By Joby Provido –
As we grow in the Catholic faith, we notice that the Church gives Mary many titles. Some of these are easily understandable, but some are concealed under layers of language and cultural evolution. These are her titles such as “Mystical Rose, Tower of David, Tower of Ivory, House of Gold, and Morning Star.”
Without putting them in proper context, we may miss the opportunity to find out what the Church is ascribing to her. The book, “A Sky Full of Stars,” does this. It rolls back the layers of language and culture so we can see Mary the way the Church presents her. In its proper perspective, we can finally meet “the bride of the Holy Spirit” without the veils that obscure her image.
For example, Mary is the Morning Star because Christians have always used celestial objects to symbolize what we believe. God, for example, was always symbolized by light. In the Old Testament, God appeared to Moses in the form of a burning bush. He manifested himself as a lit torch and lamp when he made a covenant with Abraham. He appeared as a pillar of fire that escorted the Israelites to the Promised Land.
So when Jesus said, “I am the light of the world,” the apostles instantly recognized it pointing to his divinity. This is why the sun is a symbol of Christ. The sun is a star who continually gives until it dies the same way Christ’s emptied himself until death. The sun as a symbol for Christ also ties up beautifully with Ezekiel’s prophecy that the Messiah will come from the east because the sun rises in the east. That is why older churches had altars facing east. That is why catechumens faced east on Easter during their baptism.
When we say Mary is the Morning Star, we are referring to Venus that rises just before the sun does. It is a way of reminding us that God planned to undo Adam and Eve’s disobedience and its terrible effects. Tertullian said that since Eve came from Adam, it is only poetic that in this reversal, the new Adam should come from the New Eve.
The book says, “He [God] planned our salvation, and in that plan, the role of Mary was a crucial part. It was meticulously designed so that Mary had to enter into this world first so that she could bring Christ into it too. This means Mary was not a random product of evolution arbitrarily chosen by God, but specifically selected and fashioned even before the universe was created.”
Another title that becomes richer when explained is Refuge of Sinners. In the Old Testament, God commanded Moses to create Levitical cities, six of which were “cities of refuge.” They were called that because the law could not punish criminals and murderers within the city walls. When the high priest died, a great amnesty was given so criminals in these cities could go home without being harmed along the way. This, of course, is a prefiguration of Christ. In his kingdom, we who deserve death are spared. Upon his death, we are able to make our way our way back to our true home in heaven unharmed.
Since Mary reflects her son as in a spotless mirror (which is another title, “Mirror of Justice”), she is our Refuge of Sinners. This means that when we are threatened, we can nestle safely under her cloak the same way chicks feel secure under their mother’s wings that put them out of harm’s way. The book says:
“This tender and motherly imagery has roots in a Cistercian story. Sometime in the thirteenth century, a Cistercian monk had a heavenly vision of Mary surrounded by some monks. He felt sad because he didn’t see any monks of his order. So he asked Our Lady why his religious order was not there considering their great devotion to her. She answered, “I love my Cistercians so much that I keep them covered with my arms.” She opened her mantle, and he saw under it many Cistercian monks.
This story became so popular in Europe that artists drew her cloak wider and wider so that more and more people could fit under it. Eventually, the only way to fit the entire world under her mantle of protection was to make the sky her mantle. This is why until today her cape is traditionally blue, and usually decorated with stars.”
This is the reason why the ceiling of many churches (including the Sistine Chapel before Michelangelo painted it) are blue and depicted as a sky full of stars for it is meant to remind us that we are under her care. The miraculous image of Our Lady of Guadalupe seems to corroborate this notion when Mary chose to appear wearing a blue cloak bedecked with stars.
The title of the book comes from this imagery. If we peek inside the mantle of Our Lady, there we will find all of us, her children, under her maternal protection.
A Sky Full of Stars uses Scripture, Tradition, liturgy, and typology to explain Mary’s titles. Archbishop Villegas said, “[it] has chosen what we call “positive orthodoxy” [in] presenting the faith in its original clarity…” By knowing Mary, we get the chance to identify her virtues and emulate them. By knowing Mary the way the Church presents her, we should be prepared to fall in love with her all over again.
The book is available in Kindle format on Amazon India and on Paperback in Amazon UK. More information about the book can be read on the official website.
Joby Provido is a cradle Catholic who grew up, and lives in Metro Manila, Philippines where spirituality is high, food is good, and traffic is a bad word. He teaches web design and development at a local School of Design and Arts where he engages students in conversations about religion, pop-culture, and food.
Each month, he gives short one-hour talks about the Faith under the title The Catholic Talks where Catholics and non-Catholics are free to join and ask questions. These sometimes end up longer when students offer him dark chocolate or pizza so he can unwittingly discuss other topics (oh, but he’s on to them.)
In an effort to make sure he explains the Faith correctly, he finished his Theology courses on doctrine, scripture, liturgy, and catechism from the satellite program of The University of Notre Dame. He maintains a website, The Catholictalks, where he loves to explain doctrine symbolized in Sacred Art.
When he isn’t busy with work, he likes to watch movies, sing along to musicals, or attempt to cook Asian food.