Marian Devotion Related to Objects

Not only does the Church allow the representation of God and the saints in the form of pictures, paintings, sculptures or statues and the like, it actually encourages this devotion by using rites of particular and sacramental blessings such as the one for the investiture of the scapular.

Let us look at the two-piece cloth (the scapular) representing Jesus and Mary, which the postulant is given at the time of his investiture while promising to take on Jesus and Mary as role models. The scapular is worn as a "protective garment" and is specially blessed by a minister of the Church. Certain medals are also blessed, such as the well-known Miraculous Medal from the Rue du Bac that Mary herself encourages us to wear. Once blessed these objects become meaningful and are considered by the Church to be a great help to both personal devotion and apostolic missions. We mustn’t forget to mention the art of devotional pictures and paintings of Jesus, Mary and the Saints. In Church tradition, these objects are innumerable. They are sometimes added to the reliquary (blessed relics) of the saint in question.

Since the salient features of an icon should be inspired by prayers and - as we all know - icons are not only the fruit of techniques or the genius of the artist; they also are the fruit of prayers...