A Box to Celebrate Our Lady, Stella Maris

We recently celebrated the feast of Our Lady Stella Maris. Here’s a sneak peek at some of the artwork and creating we’ve been doing for our Stella Maris box. The hope is to have some of these boxes up for sale in the next couple of weeks.

Stella Maris or “Star of the Sea” is one of Mary’s most ancient and beloved titles.  It identifies Mary with Polaris, the North Star, which remains fixed in the northern sky, and thus historically had a huge importance for navigators.  It’s believed that the title originated in a translation error--a portion of Mary’s Hebrew name that meant  “drop” was mistranslated as “star.”  Thus “drop of the sea” became “star of the sea.”  What a happy and poetic “accident!”  Mary, the lowly maid--a drop in the sea--becomes the guiding star for humanity! 

Unsurprisingly, Mary Stella Maris is the patroness of mariners.  But for all of us, sailors and land-lubbers alike, the sea represents the ever-changing circumstances and unknowns present in human life!   No matter our journey, we can find our way by looking to Mary.

...if you are driven upon the rocks of tribulation look to the star, call on Mary. If you are tossed upon the waves... look to the star, call on Mary.

St. Bernard of Clairveaux

Designing this box has been a delight! What a fun opportunity to explore nautical motifs!  A Japanese bowl (not the one in the photos) provided the inspiration for the wave pattern and color scheme.   The Madonna featured in this box is a drawing  of the medieval statue of Mary Stella Maris in the Basilica of Our Lady in Maastricht, Netherlands.  In the statue, Our Lady holds the Christ child, a lily, and a rosary with an anchor in place of the crucifix. 

It’s our hope that this box will be a lovely gift for anyone who loves Mary and a particular solace to anyone feeling battered or lost amid the troubled waters of life. 

May Our Lady Stella Maris guide us and encourage us on our journeys!