By Sister Justine Nutz, SSND
Advent is considered a Marian season. The blue is our pregnant Mary carrying the white-candle Christ within herself.
In Western art, Mary wears a blue cloak. See it spread out to embrace Christ and us.
The halo holds themes of the 4 candles/weeks of Advent, in traditional purple and rose, illumined by the flame shining through the Child within Mary and shining out into our hearts and the cosmos.
All rests on a circular wreath of green holly leaves, honoring earth’s circularity and fecundity, eternity’s timelessness, and our Oneness with each other and all creation. The pinkish/red berries point to the daily moments of joyous anticipation during Advent.
Consider this definition of God: God is a Circle whose Center is Everywhere, and whose Circumference is Nowhere.
The design’s shape, an old-fashioned keyhole, is the O Antiphon O Key of David. Let’s peer through the keyhole into the mystery of the Incarnation while chanting the ancient O Come O Come Emmanuel!
