Here a Mary, There a Mary, Everywhere a Mary Mary Day 5

A Virgin a Day  

December 5, 2011

We are celebrating the first 12 days of December by posting photos and stories of Our Lady, the Virgin Mary, each day. We started on December 1st and will end on the Feast Day of Our Lady of Guadalupe, Patroness of the Americas, on December 12th. For more photos and stories, visit Rebecca's recuerda mi corazon blog.

While I was looking for fabric and came across the site I posted about for day 2 of A Virgin a Day, I also came across many other goods that used the image of Our Lady of Guadalupe. I certainly have seen my share of items while walking through the shops in the Southwest. In Santa Fe alone every gallery and gift shop has something in the Our Lady motif.

We were returning from New Mexico at the end of September earlier this year and spent the night in Taos. I had been there earlier that month and browsed a gallery and wanted Mrs. Spadoman to see the fabulous Los Dias de Los Muertos artwork in this one place in particular. While browsing, we discovered an artist and bought some of her prints of Our Lady of Guadalupe, which I will share in another post soon.

On another trip, six months earlier, we were strolling through the shops and galleries of Prescott, AZ. In each of these places, there was no shortage of Our Lady of Guadalupe folk art, or kitsch art, as I might call it. But I love this stuff. Hammered tin, paintings, prints, both serious and whimsical and everything in between. A lot of statues, kitchen magnets, pot holders, flags, banners, aprons, even  one depicted on an Air Freshener for the car!

Our Lady of Guadalupe Air Fresheners. I'm wondering about what scent was chosen for these. I might purchase some just to appease my curiosity

Once, I saw a picture of a gear shift knob for the car. Since we drive a manual transmission, I thought that would be the ultimate, to get a genuine Our Lady of Guadalupe gear shift knob. Just as I searched the internet to find that fabric to cover the chairs, I scoured the World Wide Web for a gear shift knob.

Our Lady of Guadalupe gear shift knobs

I found a site that sells them, but they have been out of stock. I found one on Ebay, but because of how scarce they must be, the price was way over the top. I’m still looking. What I did discover was the endless lengths to which people have gone to idolize Our Lady as This Article will attest.

My searching has brought me to more and more of this iconic figure. I quickly was overwhelmed with the choices. The door hanging with her image, like those beaded doorway coverings from the 1960’s, was something we wanted to use in a doorway of our New Mexico place. We thought it would go well with our new chair seat coverings. I found a site to order one of these but found them not to be cheap to purchase.

Our Lady of Guadalupe hanging door curtain

Shops such as Catholic to the Max and The Mary Shop are unique to non Catholics and people that never would think of “buying” Mary, but they exist for those that honor and cherish and want Our Lady to touch every part of their lives.

This Icon of the world is out there in full force. Even the last second desperation forward pass in the National Football League is called the Hail Mary pass, and its meaning is known throughout sports. Announcers use this term with the understanding that everyone watching the game or reading the sports news article knows what they are referring to.

Want more Mary in your life? You can check out the links I have strewn throughout this post and find a plethora of goods with her image, or maybe try a simple prayer. Either way, when you find yourself in times of trouble, Mother Mary will come to you and she’ll speak words of wisdom. Let that be as it may be. (Thanks John and Paul).

Peace