The chapel was renovated in 2014 and they added this painting, by Latvian artist Anita Kreituse. You can see (much!) better pictures of the whole project here.
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The people surrounding Mary are supposed to be from different time periods and social classes, in keeping with St. Vincent Pallotti's vision that everyone is called to be an apostle. The glowing orb is presumably the Holy Spirit and everyone has a tongue of fire.
Honestly, I have trouble with Mary. For me she represents the patriarchy's vision of the ideal woman - passive, sanitized, all-giving. Mary sets no boundaries, she has no power of her own, she exists solely to be the handmaiden of the Lord. A tool of God. And of course, this is where the treasure lies, spiritually speaking! Let go, surrender to the universe, trust! But men aren't really asked to emulate Mary, are they?
I feel like there's a Mary we need to reclaim. A woman who was strong, who held her family together, who raised a son with enough self-confidence to listen to his heart and bring his message to the world (was that any easier 2,000 years ago than it is now?). And yet here we have Mary just...sitting there. She's the center of the painting but she isn't the center of attention for the crowd; she's holding a Bible but she doesn't seem to be reading out of it or preaching from it or winning hearts to Jesus. But...maybe that's good. I've decided that what she's doing is witnessing. She's being there, with these people, whenever and wherever and however they exist, as they celebrate and dance and grieve and pray and comfort each other. She's not being passive or powerless - she's shining with an inner strength, a positive spirit. She is doing what church needs to do - which is to say, what we all need to do and what church should help us do: to exist fully in the world, to see where God = Love is at work, to be present and be present and keep being present and keep showing up, in whatever way we can.
Honestly, I have trouble with Mary. For me she represents the patriarchy's vision of the ideal woman - passive, sanitized, all-giving. Mary sets no boundaries, she has no power of her own, she exists solely to be the handmaiden of the Lord. A tool of God. And of course, this is where the treasure lies, spiritually speaking! Let go, surrender to the universe, trust! But men aren't really asked to emulate Mary, are they?
I feel like there's a Mary we need to reclaim. A woman who was strong, who held her family together, who raised a son with enough self-confidence to listen to his heart and bring his message to the world (was that any easier 2,000 years ago than it is now?). And yet here we have Mary just...sitting there. She's the center of the painting but she isn't the center of attention for the crowd; she's holding a Bible but she doesn't seem to be reading out of it or preaching from it or winning hearts to Jesus. But...maybe that's good. I've decided that what she's doing is witnessing. She's being there, with these people, whenever and wherever and however they exist, as they celebrate and dance and grieve and pray and comfort each other. She's not being passive or powerless - she's shining with an inner strength, a positive spirit. She is doing what church needs to do - which is to say, what we all need to do and what church should help us do: to exist fully in the world, to see where God = Love is at work, to be present and be present and keep being present and keep showing up, in whatever way we can.
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