Black Madonna Gets New Covering in Poland

Yahoo News ^ | August 26, 2005 | ELA KASPRZYCKA,

[NYer]

Tens of thousands of Roman Catholics gathered at Poland's holiest shrine Friday to pray as the revered Black Madonna of Czestochowa icon was given a new covering, including gold crowns donated by the late Pope John Paul II, as well as amber and diamonds.

The Polish-born pontiff's secretary, the Rev. Stanislaw Dziwisz, presided over a Mass and other ceremonies at the Jasna Gora shrine in the southern city of Czestochowa. In attendance were dozens of church leaders, including Cardinal Joachim Meisner of Cologne, Germany, Cardinal Adam Maida of Detroit and Cardinal Bernard Law, the former archbishop of Boston.

Dziwisz and Poland's primate, Cardinal Jozef Glemp, blessed golden crowns from John Paul, who died April 2, on the head of the icon's image of the Virgin Mary and on the image of the baby Jesus.

The crowns were "the last gift of his life to Mary, the queen of Poland," said Dziwisz, who will be installed as the archbishop of Krakow on Saturday.

Church leaders also placed a 20-pound panel of amber decorated with nearly 1,000 diamonds on the painting. The covering — commonly called a "dress" — leaves only the faces of Mary and Jesus and their crowns visible beneath the screen.

By placing the crowns on the icon, we were able "in a way to fulfill the last will, the testament of Pope John Paul the Great," Dziwisz said.

The artist who created the amber-and-diamond panel, Mariusz Drapikowski, said he wanted to thank the Virgin Mary for the pontificate of John Paul II and for the Solidarity movement, which toppled the communist government in 1989-90.

More than 100,000 people gathered on a field outside the packed church for the ceremony, according to the monastery's Web site.

The celebrations marked a local church holiday honoring the Virgin Mary and the 350th anniversary of a historical battle in Czestochowa in which Poles defeated Swedish invaders. Many credit the Polish victory to the miraculous power of the painting, a Byzantine style image which legend says was painted by St. Luke the Evangelist.

The Madonna has six other decorative "dresses," the oldest ones dating to the 17th century, used for special occasions.

[NYer]

AP - Fri Aug 26, 8:22 AM ET

Poland's primate cardinal Jozef Glemp, center, blesses the redecorated image of the ancient sacred Black Madonna in the Jasna Gora monastery in Czestochowa, southern Poland, on the occasion of a holiday dedicated to the Virgin Mary, Friday, Aug. 26, 2005. The new cover made of nine kilograms of amber and almost a thousand diamonds, blessed on Friday, is the newest of a selection of six covers which decorate the depiction of the Virgin Mary and her son Jesus Christ on different occasions and was donated by Polish catholics as a gesture of gratitude for the papacy of the late Polish-born Pope John Paul II. (AP Photo/Jacek Sroda)

[NYer]

AP - Fri Aug 26, 8:27 AM ET

The image of the ancient sacred Black Madonna revered by Polish catholics seen after its redecoration in the Jasna Gora monastery in Czestochowa, southern Poland, Friday, Aug. 26, 2005. The new cover made of nine kilograms of amber and almost a thousand diamonds, blessed on Friday, is the newest of a selection of six covers which decorate the depiction of the Virgin Mary and her son Jesus Christ on different occasions and was donated by Polish catholics as a gesture of gratitude for the papacy of the late Polish-born Pope John Paul II. (AP Photo/Jacek Sroda)

[NYer]

In related news ........

Pope Benedict XVI to Visit Poland

Poland's bishops said Thursday that Pope Benedict XVI plans to visit his predecessor's homeland next year.

"The bishops greet with gratitude the plans for an apostolic visit of Pope Benedict XVI to Poland, which he is planning in the year 2006," Polish church leaders said in a statement. It gave no dates or other details.

A spokesman for the Vatican, Rev. Ciro Benedettini, said only that it has made no announcement yet about such a visit.

Benedict's predecessor, John Paul II, made a number of visits to his native land during his almost 28 years in office, the last one in 2002. John Paul died April 2.

Benedict made his first foreign trip as pontiff to his native Germany last week.

[Pyro7480]

Beautiful! Thanks for posting. Now, I'm waiting for the first person to say that the money used to make this should have gone to the poor, not knowing who they're emulating as a result.

[sassbox]

and I'm dreading the first mouth breather to come on and attack us "mary worshipping idolators." Hopefully neither kind will visit this thread. The new icon covering is just beautiful - I love the amber!

[Macoraba]

This must be one of the holiest images in the world! Wasn't it painted by St Luke upon a table top that had been crafted by St Joseph while Our Lady revealed to St Luke many things he wrote in his Gospel?

[NYer]

Now, I'm waiting for the first person to say that the money used to make this should have gone to the poor, not knowing who they're emulating as a result.

Actually, I was waiting for someone to suggest we return it to its rightful owners - one of the Orthodox Churches.

Our church will be celebrating its Centennial this year. The women's group is looking to purchase an icon of the Theotokos to mark this occasion. The Black Madonna would look just beautiful before our altar. You don't suppose they would be willing to part with it, do you?

[Pyro7480]

Actually, I was waiting for someone to suggest we return it to its rightful owners - one of the Orthodox Churches.

If I remember correctly, the icon hasn't been in the region that was the eastern half of the Roman empire since before the Great Schism, so technically, it's always been in one church's hands. ;-)

[Pyro7480]

You can always get a copy of the icon. ;-)

[NYer]

Wasn't it painted by St Luke upon a table top that had been crafted by St Joseph while Our Lady revealed to St Luke many things he wrote in his Gospel?

According to the University of Dayton ....

The oldest known Eleousa icon dates from 7-9th century and its origin lies in Syria (ivory statuette). However, an even older icon-type claims St. Luke the Evangelist as artist. That is the Hodegitria icon venerated in the Hodegos Church in Byzantium. The original - also a gift of Empress Eudokia - was big and heavy. Legend claims that it was painted on the table top in Mary's house by St. Luke under Mary's supervision. Thus it is considered the model and original (with the Eleousa) of all Marian images. The reference to St. Luke is not a historical fact. What it means is this:

1) St. Luke's description of Mary and Jesus in the Infancy narrative is that of a gifted painter, meaning detailed and beautiful.
2) Icons attributed to St. Luke claim authority. They serve as models for all subsequent ones.
3) The attribution to St. Luke is frequently used to indicate absence of known authorship.
4) St. Luke's icons are distinctively old and of miraculous character.

* * * * *

In researching "Eleousa icon", I found this beautiful description.

The Hodegetria, the Signpost, is one of the most famous and best loved icons of the Mother of God. A beautiful tradition claims that Luke the Evangelist painted the original Signpost icon. The ancient Hodegetria believed to by from the hand of St.Luke was preserved as one of the greatest treasures of Constantinople, until the City fell to the Ottomans in 1453.

The Hodegetria icon shows the Mother of God holding the child Jesus in one arm while her other hand points to him. She looks out of the icon, her gaze calling all humanity to recognize her Son as the Way, the Truth and the Life.

Orthodox icons of the Mother of God are not simply works of art or even sacred pictures, they are theological statements. The Hodegetria takes us directly to the central mysteries of the Christian faith. The icon shows us Who Jesus is and What He is.

The icon is a picture of a mother with her child. She holds the child in her left arm, presenting Him to the world. The inscription on the icon names the woman holding the child, "Meter Theou,” Mother of God, and her right hand pointing to the child tells us Who that child is, God, the human son of Mary and yet the divine Son of God.

The three stars on her maphorion, one above her brow, one on each shoulder, represent the miracle of her threefold virginity; she was virgin when she conceived Christ, retained her virginity when He was born, and remains virgin after His birth. The Church's hymnographers glorify her as "Aeiparthenos," Ever-Virgin. In St.Luke's Gospel, the Angel Gabriel announces the miraculous conception of her Son to St.Mary in these words: "The Holy Spirit will come upon you and the power of the Most High will overshadow you ... and the holy one to be born of you will be called the Son of God." [Luke 1, 35.]

The Nicene Creed, the symbol of the Church's faith contains a simple dogmatic statement of the same truth: "... for us humans and for our salvation He descended from Heaven, and became incarnate of the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary ..." Christ was conceived by the power of God and by the consent of the Virgin Mary. She is His mother by her own choice. She offers herself to God as His willing servant, ready to do His will, even though she cannot understand how it is to be accomplished.

The Child the Virgin carries does not have a baby's face or bodily proportions. He is the size of a young baby, but he has the bodily proportions and face of a young adult. He is her son, a baby in His humanity, but he is also the eternal Word. The way He is portrayed in the icon tells us both that as a human being He is new to this world, and as the Son of God He lives from eternity. The Son of God exists eternally; now, at a particular point in our history, He has become the Son of the Virgin. He already exists before He is conceived. His mother holds her child, but the icon tells us that though He is as human as we are, he is more than we are; His features express the wisdom and serenity of the Eternal God.

An inscription by the head of the child usually names Him, Jesus Christ. The two words are themselves a theological statement. The name "Jesus" means "saviour." The name is familiar from the Old Testament; Jesus of Nave (Joshua), the successor of Moses, and Jesus of Sirach, the author of "Ecclesiasticus" share the same name. In the original Hebrew it probably means "God is my Saviour." The title "Christ" means "Anointed," in Hebrew, "Mashiach," Messiah. In the Scriptures, a King who has been anointed with oil is called messiah, and the Persian Great King Cyrus is called "messiah" because he stood in God's favour. In the centuries before the birth of Jesus, prophets and teachers had foretold the coming of a messiah who would save the Jews from the nations that oppressed them. Some thought the Messiah would be a mighty king and warrior, specially blessed by God, others that the Messiah already existed in Heaven, waiting the right moment to descend to earth to bring the reign of peace and justice to the world, so that the word of the Lord would go forth from Jerusalem, calling all the nations to worship the one God in His holy Temple.

The Christian Church believes that the hope in the coming of the Messiah was fulfilled and surpassed in the descent of the Son and Word of God into the womb of the Virgin Mary. It was the Son of God who came amongst us as one of us, True God and true man, anointed with the Holy Spirit. The Eternal Word of God became a human being like us not to deliver His own people from foreign oppressors, but to deliver all humanity from the power of death and sin. The crown of light about the child's head carries the mark of the Cross and the words "O WN," "He Who is". God revealed Himself to Moses as "I am": the words "He Who is" and the Cross-pattern in the halo remind us that the child to whom His mother points is the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the God of Moses and Elias, here with us in human flesh, sharing our whole lives, our joys our sufferings, even the degradation of a public execution on a Roman cross.

The mother who gave birth to the eternal Word as her son was no queen or grand lady. She did not live in Rome or Alexandria, at the heart of the Empire's cultural or political life. She was a young girl from Galilee, a backward, provincial region, the daughter of a humble family, and yet she attained such a level of perfection that she became the bridge between the human and the divine. The Blessed Virgin was not merely the receptacle of the divine Word, she is His mother.

She is the Signpost. We see her always in relation to her son. As soon as we think of her, we think of her as Mother of God. Her image points us to Christ.

Her maphorion is normally red, a deep red that symbolizes her love and devotion for her Son, and at the same time hints at the purple of royalty and the colour of the blood Christ shed for our salvation. The Virgin’s expression in this icon is usually grave and stern. She presents her Child to us as the Way, knowing what a cruel path He treads to victory and how easily we find an excuse to avoid following Him.

A Prayer:

O Virgin Mother of God, Hail, Mary, full of grace, Blessed are you among women and Blessed is the Fruit of your womb, for you have given birth to the Saviour of our souls.

Axion Esti:

It is truly meet to call you blessed Who gave birth to God, Ever-blessed and most pure and the Mother of Our god; Greater in honour than the Cherubim And beyond compare More glorious then the Seraphim, Without corruption You gave birth to God the word, Truly the Mother of God, We magnify you!

A Hymn:

You are most blessed O virgin Mother of God, For through Him Who was incarnate of you Hades is despoiled, Adam is recalled, The curse is destroyed, Eve is set free, Death is slain And we are brought to life, And so we shout aloud our hymn of praise: Blessed is Christ Our God, Glory to You Who deigned to accomplish this!

 

[lizol]

The Black Madonna of Czestochowa

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

The Black Madonna of Czestochowa (Czarna Madonna or Matka Boska Czestochowska in Polish) icon was, according to legend, painted by St. Luke the Evangelist on a cypress table top from the house of the Holy Family. One of the oldest documents from Jasna Góra states that the picture travelled from Jerusalem, via Constantinople, to finally reach Czetochowa in August 1382. The Black Madonna is credited with miraculously saving the monastery of Jasna Góra (English: Bright Hill) from a Swedish 17th century invasion, The Deluge, which actually changed the course of the war. This event led King Jan Kazimierz to crown Our Lady of Czestochowa (the Black Madonna) as Queen and Protector of Poland in the cathedral of Lwow on April 1, 1656.


The Black Madonna of Czestochowa (genuine view, without covering)

Jasna Gora Monastery

http://www.jasnagora.pl/english/

[Cap'n Crunch]

We have a Polish Church here in my city, Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, made by Polish imigrants. There is a beuatiful replica of Our Lady of Jasna Gora, both Mary and Jesus are wearing gold.

[HarleyD]

"...and I'm dreading the first mouth breather to come on and attack us "mary worshipping idolators."

Why bother??? I'll wait until they put a gold crown and diamonds on the grilled cheese sandwich.

[Thorin]

Mary, Queen of Poland, pray for us.

[sassbox]

LOL

[Siobhan]

bttt

[Larry Lucido]

I'm not Catholic, and I think the icon is quite beautiful. Marian devotion doesn't bother me at all.

[HarleyD]

”Mary, Queen of Poland, pray for us.”

Hmmmmm…..I will say this caught my attention so I looked this up..

Prayer to Mary, Queen of Heaven

Queen of heaven, rejoice. Alleluia. The Son whom you were privileged to bear, Alleluia, has risen as he said, Alleluia. Pray to God for us, Alleluia. Rejoice and be glad, Virgin Mary, Alleluia. For the Lord has truly risen, Alleluia.

O God, it was by the Resurrection of your Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, that you brought joy to the world. Grant that through the intercession of the Virgin Mary, his Mother, we may attain the joy of eternal life. Through Christ, our Lord. Amen.

http://www.catholic-forum.com/saints/pray0421.htm

And this..

Jer 44:17-25 "But rather we will certainly carry out every word that has proceeded from our mouths, by burning sacrifices to the queen of heaven and pouring out drink offerings to her, just as we ourselves, our forefathers, our kings and our princes did in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem; for then we had plenty of food and were well off and saw no misfortune. … thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, as follows: 'As for you and your wives, you have spoken with your mouths and fulfilled it with your hands, saying, "We will certainly perform our vows that we have vowed, to burn sacrifices to the queen of heaven and pour out drink offerings to her." Go ahead and confirm your vows, and certainly perform your vows!'

Funny the scriptures should use the same term “queen of heaven” but not in very flattering terms or curcumstances. Just a thought I'm sure will be ignored as Jeremiah was ignored. Go ahead and confirm your vows.

[old and tired]

The Black Madonna would look just beautiful before our altar. You don't suppose they would be willing to part with it, do you?

You ladies will have to have one heck of a bake sale!

[anonymoussierra]

thank you thank you thank you thank you!!!!!!!!!!!

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"I need to write this from my heart. I surely appreciate you have remember Our Lady of Chestochowa a Queen of my country; if you only see this church; at fore if only see this picture in your own eyes; in fore this is lovely place of which I love so so much; eto fore by your own eyes its absolutely magnificent. I am so happy now that you have remembered us; in fore we are very far away; God bless you and all of you; God Bless you all. Sometimes you have to come in here to my country and spend some time. You'll be well welcome with a open arms; I'll show you my country.”

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THANK YOU ALL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!