoughts to
 the many statues and paintings  of
 Mary as the 'Nursing Madonna", a
 representation adopted to show her
 motherly tenderness and also to show
 that while Jesus was true God, the
 Divine Word Incarnate, He was also true
man, born of Mary's womb and suckled at her breast.




25.


      The Chrysanthemum is associated with
 the Epiphany, the manifestation of the
 Savior to the Gentiles, by a legend
 which tells us it was in bloom before the
 manger in Bethlehem.  From the
 resemblance of the golden yellow star-
 like flowers of this plant to the star in
 the sky above, the Wise Men knew they had
 reached their journey's goal.  Picking
 the flowers, they entered in and placed
 them in the outstretched hand of the
 Infant King enthroned on His mother's
 knees.







26.

      The Snow Drop was known in England as
 Candlemas Bells or Purification Flower from
 its early bloom at the time of Candlemas or
 the Feast of the Purification of the Blessed
 Virgin Mary, February 2nd - now designated the
 Feast of the Presentation of the Child Jesus
 in the Temple.

 It is one of several flowers named from the
 liturgical seasons when they were in bloom,
 and thus available for church altar decoration
 at those times.

 In our modern era of greenhouses and high-
 speed refrigerated transportation, we have
 become accustomed to seeing flowers such as
roses, lilies, carnations, gladioli and chrysanthemums used over
and over again as altar decorations at all seasons of the year.
In a former day the only flowers available for a given feast were
those naturally in bloom at the time - which thus came to bear the
name of the feast.






27.




      Blue Flag Iris, also called Sword Lily,
 from its sword-like foliage, was regarded as a
 symbol of Our Lady's Sorrows according to Simeon's
 words to Mary during the Presentation of Jesus in
 the temple:  "And  a sword shall pierce thy soul,
 that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed".

 Iris, the Royal Lily, was also used as an emblem of
 Our Lady's queenship.








28.

      The spiked heads of Fuller's Teasel
 were used for centuries to raise the nap
 on wool.  To the faithful they were known
 in some regions as Our Lady's Little
 Brushes, calling to mind Mary's motherly
 care for the Infant Savior.

 It has been said that, after Simeon
 confirmed for Mary the Old Testament
 prophecies of the Suffering Redeemer,
 she sorrowed as she brushed the child
 Jesus' hair - knowing it would one day
 be matted with his Precious Blood.






29.

     There are a number of legends
 associated with the rests taken by the
 Holy Family during the Flight Into
 Egypt.  The blue mats of veronica
 ground cover, shown here, were known
 as Our Lady's Resting Place.

 Several flowers such as Sweet Williams
 were named Our Lady's Tuft, Cushion or
 Resting Place because they formed a
 place for Our Lady to sit. Flowering
 Clematis or Wisteria vines were named
 Virgin's Bower because they spread
 over her head to shield her from the
 hot sun.  Rosemary acquired its
 fragrance when Mary placed Jesus'
garment on it to dry after a rain storm.  And the Cherry Tree was
said to have lowered its branches to assist St. Joseph in picking
fruit for the refreshment of Mary and Jesus.




30.


    Forget-me-nots were called Eyes of Mary.
 In a book of flower legends we read that
 the Boy Jesus, looking into Mary's eyes one
 day in front of their Nazareth home said:
 "Mother, your eyes are so beautiful,
 everyone looks at them in wonder.  What a
 pity those who will be born in future
 generations will not be able to behold
 them.  Because in your eyes one can see my
 paradise, and whoever looks into them
 cannot help but be drawn toward it."

 Thereupon he touched her eyelids and passed
 his hands over the ground as though sowing
seeds.  Immediately there sprang up forget-me-nots: hundreds of tiny
blue eyes with golden centers, as reminders of Our Lady's pure eyes
for all peoples until the end of the world.





(Slides 31-40)