Alejandro: To your question in your last Web, father, “Should we not think of brightening up a little our own religious images?”, I answer in the affirmative. Yes. We have images that scare children – and adults. The image of Our Lady as Queen of Martyrs represents Mary with a sword through her heart. That is traumatic. And many images of the Passion of Jesus are shocking. True, all that happened, but it need not be represented before our eyes at all moments.

My comment to Alejandro’s comment: They say an extraterrestrial visitor landed once on earth, and representatives of different religions tried to bring him each to their own. As they did not understand his language, they showed him the symbols that represented their religions. A Muslim showed the crescent, as they forbid human images. The Hebrew brought the seven-branch candelabrum, the menorah. The Buddhist brought The Laughing Buddha. The Hindu brought Shri Krishna with his peacock feather, the garland of flowers round his neck, dancing and playing the flute. The Christian brought a crucifix with Christ on it, his five wounds open and the crown of thorns on his head, all full of blood. The question then was, not which religion would he choose, but which would he first discard? The Passion of Christ is our most sacred memory, but it certainly is not meant for us to have it bodily before our eyes at all times. I don’t even think Jesus likes us to think of him all the time as nailed to the cross, but walking by our side, telling us his parables, listening to our tales, and breaking bread with us. It is the risen Christ that is living in our midst today.

I find the image you mention of the Queen of Martyrs unacceptable, and not even true to history. Old Simeon in the gospel tells Mary that “a sword will pierce your soul” (Luke 2:35), not your heart; that is, it is a metaphor, and it never was a physical fact. The same has to be said of the seven swords that pierce Mary’s heart in some images, even if they are wrought in gold and silver as in the statue of Our Lady of Dolours in Salamanca. That is my opinion.