Spiritual Quote of the Day (Barry Hannah, on Mary, ‘The Being Who Stands for Us All’)

“I was raised Baptist, among those whose interpretation of the Bible led them to decry the cult of Mary as intercessor to Christ, to decry those Roman Catholics who built their increasingly heavy, rich and gorgeous church around her. I now find myself drawn to Mary as the being who stands for us all.

“Mary provides bewilderment and also faithful attendance to her son through the crucifixion, an excruciation beyond belief for a mother. She remained on Golgotha after the faithless males fled. Hers is a journey through the Passion never to be forgotten.” — American novelist and short story writer Barry Hannah (1942-2010), “The Maddening Protagonist,” Paste Magazine, Issue 19 (December 2005-January 2006)

The image accompanying this post, The Assumption of the Virgin, comes from a large altarpiece panel painting in oils by the Italian Renaissance artist Titian (ca. 1488-1490-1576).