the feast of St Joseph, spouse of the Blessed Virgin Mary

henry ossawa tanner 1898

first there was listening in the darkness

seeing in the silence

and an angel...

Do not be afraid, Mary; you have found favor with God. 

You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus. 

 He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. 

The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, 

 and he will reign over Jacob’s descendants forever; his kingdom will never end.

This child is destined to cause the falling and rising of many in Israel, 

and to be a sign that will be spoken against, 

so that the thoughts of many hearts will be revealed. 

...And a sword will pierce your own soul too....

And yet she said a simple complex universe changing yes

and his dreams and hopes were dashed

and then another dream...another angel

and then came a day that somehow to all looked slightly familiar

a day I never thought about 

until a visit to  Scrovegni Chapel

 ''Cappella degli Scrovegni''

the Giotto frescoes from the early 1300's 

so amazingly beautiful

the blues 

the textures

the sensitivity in the facial expressions

the compositions 

and the telling of the stories

the telling of the stories  in a delicate beautiful way

In a way I had not ever thought  about before

nothing impressed me more 

than this fresco of  'the Marriage of Mary and Joseph'

we all know the story of Joseph 

being told by an angel in a dream not to be afraid of taking Mary into his home

       (Matthew 1:18-25)

but once again like with the paintings recently seen Mary nursing baby Jesus

I have never seen the "pictures of the wedding"...

somehow it felt sweetly sacred to see the 'wedding pictures'

...it wasn't just some hush hush thing quickly thrown together...

there were guests...

...there were pictures

for me especially pictures always make the experience more real!?!?

her stance...her one hand resting on her belly...the presence...of Jesus...

her other being joined to Joseph's hand...in marriage