Our Lady of Walsingham: Feast day – 24 September
Our Lady is seated on a wooden throne, depicting her as Queen of England, her dowry. On her head she wears a Saxon crown with three points indicating the three persons of the Trinity.
Mary is dressed in the robes of a Saxon Queen: the blue of her cloak represents her fidelity to God and his Word, the red dress denotes her royal status, and the white head-dress denotes her purity. In her hand she holds a Lily, symbolic of the Annunciation. The Christ Child sits on her knee, holding the Book of the Gospels. His right hand points towards Mary, recalling his words on the cross "Behold your Mother”. The asymmetrical markings on the throne, three rings on the left and four on the right, indicate the seven sacraments. The green sphere at the foot of the statue is sometimes thought to represent the world. In fact, it represents a “toadstone.” In the Middle Ages these stones were believed to have been formed in the bodies of toad. The toadstone is a representation of evil. So here Mary is shown as the one who crushes evil, just as in other representations she is shown crushing the serpent’s head.
Tomorrow news of how St Peter's keys visited Walsingham.