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Intro Mary Garden
FLOWER THEOLOGY
John S. Stokes Jr.
Introduction
Over forty years of research undertaken by the religious
project, Mary's Gardens, has documented hundreds of flowers
symbolically associated with Mary's life, mysteries, excellences
and divine prerogatives - as recorded by botanists, folklorists
and lexicographers.
This flower symbolism serves as a mirror of the popular faith
of which it was an expression in the countrysides of medieval
Christendom.
Prominent among the Marian flower symbols are those
reflecting Mary's immaculate maidenly spirituality; the life of
the Holy Family in Nazareth, Mary's Rosary Mysteries; and her
divinely bestowed privileges and prerogatives.
Flower associations with Mary's divine prerogatives include,
for example, those associated with her Assumption (dogmatically
defined just as we were starting our Marian research and
reflection in the fall of 1950). Among these are the apocraphyal
legend of the roses and lilies found in place of Mary's body in
her tomb; St. Bede's 6th Century discernment of the translucent
whiteness of the petals of the white lily as symbolizing the
purity of Mary's body and the gold of its anthers as symbolizing
the glory of her soul, as she was assumed into heaven; and the
lists of grains, herbs and flowers included in the Assumption
Bundles, dating back to the 9th century, blessed at the altar on
the feast of the Assumption - for which the ritual is preserved
today in the Roman Rite.
Similar flower associations were found for the dogmas of
Mary's Divine Maternity, her Perpetual Virginity, and her
Immaculate Conception; and also for other traditional doctrines
such as Mary's Divine Intercession, her Mediation of all Grace,
her Protection of the faithful from evil, her Spiritual Motherhood
of Christians and the Church, and her Queenship of Heaven and
Earth.
For us these flower associations prompted a richness of
Marian reflection, meditation and prayer as we tended the Flowers
of Our Lady in Mary Gardens through the months and years.
Deepening of Understanding Through Ecumenical Dialog
Then, abruptly, in 1964, when we entered into the
Catholic-Protestant dialogues following upon the Second Vatican
Council, we were confronted with an entirely different view of Our
Lady.
In these dialogues we found that Catholic devotion to Mary was
viewed by participating Protestants as an unscriptural and
idolatrous elevation of Mary to a position replacing the mediating
role of Jesus between God and humankind. In this they were
vehement in their rejection of the Catholic teaching that belief
in the dogmatically defined doctrines of Mary's divine
prerogatives - especially the recently defined dogmas of the
Immaculate Conception and Assumption - was necessary for salvation.
To place this difference in a rational context for dialogue, we
sought to find as a starting point a more fundamental creedal
religious concept we all held in common.
In this we found that recourse, as in Sheeban's Mariology, to
the doctrine of Mary's Divine Maternity, from the Apostles' Creed,
as a starting point for the derivation of her other divine
prerogatives was unacceptable to Protestant participants, even to
those who accepted the divinity of Christ, because they did not
accept the concept of Christ's divinity at birth - seeing it
rather as revealed or realized subsequently.
Basis of Marian Theology in the Purpose of Creation
We therefore started with the creedal belief in the Creation,
proposing that God's purpose in Creation, as stated by Thomas
Aquinas, was to show forth and share the divine goodness with
humans, who, to this end, were created in the divine image and
likeness - in consequence of which, as stated in the old
catechisms, "We have been created to know, love and serve God in
this world and to be happy with him forever in the next."
We proposed further that, implicit in the will of the infinite
God to share the divine goodness, of attributes and action, with
finite, created human persons, was the desire to share it to the
fullest extent possible.
Then, drawing on the scriptural teaching that human nature
was "created in the divine image and likeness", we proposed that
this made possible both the human Incarnation of God the Son, as
true God and true man, in Jesus (introducing at this point the
creedal doctrines of the Trinity and Incarnation); and also a
bestowed fullness of purely human sharing in and instrumentation
of the divine - through the immaculate and humble openness to
God's grace and divine indwelling of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
The divine sharing bestowed upon and received to its fullest
by Mary, as announced by the Archangel Gabriel - made possible her
human cooperation as co-Parent, and also, mystically, as
co-Creator ("The Lord possessed me in the beginning of his ways .
. .") with God the Father; as Co-Redeemer, at the foot of the
Cross, with God the Son; and as co-Sanctifier and co-Renewer of
the face of the earth with God the Holy Spirit for the building of
God's earthly Kingdom - of which she thus became Queen, in union
with Christ the King.
We affirmed the Catholic belief that Mary, "our tainted
nature's solitary boast", was able to enter into such divine
cooperation through the utter immaculateness of her maidenly
spiritual perfection and holiness, which made possible her
fullness of grace and the divine indwelling - not as a challenge
to the mediatorship of Christ, the creation of the Father, or the
sanctification of the Holy Spirit, but as an initial fulfillment
of the desire of the Trinity for the fullest sharing of created
humans in the divine goodness of attributes and action.
Each new sharing of Mary in the divine creating, redeeming,
sanctifying and renewing action was and is possible because of her
perpetual virginity - her perpetual immaculate purity and
spiritual openness, body and soul, in heaven as on earth -
enabling her to receive the actual graces for these ongoing
actions, and also the fullness of illumination, wisdom and power
which God wills to bestow at each moment, in keeping with the
purpose of Creation. It is because of her perpetually preserved
purity, through grace, that Mary said of herself to Bernadette at
Lourdes, in the present and perpetual sense, "I am the Immaculate
Conception".
Mary is, therefore, the human model for our own showing forth
and sharing of the divine goodness - in keeping with the purpose
of Creation for all humans. Through moral and ascetic openness
to grace and to union with God's indwelling presence, we, too,
possessing the same human nature, have the potential - in
accordance with Paul's teaching of our call to divine adoption,
and membership in Christ - for the sharing and showing forth of the
divine goodness of attributes and action, to the sublime degree of
the saints. Those who are ascetically more perfected, if God so
deigns, may be raised in grace and illumination to mystical
participation in the very sharing among the Divine Persons in the
interior of the Trinity - as was surely Mary, the "Mystical Rose".
Theological Basis of Marian Devotion
We then explained how to this end Catholics pray the Rosary,
in which - in love for the Trinity, for Mary, for our fellow
humans, and for the Divine Plan and the building of God's
earthly/heavenly Kingdom - we pray the Our Father and Hail Mary's
while meditating successively on each of fifteen mysteries of
Mary's life, "that by imitating what they contain, we may obtain
what they promise." We imitate Mary's holiness in the context of
each Mystery that we may obtain, according to our capacity, a
measure of the actual graces, light, wisdom and power of the
divine action shared and shown forth by her in the same Mystery -
as in the Annunciation, Visitation, Nativity, etc.
In thus deriving the doctrine of Mary's divine prerogatives
from creedal faith in Creation and its divine purpose, and from
faith in the spiritual potential and calling of created human
nature, we were able to move Catholic-Protestant ecumenical
dialogs in which we participated away from Protestant charges of
Catholic idolatry, superstition and sentimentality in regard to
Mary to a reasoned consideration of God, Creation, human nature,
the Trinity and the Incarnation.
In this it was demonstrated why belief in Mary's divine
prerogatives is, in the Catholic view, indeed necessary for
salvation - because their very derivation requires and gives
proper clarification to the creedal beliefs in God, Creation,
Trinity and the Incarnation, deemed necessary for the salvation
of the world - already won in essence through Christ' victory over
evil on the Cross, but still to be realized in history.
Individual salvation, on the other hand, is considered in
Catholic teaching as coming from good will and good conscience -
regardless of one's philosophy, religion, denomination or belief
in Mary - with the expectation, according to Jesus' teaching of
"Seek and you shall find", that anyone who commits himself or
herself to a disinterested seeking of the truth of life will, given
enough time, arrive, through providence and grace, at a belief in
an infinite, eternal, omniscient, all-powerful, loving, creating
God, who out of love for humans has surely established a universal
truth source for all humans, which on examination is found to be
One, Holy, Catholic, Apostolic, Roman Church.
We rejoiced that our years of reflection in the Mary Garden
on the flower symbols of Mary's divine prerogatives had given us a
certainty of conviction regarding these prerogatives, which
enabled us, when called upon, effectively to defend them and to
derive them from the more generally accepted creedal articles of
faith. We rejoiced also that one outcome of this dialog was a
more confident affirmation of Marian doctrine and devotion by
other Catholic participants in the dialogues, who previously had
erroneously tended to downplay them as an approach to
reconciliation with Protestants.
Marian Theology and Devotion Implicit in Marian Flower Symbols
When asked, we explained that we had reached this certainty
through working with Marian flower symbols reflecting the profound
belief of rural Christians in the medieval Age of Faith. In this
we made reference to St. Louis de Montfort's teaching that true
devotion to Mary originates from simple interior, tender, holy,
constant and disinterested devotion of the heart (such as that
characteristic of devotion to Mary through her flowers), rather
than from intellectually critical or scrupulous examination of
texts, etc. We expressed our joy over the thousands of letters we
had received at Mary's Gardens through the years - in response to
articles and religious press reports - inquiring about the Flowers
of Our Lady with beautiful expressions of such simple faith in
Mary, shared with us in the Communion of Saints.
This also provided an opportunity to point out that
infallible dogmatic pronouncements do not originate from the
popes, "from the top down", but are papal definitions, ex
cathedra, of beliefs that came from the faithful from the deposit
of faith spiritually nurtured and clarified through the centuries,
as ascertained by the bishops through extensive world-wide
inquiry.
In this we expressed our own hope for the early dogmatic
definition of the widely held and liturgically celebrated doctrine
of Mary's Mediation of all Grace - discerned by Pope Pius XII at
the time of his dogmatic definition of the doctrine of Mary's
Assumption as then "not yet ripe in the mind of the Church."
The dogmatic definition of Mary as universal Mediatrix will
serve both as a further demonstration and clarification of God's
will for the fullness of sharing of the goodness of the divine
action with humans, through Mary; and also as an inducement to all
the faithful - that God's will be done for human sharing in the
divine action - to make full recourse to Mary's mediation of the
graces of conversion and the building of the Peaceable Kingdom, so
needed today.
Comprehensiveness of of Marian Flower Symbolism
At the conclusion of one Catholic-Protestant dialogue
series we showed, on request, color slide photos of some of the
Marian Flower symbols which had led us to reflect on Mary's
holiness and divine prerogatives.
In this we pointed out that all flowers were considered as
symbols of Mary's immaculate holiness, and that for this reason
May, the month of flowering, was dedicated to Mary, the "Flower of
flowers", as she was called by Chaucer. Thus, all Flowers of Our
Lady have a dual symbolism: while symbolizing particular facets of
Mary's life, mysteries and prerogatives through their forms, they
are all at the same time, through their general characteristics as
flowers, symbols of her immaculateness which enabled her reception
of and participation in the bestowed mysteries and prerogatives.
.
.
In addition, certain flowers, plants and trees from the
scriptures were adopted by the Church Fathers, and incorporated in
the Liturgy, as specific Immaculate Conception symbols, such as
the Blossoming Stem of Jesse from Isaiah's prophecy of the Virgin
Birth of the Messiah; and Rose Plant, Lily Among Thorns, Exalted
Cedar, and Fruitful Olive Tree, from the Sapiential books. We can
consider that such symbols were reflected on by Mary herself as
she read the scriptures, in her spiritual formation. Later, other
flowers were also adopted as Immaculate Conception symbols, such as
Yucca, "Tower of Ivory", from the Litany of Loreto.
We first showed a slide photo of the "Annunciation with
Flower Symbols" from a 16th Century French Book of Hours - which
exhibits a panel of individual symbolical flowers beneath a
miniature painting of the Virgin Mary with the announcing
Archangel Gabriel, a vase of white Annunciation Lilies, and the
descending dove of the Holy Spirit.
.
Among these flowers are those which symbolize the maidenly,
immaculate, purity of Holy Mary, through her openness and fidelity
to the graces bequeathed her for the preservation of her Immaculate
Conception:
White Lily "Annunciation Lily", symbol of Mary's
Immaculate Purity.
Impatiens "Our Lady's Earrings", symbolical pure
adornments of the ears of Mary who heard
the word of God and kept it.
Violet symbol of Mary's humility "regarded by
the Lord".
Lady-Slipper "Our Lady's Slipper", symbol of Mary's
graceful Visitation trip to visit
Elizabeth in the hill country: "All her
steps were most beauteous."
Thistle-Down another Visitation symbol, from its
graceful movement in air currents.
Others symbolize some of Mary's divinely bestowed
prerogatives, as Mother of God, possible through her immaculate
holiness:
Rose symbol of the Blessed Virgin of
prophecy, the Rose plant bearing the
flower, Christ.
Daisy "Mary's Flower of God"
Periwinkle "Virgin Flower", emblem of the Blessed
Virgin.
Columbine symbol of the dove of the Holy Spirit,
Mary's overshadowing, indwelling,
divine Spouse.
Pansy "Trinity Flower", symbol of the
Trinity, first revealed to Mary.
Strawberry "Fruitful Virgin", in flower and fruit
at the same time.
Everlasting symbol of the eternity of Mary's loving
mediation in heaven.
Flower Symbols of Mary's Divinely Bestowed Prerogatives
From this we went on to show slides of individual flowers
whose symbolism referred to Mary's divine prerogatives.
Following the dogmatic definition of the doctrine of the
Divine Maternity of Mary as the Mother of God at the Council of
Ephesus in AD 432, the frontal image of the Mother and Child was
adopted as its visual representation. In the English countryside
the wild arum, with leaf-like spathe and rod-like pistil, was seen
as a Virgin and Child symbol and commonly known to this day as
"Lady-Lords".
The Flowering Stem of Jesse (grape vine) - symbol of the
virgin birth of the divine Redeemer from Isaiah - was extended to
the blooming rose, as in the Christmas carol, "Lo a Rose 'ere
Blooming". Other flowers of the Sacred Nativity include "Star of
Bethlehem"; "Our Lady's Bedstraw" - which, according to old
legend, acquired its golden color when the glorious new-born
divine Savior, true God and true Man, was laid on it in the manger
- and "Our Lady's Milkdrops", also from legend and recalling, or
anticipating, the Nursing Madonna in art.
The doctrine of Mary's Perpetual Virginity, dogmatically
defined in the twelfth century, was seen to be symbolized in the
garden by the strawberry - in flower and fruit at the same time.
Additionally there are numerous "Virgin's" flowers.
Mary's Transfixion as Co-Redemptrix with Christ is
represented by "Mary's Tears" and "Mary's Sword" of sorrow, and by
flower symbols of Christ's Passion and Death on the Cross, in
which Mary participated spiritually through motherly compassion,
grace and union with the Lord, who was with her - such as "Crown
of Thorns", "Christ's Lash", "Christ's Blood Drops", "Christ's
Back", "Christ's Knee", "Christ's Cross" and the composite
symbolism of the "Passion Flower".
Besides the Assumption flowers previously mentioned, there is
the white day lily, known as Assumption Lily from it's mid-August
bloom around the time of the August 15th liturgical feast of the
Assumption. The marigold ("Mary's Gold"), symbolizes the heavenly
glory of Mary, the "Woman clothed with the Sun" of Revelations.
Mary's prerogative of divine intercession was symbolized by
"Mary's Heart" - recalling the intercession of the Immaculate
Heart of Mary with the Sacred Heart of Jesus, as scripturally
implicit at the Marriage Feast in Cana.
Mary's Mediation of All Grace - symbolized by flowers such
as: "Our Lady's Keys" (to the storehouses of heavenly grace),
"Ladder to Heaven", "Heavenly Way" and "Mary's Candle" ("The
Virgin Mary flies over all the land, with heaven's fire in her
hand") - was scripturally implicit at the Visitation, when John
the Baptist "lept" in Elizabeth's womb on the arrival of Mary
bearing Jesus in her womb; at the foot of the Cross, when the
piercing of Mary's faithful soul with the sword of sorrow, of
Simeon's prophecy, inspired (in John and through history) the
grace-inspired love of Christ now revealed in many hearts; and
Pentecost in the tongues and power of conversion conferred on the
Apostles after nine days of prayers with Mary in the upper
room.
Mary's spiritual Motherhood was symbolized by flowers such as
"Sweet Mary", "Mary-Love", "Mary's Help", "Eyes of Mary"
suggesting her eyes of mercy, "Mary's Hand" of pity", and "Our
Lady's Mantle" protecting the faithful from evil.
And Mary's queenly and motherly sorrow - as revealed at La
Salette - over her children's suffering from human delay in
the coming of God's Kingdom was symbolized by "Queen's Tears".
We then showed flowers symbolizing Mary's other Rosary
Mysteries, concluding with "Mary's Crown", of the glorious
Mysteries.
In 1970, we had an opportunity to present the Flowers of Our
Lady to a dialogue panel, in a one hour television program, "Flower
Power" of the ecumenical and social issues series, INPUT, produced
for the Philadelphia CBS affiliate, Channel 10. This program
received the most viewer mail, all favorable, of over sixty
programs produced in a three year period.
o O o
Now that the dialogues are long over and we have gone "back to
the garden", a continuing fruit of thus drawing on our meditations
on the rich content of the flower symbols as testimony to Our
Lady's holiness and prerogatives has been an ever-increasing
quickening in the garden of our faith and prayer through these
flower associations.
Copyright Mary's Gardens 1995