"Hail Holy Queen, Mother of Mercy, our life, our sweetness, and our hope…”
Janet Easter, founder and owner of Ever Thrift, shares her vision for the new Mother of Mercy scarf as she
states, “Divine Mercy has been an incredible influence in my life, and Mary's role as the Mediatrix of all Grace is just astounding to me.”
Christ’s love and mercy is highlighted through Mary’s role as the Mediatrix (female noun for “mediator”) of all Grace. Intrinsic to Mary’s mission and role is to remind everyone of the reality of grace and mercy her Son offers us daily. She is titled as the Mediatrix because she intercedes with maternal intensity for all our needs—offering every concern and suffering to her Son that He might provide us with every needed grace. Jesus delights to give us every grace through His Mother, who became Our Mother during His passion on the cross (John 19:27). During the climax of Christ’s suffering, in His great Mercy, He gives us His own Mother to be a loving presence
and consolation to us for all suffering we will endure.
Janet mentions the designing of the scarf as she states, “I found a couple of paintings depicting [Mary] in that role [of mercy]…[adding to the scarf’s] sort of dreamy dark and bold vintage look.” The dark, muted tones, accented with gold, emphasizes the glory of Christ stepping into our suffering. He illuminates and transforms the darkness of our suffering into something redemptive with His grace, given through the tender care and consolation of Mary Our Mother.
The flowers presented in the scarf are as follows:
White Orchid – “Our Lady’s Hand of Pity” inviting us to trust in His Mercy
Morning Glory – “Our Lady's Mantle” which envelops us
Forget Me Not – “Our Lady's Eyes” which never leave us
Cowslip – “Our Lady's Keys” pointing to her role as the Mediatrix of all Grace
Garden Rose – for she is the “Mystical Rose” who is no stranger to the beauty of suffering
Poppy- “Crucifixion Blood Drops” pepper the garden grown from the crown of thorns
Now you might notice at the center of the scarf is a pelican. “A pelican, the story goes (as found in Physiologus, a text written by an anonymous Alexandrian author in the second century), in order to prevent its chicks from starving in times of scarcity, would pierce its chest with its own beak to feed them with its own blood. According to other legends, if pelican chicks happen to die, the pelican would open its own chest and bring them back
to life, spraying them with his own blood.”
This is where Christian tradition derives its ties to the symbol of the pelican as pointing to Christ’s Passion.
His blood poured out for man’s salvation—that we might have a fullness of life in which death does not have the final say. Janet describes that the crown of thorns, reminding us of Christ’s Passion, are depicted in the design as “bring[ing] forth new life, flowering and spreading to the four corners of the scarf as His Mercy reaches the ends of the earth.”
Christ is the center of the scarf. The florals of Marian connotation signify Mary as always pointing and
drawing us nearer to the source of man’s salvation and hope, “In her “Magnificat,” Mary twice praises God’s mercy: “He has mercy on those who fear him in every generation,” and “He has come to the help of his servant Israel, for he has remembered his promise of mercy” (Luke 1:50, 54).” https://thecentralminnesotacatholic.org/mother-mercy-fitting-title-virgin-mary/ She reminds us to be faithful despite our current circumstances. To cling to Christ who keeps His every promise. Mary, Mother of Mercy, continues to console us in the reality of hope that is constantly offered through her Son’s Mercy and grace.
Hail, holy Queen, Mother of Mercy, our life, our sweetness, and our hope. To thee do we cry, poor banished children of Eve; to thee do we send up our sighs, mourning and weeping in this valley of tears. Turn then, most gracious advocate, thine eyes of mercy toward us; and, after this, our exile, show unto us the blessed fruit of thy womb, Jesus. O clement, O loving, O sweet Virgin Mary.
Pray for us O holy mother of God, that we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.