One of the most special moments of my recent trip to see churches in France, was contemplating the Virgin Mary in Chartres Cathedral. Two years ago, I wrote a book about Mary.
In STRANGE HEAVEN, I explored some of those archetypes that bubble beneath the surface in our lives, allowing us to almost subconsciously relate to certain things, as we encounter them. The motherhood of God is one of these archetypes, as is sainthood or some sort of special holiness. Well, both of these archetypes are central to understanding Mary and are central to how you “see” her in Chartres.
The “Blue Virgin” really stopped me in my tracks. I had heard and read about it, before going to see it, but it startled me. It became obvious why so many people (notably, Charles Peguy) over the centuries have strangely encountered Mary fresh in that image, and in others in the Chartres Cathedral, a place often called a “palace of the Virgin Mary.”
For me, the image of Mary in that glass was that of a universal mother. She is the one who said yes, and she is the one who shows me, too, how to say yes. Without judgement. Simply. Like a mother.
Rowan Williams recently said that Mary “stands for the making strange of what is familiar and the homeliness of what is strange.” Yes.
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