Our Lady of Gun Violence Victims (recent icon)
A recent icon written by Mark Dukes. I hope it produces a very visceral reaction in you as it did me. Rev. Mark Bozzuti-Jones of Trinity Church Wall Street commissioned the icon and that is where it is displayed.
The actual full title is “Our Lady Mother of Ferguson and All Those Killed by Gun Violence.”
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It combines Mary in the pose referencing Isaiah 7:14, a boy caught in the cross-hairs of a gun, the Sacred Heart of Jesus symbolizing His compassion for the whole world, and the Christus Victor mark symbolizing His victory over the powers which hold mankind in bondage: sin, death, and the devil.
The pose of Mary is called Virgin Orans (the Orante, the Oranta).
Mary is shown with arms in orante [praying] position. A most popular form of this style is the “Lady of the Sign” (a.k.a. Virgin of the Incarnation, Platytera, or Panagia), in which Mary is shown with arms in orante position, with Christ enclosed in a circle in her womb. When Christ is shown in Mary’s womb like that, she is known as the “Mother of God of the Sign,” hearkening back to the words of Isaiah 7:14, “Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign. Behold a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and his name shall be called Emmanuel.” http://fisheaters.com/images.html
Implicit in this icon, therefore, is the prophetic promise of Emmanuel - “God is with us.”
Mary is depicted as an African-American woman, implying “God is with our Black community.” Mary also lost her son to a violent death and so she gives comfort to those left behind, since death is not the end. Mothers suffering the loss of their children unexpectedly killed can identify with the same feelings of loss and grief experienced by Mary.
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In the middle of the icon, within the circle frame common to this icon pose, we don’t see Jesus in her womb. Instead, we see a boy caught in the cross-hairs of a gun. Inside him we see the “Sacred Heart of Jesus.”
The devotion to the Sacred Heart (also known as the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, Sacratissimi Cordis Iesu in Latin) is one of the most widely practiced and well-known Roman Catholic devotions, taking Jesus Christ’s physical heart as the representation of His divine love for humanity. This devotion is predominantly used in the Roman Catholic Church and among some high-church Anglicans and Lutherans. The devotion is especially concerned with what the Church deems to be the love and compassion of the heart of Christ towards humanity, and its long suffering. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sacred_Heart
The Sacred Heart is surrounded by a crown of thorns, with further implications of suffering and self-sacrificial love for all.
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The hands of the boy are in the praying posture called ‘Orans.’ It’s the sacrificial position priests take at the Eucharist. https://www.ewtn.com/expert/answers/orans_posture.htm
The posture of the boy’s hands echo the same posture in the hands of Mary.
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Within the victim’s elbow bends are a ‘C’ and a ‘V’ = Christus Victor.
According to the Christus Victor theory of the Atonement, Christ’s death defeated the powers of evil, which had held humankind in their dominion. It is a model of the atonement that is dated to the Church Fathers, and it, or the related ransom theory, was the dominant theory of the Atonement for a thousand years, until Anselm of Canterbury supplanted it in the West with his Satisfaction theory of atonement. “The work of Christ is first and foremost a victory over the powers which hold mankind in bondage: sin, death, and the devil.” This view of the Early church (Christus Victor) is rooted in the Incarnation and how Christ entered into human misery and wickedness and thus redeemed it. Aulén argues that the Christus Victor view of the Atonement is not so much a rational systematic theory as it is a drama, a passion story of God triumphing over the Powers and liberating humanity from the bondage of sin. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christus_Victor
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I found this icon in a FB post by Fr. James Martin, SJ. He wrote,
Our Lady prays for all who are targeted by gun violence: African-Americans [and others], the poor and marginalized, and police officers.
All are her children.
All are our brothers and sisters.
Let us ask Our Lady to pray for us.
https://www.facebook.com/FrJamesMartin/photos/a.139618381495.120357.46899546495/10153602339836496/?type=3&theater
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I’m Protestant and don’t pray to Mary. But, I find this a powerful image which can move me to prayer in a Protestant manner. The combination of the two figures, the Sacred Heart of Jesus, and the Christus Victor symbol is greater than the sum of its parts.
Themes of the Incarnation of Christ and the Passion of Christ are strongly implicit, though He is not overtly present in the icon. Those themes bring with them associated theological truths implied in the icon such as: * God took on flesh as a helpless child. * God suffered as a human. * Christ suffered as an innocent victim. * Christ was unjustly killed by the combination of the evil actions of one man plus the evil systems that rule the world through power of violence, selfishness and intimidation. * Christ conquered the power of death. * Christ overcame the power of violence and the power of evil. * Christ is likewise the Victor over the sins of each individual.
At first viewing, the icon overtly speaks of death through the image of the gun crosshairs. But through closer examination, icon study and meditation, it becomes obvious that it is actually an icon of Hope.… and specifically, of Hope in the Incarnation (”Emmanuel”), Passion, and Resurrection of Christ Jesus the Victor.
The Sacred Heart of Jesus, symbolizing His compassion and love for the whole world - even for His enemies - even for those who killed Him - still beats whole and undimmed, and will continue to do so even after the boy in the middle of the is shot. Death does not have the last word. “Hope in Christ” is the last word portrayed in this powerful icon.
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My Roman Catholic and Orthodox friends, and blog readers, can use this prayer icon in the way they see fit. Protestants can meditate and pray as they see fit as well.
This has been an exercise in ‘Imago Divina,’ meditating on an image to perceive and experience the Divine Truth. For more on this Christian practice, see http://www.unforcedrhythms.org/a-still-centre/resources-for-contemplative-prayer/imago-divina-prayer-praying-with-an-art-image/
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Note: the image was posted on FB today by Father James Martin SJ, as I mentioned above. The comments on it are approaching 200 comments, many of strongly held opinions, both very positive and very negative reactions. For my own opinion, I agree with this comment: “I am surprised by those who feel the imagery of their faith has been hijacked. My faith centers on a marginalized agitator who was murdered by agents of the government and whose mother grieved.”
And this FB comment: “It’s provocative, edgy, and forces you to think and reflect on the state of the world and the conditions of others while inviting you to prayer. Sounds *exactly* like what Jesus did. I think it’s fantastic.”
