The Chapel of the Spiritual Life Center is dedicated to the Blessed Virgin under the title of "Mary, The First Disciple". This painting depicts the very first moment of her discipleship. St. Luke tells us that she was “greatly troubled” by the message of the angel and “pondered what sort of greeting this message might be” (Lk 1:29). This would be the first of many difficult choices the First Disciple would make for her Son, and perhaps this was the most difficult of them all. Unmarried, unable to understand how all of this was to come about, yet strengthened by God’s grace, we see her pondering, considering, deciding; not fearful, but full of trust, despite the difficulties this choice required. St. Augustine would later write that, given the magnitude of what was asked of her, Mary was even more glorious as a disciple than as a mother. We see her surprised by the angel, at prayer, interrupted while reading the Scriptures, perhaps the passages from Isaiah that foretold the coming of the Messiah. As the New Eve, her choice will undo the tragic choice that our first parents, Adam and Eve, made in the Garden of Eden, a choice that brought sin, separation and darkness into our world. The angel Gabriel is seen offering a lily, the traditional symbol of Easter, and a foreshadowing of the death her Son will have to endure. As the angel awaits her reply, the encounter between the two is full of prayer, silence and grace. Painted in the “old masters” style reminiscent of Jan Vermeer by Pitor Jozefowicz in Gdansk, Poland.
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