Pondering the Angelus with Art

The First Joyful Mystery: The Annunciation
Stained Glass window from St Josaphat Basilica, Milwaukee

Hail, star illumined by the sun, hail:
through you creation has been renewed.

You are the heavenly stairway
through which God has descended.

You are the earth
of the fruit that never perishes.

You are the key
to the doors of paradise.

(From the Byzantine liturgy)

Pondering the Angelus with Art

The Annunciation, by Lorenzo Maitani; from the facade of the Cathedral of Orvieto.

Pondering the Angelus with Art: An Islamic-influenced Annunciation

This page from a 15th century Gospel book hails from the Lake Van region of Turkey. You can probably recognize the Islamic influence on the artist. The book was not only treasured, but actively used for centuries, as attested by the marginal notations throughout. 

For more about this remarkable depiction, see the Flickr page of the Walters Museum of Art.

Pondering the Angelus with Art

The painting by Sister Bianca Gaudiano (Sisters of St Dorothy) seems to hint at the theme of faithfulness with the mysterious addition of three visitors in the left background. That, and the green roof over Mary's head, suggests the story of Abraham and the promise he received under the terebinth of Mamre: a son would be born, despite the impossibility suggested by Sarai's barrenness and advanced age. "Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness."

On this Solemnity of the Presentation of the Lord, the 40th day after Christmas (and traditionally the end of the Christmas season), two figures join us in contemplating Mary's "yes." Simeon and Anna, grown old in waiting for the promises of the Lord to be fulfilled, witness God's faithfulness. Blessed are they who believed!

This Annunciation scene is part of a series of miniatures in the parlor of the Sisters of St Dorothy convent in Rome.