Contemplative in the Mud

Make-up

1–2 minutes

Benjamin Embley

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2 comments on Make-up

At the Chapel of St Francis Xavier in Coloane, Macau

Our Mother Mary is very good at putting on make-up. From a mouth that is pulling in on itself to cry, she can make a mouth that smiles.
Little Brother Marcel Văn CSsR (1928–1959)

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Benjamin Embley

With backgrounds in engineering (BSc PhD) and philosophy (MA), Ben has lived and worked in England, France, and Thailand and is now back home as a settler in the unceded traditional territory of the Wabanaki peoples in Canada. He is a Laudato Si’ Animator and currently studying an MTS Peace & Justice in Reconciliation with Indigenous Peoples.

2 responses to “Make-up”

  1. newhofjah Avatar
    newhofjah

    I love the idea of Mary in traditional garb. It was wonderful to witness at the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington DC Mary in all her global apparitions appearing in local clothes. The various chapels displayed Our Holy Mother as truly a familiar mother to all. I recall attending a Mexican mass in Oklahoma in which to my wonder and amazement I witnessed Matachines, traditional dancers conducting a pre and post procession honoring the Mother of God. Dramatically adorned, rattling in sound and color, tempo driven by drums, the dancers moved to the sanctuary led by Our Lady sporting a cowboy hat and western wear. Taken aback, expecting an ordinary mass, I thought ‘really Mary in a cowboy hat’. A smile blossomed in heart and mind as I felt the words of Mary, ‘you did not even know I like to wear cowboy hats. You profess to love me, yet there is so much about me you will never know.’

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    1. Ben (เบ็น) Avatar
      Ben (เบ็น)

      =D

      Here, I think Mother Mary looks a bit like Guanyin/Kun Iam. This little chapel in Macau has some amazing artwork. =)

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