The icon of Mary of Nazareth is a very simple and very rich icon. It is simple because there is only Mary and the Child, and very rich because of all the details that surround her.
We see Mary standing over the world carrying her son and from her hand flows a spring. The spring comes from the Father's hand; first of all, it is a gift from the Father. It is he who chose Mary to give birth to the Son and to give him to the world; "the Holy Spirit will come upon you", hence the Spirit with his white rays, the Child is in white and the spring that descends from Mary's hand and falls on the world.
Mary is wearing a blue dress. Blue is the symbol of faith and wisdom, the colour from above: "Blessed are you who have believed". In the Annunciation, Mary is always dressed in blue. Wisdom is the gift of tasting God, so it's faith, prayer, contemplation and prayer. White is fullness, it is beyond all colours, it is all colours. The risen one is in white, the angels of the resurrection are in white, the transfigured one is in white and the chosen ones of the apocalypse are in white. It's the colour that goes beyond all limits, the colour of the 8th day.
We see Mary dressed as a Palestinian, in the clothes of Nazareth. These are the old clothes of Nazareth. She is dressed from her home, from her locality, so she cannot be a Mary from anywhere else; not from Lourdes, not from Pomain, not from anywhere else in the world, she is really from Nazareth. The only thing typical of Nazareth is the fountain. In this icon you can see that it's not the fountain that provides the water.
Mary is the one who feeds the fountain that flows over the world, especially the world. Here we have the basilica and the typical flower of Nazareth.
So you see, this icon is basically very simple, but what it suggests above all is that it doesn't stop at itself. An icon is a window onto the invisible, especially the mystery. What is given to Mary, what Mary is asked to give birth to the Son, concerns us. Every Christian must give birth to Christ in his life, in his being, and every Christian must be a source, must be fruitful. Every Christian must be able to give life, love and light to everyone around them.
What more can we say about this icon that goes so far into all this mystery that is not knowledge, but an experience, an experience that is shared. An experience that we are not allowed to keep to ourselves.
And I am very, very happy to have been able to create this icon which is really typical, which is really from our country, which is from Nazareth; it is the "Lady of Palestine". I thank those who gave me the opportunity to create this icon, may God bless them. Amen
Sister Marie-Paul
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