Derby Saint Mary

I was out at Saint Mary's on Tuesday for a visit, and stopped in the Marian chapel. Thank God for this building, probably the most beautiful in the whole of Derby. Walking up to the altar, I realised that the decorators had placed icons of every mystery of the Holy Rosary around the walls of the sanctuary. So, the Joyful mysteries are on the wall to the left of the altar, the Sorrowful on the wall to the right of the altar, and the first three Glorious mysteries are on the panels on the front of the altar itself. The last two Glorious mysteries are on either side of the sanctuary on the back wall, the only ones that are clear in this photograph.

I was also delighted to see the names of the patriarchs and matriarchs of the Jewish covenant on the arched ceiling of the sanctuary, including the parents of the Blessed Virgin. We must remember that, in the Jewish mind, descent (Jewishness) comes from the mother of the child and not the father. A Jewish book I have says that this is in tribute to the prolonged labour the mother undergoes before child-birth; therefore, the descent through her is far more certain than through the father. That's interesting. Anyhow, it demonstrates the importance of the Blessed Virgin to Messianic Judaism, the biggest component of which by far is Catholic Christianity. It is through her, after all, that God acquired His human existence, which is critical to the salvation of the race. And therefore, her Yes to God is critical to our salvation, too, and gives her the title of Co-redemptrix, alongside her Son.

I really liked that life-sized statue of the Blessed Virgin and I think they have done marvellously to have restored the chapel so well. The roof is magnificent, the chapel is full of light. It is all delightful.