This 16th-century icon has an admirable structure. A true page from the Gospel. As with a church, with Byzantine crosses, it is built on the 3 planes:
1) Supernatural plane - divine
2) Higher natural plane - spiritual
3) Lower natural plane
In the 1st plane, the angels: supernatural - celestial domain
In the 2nd plane, the Virgin's Heart: Her Love = child
By an utterly divine grace (for Mary is a creature like us) and also by a unique mission given to her by the Father, Mary was closely associated with the work of our redemption. Dressed in royal purple: the dark, slightly purplish red of her mantle. In ancient times, and particularly in the Bible, this color was considered a royal attribute: Mary is Queen.
Her head (the head is the seat of Wisdom) is in the supernatural plane, for her mission is all divine and in some ways transcends her person. She is truly the Woman, the One, the New Eve alongside the New Adam. The Woman of the Apocalypse, the Church, the Bride.
The mystery of Mary is linked to the mystery of Christ. From all eternity, God sees his Son Incarnate and born of Mary. God's plan is eternal. We forget this all too often.
The Eastern Church has retained a strong sense of the Mystery of Mary, and its icons continue to show this in a variety of ways. In this icon of the Passion, Jesus is shown to us in his Incarnation, in his abasement. The Son of the Father lowered himself by taking on flesh like ours.
In the center, at the height of the heart, is the Virgin's right hand. The center in an icon is of great importance (the symbolism of which would take us too far, cf. for example, the center of Rublev's Trinity Icon). Clearly, the Child is leaning with both hands on the Virgin's right hand. The right hand is a symbol of strength, of support, cf. also the whole meaning of "the right" in the Bible. To the end, Jesus will need his mother. That's why Mary was standing at the foot of the cross.
The New Woman associated with the New Adam to beget God's children. That's how He wanted it, and that's how it will be until the end of time. If we are to be one with Christ, like him we need Mary. Mary carries him on her left hand, and he leans on her right. It's not for fear of the cross that Jesus leans on his mother; the proof is that he turns away to look at it. And it is precisely the angels who present his Passion to him through its instruments, because the angels are the messengers of the Divinity, of the Trinity. So his Passion is offered to him from on high, by his Father, and Jesus looks at it as a sign of total acquiescence to his Father's will; he does not turn away from it.
On the lower plane, the sandal is detached from the Child's foot. To set foot on a field and throw one's sandal on it is to take possession of it (Jerusalem Bible note). Jesus had the right of redemption over us. He has redeemed us from this lower world, this world of darkness, of sin.
The green of the Virgin's bonnet and dress is a symbol of Life. Mary is Mother and giver of the Life that is Jesus. She is indeed at the origin of the fulfillment of the plan of Redemption.
The Child's mantle symbolizes his divine origin. The color orange is akin to the element fire, a divine symbol, and the golden "network" that covers his cloak is the network of divine Life that pervades and radiates throughout Jesus' human nature.
The angels' purple is a symbol of suffering. They don't wear it for themselves, but offer it to the Child along with the instruments of the Passion: on the right, the cross; on the left, the sponge that will soak him with vinegar and the spear that will pierce his heart. The green accompanies the violet, for the cross is only a passage, leading to the Resurrection, to Life.
This is the heart of the mystery. A great Peace emanates from this Icon. This is why so many mystics have spoken of the Joy of the Cross - a joy that only those who have experienced it (as much as a human being can experience of this joy of God) know a little of what it is - Joy in the Cross accepted and lived with Christ and in Him and as Him for the Father and the Brothers. In this great passage from death to Life, from Darkness to Light, from Suffering to Glory, which takes place throughout our lives, Mary is the Father's Great Helper. Hence the name given to a late reproduction of this Icon in Rome, "Our Lady of Perpetual Help".
Sister Marie-Paul
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