Many are familiar with the image of the heart of Mary, but what is the symbolism behind it all?
Devotion to the Immaculate Heart of Mary is an ancient custom dating to the seventeenth century, when the devotion and the images of Mary with her Immaculate Heart spread across the Christian world.
Olive Wood Immaculate Heart of Mary Statue
Meaning
The Immaculate Heart of Mary is a devotional name used to refer to the interior life of the Blessed Virgin Mary , her joys and sorrows, her virtues and perfections, her love for God, her love for her Divine Son, and her compassionate love for all of mankind.
Symbolism
Bloodied Heart
Mary's heart is shown outside of her body. This points to her undying love for all people: a love so great that she cannot contain it within. Some artists depict the Blessed Virgin carrying her heart in her hand, or pointing to it with a single finger, or with a drop of blood falling from it. The gesture suggests that Mary wishes to offer her heart to the one who contemplates her.
Burning Heart
Her heart is most often shown on fire, emphasizing the intensity of her love.
Banded with White Roses
White roses encircle her heart, signs of her purity, born of her Immaculate Conception, which formed within her the most pure heart. In some depictions a lily rises from the top of the heart, carrying the same meaning of purity.
Pierced with a Sword
A single sword is sometimes added passing through her heart, recalling the passage from Luke ("a sword shall pierce…") and bringing to mind the sorrows she endured during her lifetime, especially during the Crucifixion.
Traditionally the heart is depicted pierced with seven wounds or swords, in homage to the Seven Sorrows of Mary, which are:
- The Prophecy of Simeon (Luke 2:34 to 35)
- The Flight into Egypt (Matthew 2:13)
- The Loss of the Child Jesus in the Temple of Jerusalem (Luke 2:43 to 45)
- The Meeting of Mary and Jesus on the Via Dolorosa
- The Crucifixion of Jesus on Mount Calvary (John 19:25)
- The Piercing of the Side of Jesus and His Descent from the Cross (Matthew 27:57 to 59)
- The Burial of Jesus by Joseph of Arimathea (John 19:40 to 42)
Rays of Light
The heart is most often surrounded by rays of light, bringing to mind Revelation 12:1, where the Blessed Virgin Mary is described as "a woman clothed with the sun."
The Sacred Heart of Jesus
While the Sacred Heart of Jesus is the source of Christ's burning love for humanity, often met with indifference, the Immaculate Heart of Mary is the source of Our Lady's burning love for God and her longing to bring souls to her Son. The Feast of the Immaculate Heart of the Blessed Virgin Mary is observed on the Saturday following the Feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus Christ, which falls nineteen days after Pentecost.
Olive Wood Sacred Heart of Jesus Statue
Scriptural Basis
Devotion to the Immaculate Heart of Mary is rooted in a passage from the Gospel of Luke that speaks of Mary's heart: "so that the thoughts of many hearts will be revealed, and a sword will pierce your soul as well." (Luke 2:35)
- In Chapter 2 of Saint Luke's Gospel, the evangelist twice reports that Mary kept all things in her heart, so that she might ponder over them. Luke 2:35 recounts the prophecy of Simeon that her heart would be pierced by a sword. This image, the pierced heart, is the most familiar representation of the Immaculate Heart.
- The Gospel of Saint John draws further attention to Mary's heart with its depiction of her at the foot of the Cross at the Crucifixion of Jesus. Saint Augustine observed that Mary was not merely passive at the foot of the Cross. "She cooperated through charity in the work of our redemption."
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