Roots The encounter with his mother, not recorded in the Bible, seems first commemorated in 1296 (Riccoldo). Mary knew that her child would be a "sign that is rejected" and that her heart would be pierced by a sword: And a sword will pierce through your own soul also) that thoughts out of many hearts may be revealed. Luke 2:35
Representation The mother seems to hasten against a wall of ice and steel. The green and angular forms of the cross-bearer may also speak of hardened resolve and hope. There is no opposition between mother and son, between brown and green. Tenuous as it may appear, the complementarity between resolve and compassion is present and bitterly needed. See the flowers of love blossoming on the robe of the third figure, a woman with helping hands. Redemption is a labor of love, it says.
Identification We are actors in the drama of human history. The roles are varied but they are begging each other's genius. For me, will it be the greening of my shared hope, or the meek and subdued colors of compassion? Both of them must have roots anchored in love.
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