Mary, Our Lady of Trust
Our Lady of Trust is the Madonna of tenderness. Mary receives and accepts the enthusiastic embrace of the Baby who with His right arm tenderly clasps His mother’s neck and with His left points to her heart.
The focal point of the composition is the space between the faces of Jesus and Mary and between their hearts. This space is an iconographic representation of the "Breath" of the Holy Spirit that rests on the Word made man, the Son of Mary, and that is poured out upon us.
The dark background of the painting represents the dimension of the divine that goes beyond time and space. The flowing robes of our Lady with their vibrant colors convey the honor that is given to her as the Theotokos, the God-bearer. The blue mantle symbolizes the Divinity; the red dress identifies Mary as the Mother of God; and the white scarf around Mary’s neck represents her acceptance of the mystery of salvation and the plan of God. Although the Baby Jesus is naked, He is warmed by the reassuring arms of His mother who wraps and covers Him with the white cloth.
In its strong yet gentle features, the face of the Theotokos is the face of Mother Church generating and molding God’s people into the image of her Son. In the heart of every person, in joyful moments as in sorrowful ones, two old affections are associated; two dear words are united to each other: Mother and Trust. These two words intertwine almost instinctively in a prayer: My Mother, My Confidence!
Giuliana Spigone!
Bishop Giaquinta requested a painter to make two changes in the original image. The crown was removed from Mary's head and the direction of the left hand of Jesus was changed so that it pointed to his mother's heart. Thus the image of the Patroness of the Apostolic Oblates and of The Pro Sanctity Movement that we now view was custom designed, as it were, to be Our Lady of Trust.