Mary and the Saints

Catholic and Orthodox homes have always kept pictures of the people who surround Christ in the Gospels and in the long memory of the Church. This collection gathers them, and at its heart is Mary. She appears at the Annunciation, twice, once alone in prayer in a bare room and once receiving the angel with a lily. She holds the newborn in a Madonna and Child, holds him close as the Theotokos, and in another painting kisses him, and stands in her starred mantle as Our Lady of Guadalupe. There is also Our Lady of Perpetual Help against gold, the Immaculate Heart among roses, Our Lady of Sorrows among irises, and a still life for the Magnificat with a rosary, a candle and an olive branch.

Around her is the household of Nazareth. Saint Joseph works at his bench beside the young Jesus, and the Holy Family appears both in the carpenter's shop and as a haloed icon. The archangels keep watch: Gabriel with white lilies, Michael with sword and shield on a rocky hill.

Then come the saints many families ask for by name. Francis, the birds perched on his fingers and a wolf lying close by, Anthony holding the child and a lily, Benedict with his staff, his Rule and his raven, and Joan of Arc kneeling beside her banner. Each is lettered with a King James verse that fits the story, so the picture and the Scripture explain each other. They suit a prayer corner, a confirmation or a name day, and a patron saint makes a thoughtful gift for a child who carries the same name.