March 8, 2020

2^nd Sunday of Lent

 “This is my Beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him.”

​This week’s Marian image is another beautiful and tender image of Our Lady holding her infant son, Jesus.  It is called Our Lady of the Streets by Roberto Ferruzzi, and was painted about 1897.

Here is a quote from the University of Dayton website about the image:  “The artist called his painting Little Madonna because he took a peasant girl from the region of Padua to pose for this picture… When Ferruzzi first spotted the girl, she was about eleven years old and caring for her baby brother. The artist decided to paint a portrait of the two. He never intended the painting to be one of the Virgin Mary. But since the girl looked like a little Madonna, he called the painting Madonnina. The Little Madonna eventually gained world fame and came to be known as Madonna della Strada (Madonna of the Street). This new name reflects the spirit and flavor of the art work. The focal point is the girl’s face with its pleading and expressive countenance. It is wrapped in a gold colored headdress, the only warm color of the whole painting. The blues and greys and dirty whites of mother’s and child’s dress and of the whole backdrop suggest hardship, toil and poverty. There is a contrast between Mother and child: while the child is safely cuddled and asleep in the arms of his mother, Our Lady appears to be standing on somebody’s doorstep begging for shelter and food. Many people see in this picture a direct and personal challenge, expressed in Mary’s look, to open our hearts to her Son.” https://udayton.edu/imri/mary/m/madonna-of-the-street.php

You are in my daily prayers.

God bless you,

Fr. VanDenBroeke