The Stella Maris, Our Lady, Star of the Sea, has been the devotion of weary travelers for many centuries. It is a classic depiction of Mary, the Mother of Jesus, the North Star, standing upon the expansive waters of the ocean as a guiding light for sailors to find their way home. This particular painting of the Stella Maris sought to go beyond a mere image of Our Lady standing upon rocky waters, and express the Story of why She is our Guide through the Storms, and Who is the Source of Light within Her. Though it is still appropriate to simply call this piece Stella Maris, the fuller title of Stella Tempesta Maris, Our Lady, Star of the Journey was chosen to express this depiction.

 

    The Stella Tempesta Maris is a portrayal of God's most devoted Handmaid from Immaculate Conception to Coronation. It tells the Journey of Her life, and that of the Church. ​A journey is never smooth, and one does not become a hero, a Saint, without facing challenges. Life is full of seas to travel, and they are not usually smooth. They are often tempest Storms, and so, the word Tempesta became the perfect addition for the title. Though the title Stella Maris is latin, Tempesta is a classical name of French origins. This French form was chosen purposefully because it not only expresses the kind of Seas that Mary faced (and so subsequently She can guide us through in our own journey), but also it is a tribute to Our Lady’s many apparitions and connections to France. (There was just as much exploratory enjoyment in discovering this addition to the Title as there was in painting Her Story.)

 

    Mary's Journey was the greatest Storm ever faced by a mere mortal. She received God into her womb, participated in all the aspects of His life on earth (the joyful, sorrowful, miraculous, painful, and glorious), and followed Him most faithfully even to partake in His Sacred Death. But she did not overcome any of the mountains and valleys on her own. She relied devotionally and obediently to the Source of Light who had been conceived in her and who had remained within her heart. Mary is not the Source of Light. Jesus is the True Source of Light and Life within her and in the Night Sky. 

 

    Through the completion of her Journey by God's Grace, Mary has become Our Holy Queen Mother, the Stella Tempesta Maris, and like a Heavenly Lighthouse, she displays the Holy Flame from her womb for those who have have eyes and ought to see. This Queen Mother is only human like us, yet Mary is a more achievable example to us, for not one of us can achieve what Christ Jesus accomplished because He is Man and God. It is impossible for us, so She, Full of Grace, stands in imitation of Christ Crucified with open arms to help and guide God's Children to the Source of Life and Love, Jesus.

 

    Above Mary, the Father is present by means of the Shekhinah Glory Cloud, and the Holy Spirit descends upon her in the form of a Dove. Jesus, the Son, completes this Trinity through His Life in the Womb, Death on the Cross, Resurrection and Ascension into Heaven. Mary is Full of Grace from top to bottom and side to side by the Cloak that covers her. This is Mary’s Mantle, the Cloak of God's Grace. She did not make this Cloak herself. It was bestowed upon her by the Father for His Purpose. And from under this Cloak of Grace, God's Handmaid reaches out beyond the safety of the Cloak and opens her Mantle to present Jesus to the world, while inviting us into It's Protection with welcoming arms. 

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    The Cloak is the symbol of a Traveler. A Pilgrim on a Journey.  Like every person, Mary’s journey began at her conception. As a child, she was sent by her parents to be raised in the Temple. She traveled to help Elizabeth, to Nazareth, to Bethlehem, to Egypt before getting to go back home, and for numerous Jewish observations to Jerusalem with Joseph. Her journey continued with Jesus to Cana, remaining with Him during His ministry and through His Crucifixion.  She was present with the disciples as they spent three days of darkness together while Jesus was in the tomb, and then journeyed with Him after His Resurrection until His Ascension into Heaven. The final leg of her journey was her Assumption into Heaven where She continues to help Jesus reach other disciples whom Jesus loves and bring us closer to Him. The 40 gold stars on the Cloak are a sign of this Transformation and the New Life of the Church Cloaked in His Grace. 

 

    While on earth, Mary was also under the protection of Joseph. He is the clasp that completes the Cloak. Just as God could have chosen to enter this world in a flash of Lighting, but instead chose to enter it as a baby who needed to be raised by two human parents over the course of time, so too is this Cloak of Grace made. It could have been a completely Singular piece of fabric Divinely made with no need for a clasp, a devise that has the potential to break, but God’s idea of Perfection is different than Man’s. Perfection is not an exclusively Seamless Cloak. It is an inclusive one that the Creator allows His creation to partake in giving His creation the opportunity to work in union with the Him continuously. The Lily Clasp is the embodiment of St. Joseph working in union with the Father’s Grace to guard and protect Mary on her journey. An unnecessary instrument made necessary by God’s Choosing. Perfection is Trinitarian. The Cloak, the Clasp, and their Union are all three necessary for the One Thing to Be Perfectly made.

 

    Beneath the Cloak, the Handmaiden is veiled with a white wimple and clothed in a long clean garment. Though the waves of the Storm attack our Lady and the Cloak of Grace pushes them back with a mighty Wind, the Handmaiden’s Garment remains unmoved and undisturbed. It is a sign of her constant unwavering Purity and Virginity.​

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    Her Crown has a small star at the base as a sign of her Immaculate Conception, and reaches out with Seven points to represent the Seven Gifts of the Holy Spirit. This is the Crown of the Woman born to be the Queen of Heaven, a position established by God with the Hebrews as the Mother of the King. Nine Roses adorn the Crown to represent Divine Completion and for the Fruits of the Spirit (Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Generosity, Faithfulness, Gentleness, Self-Control). Above Mary, the Holy Spirit descends upon her as He did at the Annunciation, while the Nine Choirs of Angles rejoice for all of God’s Glory and encircle His Chosen Queen to defend Her from the Dragon. The light that shines between them is Her Halo.

 

    Mary’s Heart is pierced by 7 Swords. The Prophecy of Simeon to Mary, The Flight of Mary into Egypt, The Losing of Jesus in Jerusalem, Mary Meets Jesus Carrying the Cross, Mary Standing at the Foot of the Cross, Mary Holding the Body of Jesus Taken Down from the Cross, and Mary Standing at the Burial of Jesus. (The Sorrows of Our Lady painting dives deeper into the details of this image.)  Mary’s blood pours out in Sorrow for God’s Children and runs to the Crown of the King that encircles the Christ Child to unite with His Holy Wounds and His Sacrifice. Jesus is the Offering to God, the Father, and for the world. Her womb is the Tabernacle, the New Ark that carried the New Covenant, Jesus Christ. 

 

    The Roses, Petals, and Blood within her Mantle represent the Body of Christ. 12 Roses represent the Saints in Heaven. 

24 petals for the Church body here on Earth. Disciples Big and small. Developed and developing. 36 portions of Blood for the Sacrificial Blood of Christ from which the Church was and is formed. 6 of these portions are streams of Blood of which 3 are running from Mary’s Heart and 3 are covering the Crown of Thorns. Together, these 6 represent the Fall of Man and our Original Sin against God. The 30 droplets of Blood are partly for Jesus’ Ministry, the age He was when His Mother gave Him to the world with full Scriptural knowledge that it would one day come with the Messiah Sacrificing Himself for All, and partly a sign of His Death itself because it was Man’s betrayal of God through Judas in the amount of silver that Jesus was handed over to be Sacrificed. Sin is represented both from the Beginning and at the Crucifix. Intentionally, I did this so that 12+24+36 would equal 72, a number that represents the building of the Church because 72 disciples were sent out two by two to heal and preform miracles. Unintentionally, I realized when the painting was completed that 72 for the Church + 40 Cloak Stars + 7 Crown Points + 9 Crown Roses+ 9 Choirs of Angels + 7 Swords = 144. 144,000 is the number marked by the seal of God. It is a Sacramental number. God is Good!

 

    In her Coronation, we see the great sign that appeared in the sky in John’s Revelation. A woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars. Mary stands above the moon and upon the Cross, her Foundation. The Crucifixion in front of the Moon (the Beginning and End of Day) is very intentionally meant to appear as the Eucharist, the Body and Blood of Christ. Jesus’ Blood flows down to the Earth to cover the Sin that comes from the venom of the Dragon. The serpent spewed a torrent of water out of his mouth after the woman to sweep her away with the current, but the earth helped the woman and opened its mouth and swallowed the flood that the dragon spewed out of its mouth. 

 

    The colors of the Dragon represent the Seven Deadly Sins. The Skin is stained with Green Envy and Orange Gluttony. The Eyes are inflamed with Yellow Greed and the Horns protrude with Red Wrath. The jaw of the Beast has venomous Fangs discolored with Purple Pride and a slackened Tongue contaminated with Blue Lust. Spewing from this vile mouth is the most destructive Venom of its Light Blue Sloth.

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    Our Mother Mary's model of saying 'Yes' to God and inviting the Light in is what we are all called to do. But this invitation is not a one time 'Yes' to God. For Mary, it was and is and will remain a continual 'Yes' to Him. This is Mary's Fiat, and it is a Perfect Model made by God for us to imitate and become imitators of Christ ourselves. And though what Mary was called to do, we will never have to do, for we will never have to sacrifice or suffer or endure as much as the Mother of God did, we can say 'Yes' to God in our own stories and receive Grace from God as often as She did to overcome our own struggles. If only we humbly ask the Father for His Grace.