“Apache Virgin and Child II” by Father John B. Giuliani
Our Lady of Knock
Today we celebrate the Solemnity of Mary, the Holy Mother of God.
Luke 2: 16-21
The shepherds hurried away to Bethlehem and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby lying in the manger. When they saw the child they repeated what they had been told about him, and everyone who heard it was astonished at what the shepherds had to say. As for Mary, she treasured all these things and pondered them in her heart. And the shepherds went back glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen; it was exactly as they had been told.
When the eighth day came and the child was to be circumcised, they gave him the name Jesus, the name the angel had given him before his conception.
https://jcapsj.org/2022/01/cultural-madonna-and-child/
“One of the most common and well-loved Catholic Christian images is the image of the Virgin Mary and the Child Jesus. Given the abiding sentimentality of Mary and her baby in the Catholic faith, this particular motif has engendered a host of works that range from heavenly icons to down-to-earth portrayals. No doubt Mary and Jesus were Jews, but their features and dress have evolved over the ages in various cultural forms other than just Jewish.”
https://epicpew.com/the-multicultural-mary-mother-of-god/
“[T]he principle of enculturation merits our reflection here. In the Catholic Church, every culture, country, ethnicity, and race has claimed Jesus and the Blessed Virgin Mary as their own. Our Lady of Guadalupe appeared to Saint Juan Diego as a mestiza, African art depicts Jesus as Black, Asian depictions of the Blessed Mother, too, take on similarities of both bodily appearance and, often, cultural garb.”
Bishop Donald Hying
Global reverence for Mary
Let us celebrate with reverence the Solemnity of Mary with Catholics around the world.