Tree of Life Sea Glass Mosaic Final Post-Mary as the Tree of Life

"Happy the soul in which Mary, the Tree of Life, is planted; happier the soul in which she has acquired growth and bloom; still happier the soul in which she yields her fruit; but most happy of all: the soul which relishes and preserves Mary's fruit until death, and for ever and ever. Amen." ~St. Louis de Montfort, The Secret of Mary

Tree of Life Mosaic with natural lighting

Christi Jentz and I completed our Tree of Life Sea Glass Mosaic this past weekend!  We began the project last June with the passage from the book of Revelation in mind, but as I prayed over this project during the past seven months, I came to feel that St. Louis de Montfort's explanation of  Mary as the True Tree of Life who bore the fruit of the tree, Jesus, to be more meaningful to my heart than the Revelation passage, although that is still very fitting and very beautiful.

I renewed my Marian Consecration on the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord.  While attending the noon Mass on my work lunch break on my consecration renewal day, I was pleased to hear Father speak about consecration and the need to renew the offering of our complete self, our bodies, mind and spirit to the Lord.  Father had no idea, of course, that I was thrilling from his words, feeling that this was a confirmation from God that my consecration must be pleasing to Him.

And the fact that we completed the mosaic in time for my Marian Consecration also felt like a little confirmation of my thoughts regarding the Tree of Life as a sign of Mary's self-giving for Christ.   For the past seven years as I bent down upon the shores of Lake Michigan to gather the small shards of glass, I always felt that each piece of glass I collected was a small prayer of praise to God from me, and a gift of love to me from Him.  So shaping the glass into a Tree of Life Mosaic became a meaningful prayer of completion.  It became a way that I could give the gift of sea glass back to Him, through my love for Mary and my desire to draw ever more closely to the Heart of Jesus.

What a glorious day this day of Consecration is-presenting myself to Jesus through Mary on the day that she presented Jesus to God, and then seeing that gift symbolized in this beautiful work of art, made with small, found pieces of glass arranged with love by the hands of artisan Christi Jentz, who patiently taught me as I worked beside her, just as our Lord learned his artisan craft of carpentry by working beside the ever-patient St. Joseph.  The Presentation has come full circle, hasn't it?  Mary and St. Joseph presented their Son as a gift, and I, in turn, present the offering of my life and my love for sea glass as a gift to glorify both Mary and Jesus.  How amazing this life of faith truly is and how much there is to ponder in the words of St. Louis de Montfort and his book The Secret of Mary!

Tree of Life Mosaic with white background

"Chosen soul, provided you thus carefully cultivate the Tree of Life, which has been freshly planted in your soul by the Holy Spirit, I can assure you that in a short time it will grow so tall that the birds of the air will make their home in it. It will become such a good tree that it will yield in due season the sweet and adorable Fruit of honour and grace, which is Jesus, who has always been and will always be the only fruit of Mary." ~St. Louis de Montfort, The Secret of Mary

Tree of Life mosaic with blue background

"This tree, once planted in a docile heart, requires fresh air and no human support. Being of heavenly origin, it must be uninfluenced by any creature, since a creature might hinder it from rising up towards God who created it. Hence you must not rely on your own endeavours or your natural talents or your personal standing or the guidance of men. You must resort to Mary, relying solely on her help." ~St. Louis de Montfort, The Secret of Mary

flowers in springtime details

"The person in whose soul this tree has taken root must, like a good gardener, watch over it and protect it. For this tree, having life and capable of producing the fruit of life, should be raised and tended with enduring care and attention of soul. A soul that desires to be holy will make this its chief aim and occupation." ~St. Louis de Montfort, The Secret of Mary

leafing out in summer details

"You must guard against grubs doing harm to the tree. These parasites are love of self and love of comfort, and they eat away the green foliage of the Tree and frustrate the fair hope it offered of yielding good fruit; for love of self is incompatible with love of Mary." ~St. Louis de Montfort, The Secret of Mary

autumn color details-if you look closely at the top orange triangle in this section, you will see that it is a seed, like a tiny mustard seed....

"You must offer yourself to Mary, happily lose yourself in her, only to find God in her. If the Holy Spirit has planted in your soul the true Tree of Life, which is the devotion that I have just explained, you should see carefully to its cultivation, so that it will yield its fruit in due season. This devotion is like the mustard seed of the Gospel, which is indeed the smallest of all seeds, but nevertheless it grows into a big plant, shooting up so high that the birds of the air, that is, the elect, come and make their nest in its branches. They repose there, shaded from the heat of the sun, and safely hidden from beasts of prey." ~St. Louis de Montfort, The Secret of Mary

winter ice details

"Yet you need not be alarmed when the winds blow and shake this tree, for it must happen that the storm-winds of temptation will threaten to bring it down, and snow and frost tend to smother it. By this we mean that this devotion to our Blessed Lady will surely be called into question and attacked. But as long as we continue steadfastly in tending it, we have nothing to fear." ~St. Louis de Montfort, The Secret of Mary

"You must not allow this tree to be damaged by destructive animals, that is, by sins, for they may cause its death simply by their contact. They must not be allowed even to breathe upon the Tree, because their mere breath, that is, venial sins, which are most dangerous when we do not trouble ourselves about them." ~St. Louis de Montfort, The Secret of Mary

"It is also necessary to water this Tree regularly with your Communions, Masses and other public and private prayers. Otherwise it will not continue bearing fruit." ~St. Louis de Montfort, The Secret of Mary

the last of the sea glass from seven years of collecting

the last of the sea glass from seven years of collecting

with the soon-to-be finished project in the background

our next project-Mother and Child

For more on this Tree of Life project see the initial post here, a follow-up here, another follow-up here, and Christi's blog here.

The True Tree of Life

"Happy the soul in which Mary, the Tree of Life, is planted; happier the soul in which she has acquired growth and bloom; still happier the soul in which she yields her fruit; but most happy of all: the soul which relishes and preserves Mary's fruit until death, and for ever and ever. Amen." ~St. Louis de Montfort

I've been working full-time these days, which leaves little time for blogging, and little from which to draw writing inspiration, it seems.  But today, since I was too wimpy to take a walk outside in the first really cold day of the season (I mean, we did have snow flurries earlier in the day), I spent my lunch time walking the stairwells and sky-walks at  the hospital where I work while praying my rosary.  I've walked these paths many times and have always admired the lovely stained glass window display in the middle of my walk.  But today, for the first time, a particular window caught my eye. It was the Tree of Life!  Considering all of the time that Christi Jentz and I have spent working on our sea glass version of the Tree of Life, I don't know how I missed this one before!  

Although we have been focusing on the passage from the Book of Revelation (22:2) in regard to the Tree of Life, I'm fascinated by St. Louis de Montfort's description of Mary as the True Tree of Life.  In The Secret of Mary, he tells us how to cultivate the true Tree of Life within our souls:  

THE CARE AND GROWTH OF THE TREE OF LIFE
or, in other words, HOW BEST TO CAUSE MARY TO LIVE AND REIGN IN OUR SOULS

[A. The holy slavery of love. The Tree of life.]

70. Have you understood with the help of the Holy Spirit what I have tried to explain in the preceding pages? If so, be thankful to God. It is a secret of which very few people are aware. If you have discovered this treasure in the field of Mary, this pearl of great price, you should sell all you have to purchase it. You must offer yourself to Mary, happily lose yourself in her, only to find God in her. If the Holy Spirit has planted in your soul the true Tree of Life, which is the devotion that I have just explained, you should see carefully to its cultivation, so that it will yield its fruit in due season. This devotion is like the mustard seed of the Gospel, which is indeed the smallest of all seeds, but nevertheless it grows into a big plant, shooting up so high that the birds of the air, that is, the elect, come and make their nest in its branches. They repose there, shaded from the heat of the sun, and safely hidden from beasts of prey.

[B. How to cultivate it]

Here is the best way, chosen soul, to cultivate it:

71. (1) This tree, once planted in a docile heart, requires fresh air and no human support. Being of heavenly origin, it must be uninfluenced by any creature, since a creature might hinder it from rising up towards God who created it. Hence you must not rely on your own endeavours or your natural talents or your personal standing or the guidance of men. You must resort to Mary, relying solely on her help.

72. (2) The person in whose soul this tree has taken root must, like a good gardener, watch over it and protect it. For this tree, having life and capable of producing the fruit of life, should be raised and tended with enduring care and attention of soul. A soul that desires to be holy will make this its chief aim and occupation.

73. Whatever is likely to choke the tree or in the course of time prevent its yielding fruit, such as thorns and thistles, must be cut away and rooted out. This means that by self-denial and self- discipline you must sedulously cut short and even give up all empty pleasures and useless dealings with other creatures. In other words, you must crucify the flesh, keep a guard over the tongue, and mortify the bodily senses.

74. (3) You must guard against grubs doing harm to the tree. These parasites are love of self and love of comfort, and they eat away the green foliage of the Tree and frustrate the fair hope it offered of yielding good fruit; for love of self is incompatible with love of Mary.

75. (4) You must not allow this tree to be damaged by destructive animals, that is, by sins, for they may cause its death simply by their contact. They must not be allowed even to breathe upon the Tree, because their mere breath, that is, venial sins, which are most dangerous when we do not trouble ourselves about them.

76. (5) It is also necessary to water this Tree regularly with your Communions, Masses and other public and private prayers. Otherwise it will not continue bearing fruit.

77. (6) Yet you need not be alarmed when the winds blow and shake this tree, for it must happen that the storm-winds of temptation will threaten to bring it down, and snow and frost tend to smother it. By this we mean that this devotion to our Blessed Lady will surely be called into question and attacked. But as long as we continue steadfastly in tending it, we have nothing to fear.

[C. Its lasting fruit: Jesus Christ]

78. Chosen soul, provided you thus carefully cultivate the Tree of Life, which has been freshly planted in your soul by the Holy Spirit, I can assure you that in a short time it will grow so tall that the birds of the air will make their home in it. It will become such a good tree that it will yield in due season the sweet and adorable Fruit of honour and grace, which is Jesus, who has always been and will always be the only fruit of Mary. Happy is that soul in which Mary, the Tree of Life, is planted. Happier still is the soul in which she has been able to grow and blossom. Happier again is the soul in which she brings forth her fruit. But happiest of all is the soul which savours the sweetness of Mary's fruit and preserves it up till death and then beyond to all eternity. Amen. "Let him who possesses it, hold fast to it."

Here are the some images I captured of the stained glass windows at my downtown hospital-isn't it wonderful that they have been preserved?

I was hungry and you fed me

I was a stranger and you invited me

I needed clothing and you clothed me

I was in prison and you visited me

I could not get a picture of this beauty without a reflection from the window interfering