By Jacqueline Kelly –
Life, death and decay are parts of the cycle of nature, and this includes trees and flowers too. May is the start of summer where flowers bloom.
Flowers are often depicted in Christian art for the decoration of churches or private dwellings. In Christianity, flowers have a special place because they remind us of what Jesus did and the promises that He made.
During the Middle Age, the faithful honoured Mary as the Mother of all living beings. The May Hawthorn, which bears white blossoms in early spring, came to be known as “Mary’s Flower of May”.
The Catholic Church dedicated May in honour of Mary. In his 1965 encyclical, Mense Maio, Pope Paul VI wrote about the importance of Mary’s intercession for the world, explaining that those who encounter her encounter her Son, Jesus.
There are over 1,100 flowers connected to Mary’s life. The faithful saw Mary’s attributes in the flowers growing around them and named many flowers after her.
ROSE
Rose is Mary’s signature flower and an emblem of Mary’s love of God. It is regarded as “Queen of Flowers” and symbolizes Mother Mary, the Queen of Heaven”.
Mary’s favourite flower is the Rose. Cardinal Henry Newman wrote, “Mary is the Queen of spiritual flowers, and therefore she is called the Rose”.
The thorns signify the Saviour crowned with thorns and shed His blood on the Cross for the salvation of mankind and Mary’s role in the history of salvation as the Mother of Our Saviour.
The rose also signifies Mary, the Mystical Rose and her mystical participation in the Holy Trinity as Heaven’s Rose or Mystical Rose. In medieval times, the mystic rose symbol was drawn with four petals on a stain glass background like a popular quilt pattern. The Blessed Virgin Mary is called the “rose without a thorn“.
According to legend, when the Archangel Gabriel announced to Mary that she would become the Mother of Jesus, Son of God, she blushed and Rosa Alba [White Rose] became pink.
The Rose had a place in Christian symbolism. The Rosary takes its name from the Rose. It is visually represented in art as a garland of roses given to Mary. The Rosary provides a unifying context for the flower symbols, and the flower symbols explain the Mysteries.
Saint Louis de Montford in his book “The Secret of the Rosary” refers to the white rose of purity and simplicity and the red rose of the Precious Blood of our Lord. He speaks of the Rose Tree, symbolizing the Mystical Roses of Jesus and Mary. He compares the rosebud to a rosary bead and urges children to regard the prayers of the rosary as “your little wreath of roses for Jesus and Mary”.
The Glastonbury Rose is also called Christmas Rose. It symbolizes the Mother of God and the Infant Jesus. It is an exquisite flower and blooms just before dawn on January 6, Feast of Epiphany.
Several miracles involving Mary included roses as a prominent feature.
The Rose of Jericho marked the spot where the Holy family rested during their flight into Egypt.
Rose Campion saved the life of a lord who prayed “Our Lady’s Psalter”.
Saint Elizabeth of Hungary found her apron filled with roses where she was concealing the food she was carrying to the poor to hide it from her husband.
Saint Juan Diego, the Mexican peasant who received a vision of Mary at Guadalupe found his cloak filled with miraculous roses when he tried to convince a Priest his vision was real.
Statues and pictures of the Immaculate Heart of Mary show Our Lady with her heart enwreathed in pink roses. Pink is associated with purity.
The yellow rose stands for honour bestowed on Mary and triumphant glory.
A red rose and a white rose side by side in a flower arrangement symbolize the crucifixion and the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
LILY
The white lily was associated with Mary since early Christianity. The white petals represent Mary’s flesh and the yellow pollen covered with stamens is her soul.
The Lily is known as “May Flower”. It represents return to happiness. The fragrance of the white lily symbolizes Mary’s divinity, the leaves signify her humility and white petals her purity.
The Madonna lily is the flower of the Annunciation. Madonna lilies and lilies of the valley symbolize Mary’s humility and obedience to God. When Mary cried at the foot of the Cross, her tears turned to flowers. Lily of the Valley was known as Mary’s Tears.
Spiderwort, spotted Lungwort and Larkspur were also called Mary’s Tears.
Tradition tells us that the Amazon lily was the Star of Bethlehem guiding the Magi to Jesus. Another version is that lilies sprung from the tears shed by Eve as she left the Garden of Eden.
The red lily was Mary’s lily and the Martagon or Turban lily was called Our Lady’s Tears.
Once when Mary was praying God spoke to her giving her a sign as to who will be her husband. Mary received a message from God that a man holding a dry branch in his hand will come before her. In her presence the dry branch will become evergreen on which will blossom a lily flower.
Joseph is also painted with a bouquet of lilies bloom. When the name of the husband of Mary was to be declared by God’s grace, the branch on which Joseph’s name was engraved, miraculously blossomed and lily flowers sprouted on it giving out a sweet fragrance all around.
The Archangel Gabriel is often depicted giving Mary a lily in scenes of the Annunciation. There is also a white lily [Hosta or Plantain lily] which only blooms during the time of the Assumption in mid-August and is known as the Assumption Lily.
Legend has it that from the 2nd century, Mary’s grave was decorated with lilies after her Assumption into heaven. For centuries, painters have frequently shown a Virgin Mary around the Mystic lily flower.
JASMINE
The white colour and sweet scent of the jasmine is the symbol of the Virgin Mary. It symbolizes grace and elegance.
NARCISSUS
This flower is sometimes depicted in scenes of the “Annunciation” or of Paradise to show the triumph of Divine Love.
PERIWINKLE
It is known as the “Virgin Flower” as its blue colour is linked to Mary, who is usually depicted wearing blue. The Periwinkle blossoms are pink and white. Some species of the plant bear flowers with more pointed petals so that the shape resembles a star for Mary, Star of the Sea.
DAISY
The daisy came to be depicted in the paintings of the “Adoration” towards the end of the 15th century. It symbolizes innocence of the Christ Child because of the sweet simplicity of the daisy. English daisy is known as “Mary’s Love”.
VIOLET
The colour, sweet scent and heart-shaped leaves refer to Mary’s humility and came to be known as Our Lady’s Modesty. It was said to have blossomed when Mary said to Angel Gabriel, who had come to tell her she was to give birth to the Son of God, “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord”.
Saint Bernard praised the Virgin Mary as “the violet of humility, the lily of chastity, the rose of charity, the balm of Gilead and the golden gilly flower of heaven”.