Day 26 Walking with Mary 2020

 

XI Seat of Wisdom
Sacred Mysteries of Mary deck

Notre Dame Sous Terre de Chartres
Our Lady Underground
The Black Madonna hidden below the Cathedral of Chartres.

I read a wonderful book by Sybil Dana Reynolds

called Honey and Ink which brings
Our Lady of Chartres vividly back to life.

Since then I have visited Chartres twice.
The background tapestry in this shrine
I drew and stitched myself.  It is a replica
of the one that hangs behind Notre Dame Sous Terre
in the underground chapel of Chartres.
The image of the hand seen here is also painted above the door
which leads to the chapel and it is called
'The Hand of God'

and it is as though you are being blessed

by merely entering the hidden chapel

of the Underground Madonna

The artist that did the original tapestry said

that it depicts the Source of all Life

and she sees the Black Madonna seated

at the centre of the chaos of creation.

The hidden Black Madonna under the earth

is seated on the throne of wisdom and justice.

One has to descend through the Chartres Cathedral

to access these underground passages and

chapels, all of which are dimly lit and often

only by candle light.  You can only visit

this chapel under the guidance of an appointed

tour leader and you are not allowed to linger in

the chapel to pray or meditate.

The Black Madonna in the upper Basilica is

no longer black, but has been repainted and

redressed in a more modern European style

as part of the renovation of the Cathedral.

This seems to be an ongoing process of 'cleaning up' 

the Black Madonnas and removing all trace of their powerful

message and history. 

Oh Lady of Justice,

Seat of Wisdom,

where will I find thee?

“There is a reason Mary is everywhere. I've seen her image all over the world, 

in cafés in Istanbul, on students' backpacks in Scotland, in a market stall in Jakarta, 

but I don't think her image is everywhere because she is a reminder to be obedient, 

and I don't think it has to do with social revolution. 

Images of  Mary remind us of  God's favor. 

Mary is what it looks like to believe that we already are who God says we are.”

― Nadia Bolz-Weber, Accidental Saints: 

Finding God in All the Wrong People

Blessings

Hettienne