Hello St. Mary Magdalene,

In this write-up I wanted to share with you the symbolism of the elements in our sanctuary project. I’ve spoken and/or written about elements of this but not the whole thing entirely; I wanted to wait until it’s done and now it is. So, here we go. This will cover the basic symbolism of what we did and what it means.

First, the unifying theme is the “Heavenly Jerusalem” where each panel gives us a different glimpse into Heaven and integrated by the Latin across the wall “Sanctus Domini Deus omnipotens qui erat, et qui est, et qui venturus est” (Holy Lord God Almighty, who was, and who is, and who is to come) from Revelation 4:8. This is set against a desert scene at sunrise (a symbol of the Resurrection and the Second Coming of Christ) with our own landscape set amidst the scene featuring a glorified version of the mountains as viewed from St. Mary Magdalene. The ones directly behind the altar are the mountains facing east, including Four Peaks, while the Superstitions are to the right. There are also many desert flora and fauna throughout the muralscape including saguaro cacti, quail, a roadrunner, gecko, and a cactus wren. This is symbolic of our own call both to join the saints and to seek eternal life with Christ and our final destination of Heaven and to go out and spread the Gospel in our daily lives.

Second, who are the saints? There are eight of them. To figure which saints would be included, it was important for me that it represented the community and so I took a survey of a representative group of parishioners and these eight saints emerged as the most prevalent devotions within our own community. Moving from left (Mary side) to right (Joseph side) we have: St. Peter (identifiable via the keys in his hands) as a symbol of the universal church and the first pope, St. John the Baptist (identifiable by his staff and upward pointing finger) the herald of the Messiah famous for his prophetic cry “He must increase; I must decrease” (John 3:30), St. Cecilia (identifiable by the harp in her hands) in honor of our liturgical musicians and choristers, St. Mary Magdalene (kneeling and identifiable via the jar of ointment she used to anoint Christ’s feet with her hair). Jumping across we continue with St. Therese of Lisieux (identifiable via the abundance of roses in her arms) in honor of Theresian simplicity and her little way of holiness, St. John Vianney (identifiable via the book of the Gospels he’s holding and priestly stole around his shoulders) as the patron saint of parish priests and the relic embedded in the altar in our adoration chapel, St. Faustina (identifiable by her habit and hands over heart indicating her closeness with Christ and the visions He gave her) since she is the great visionary of the Divine Mercy Chaplet (a personal favorite devotion) which is a powerful part of our parish prayer life, and lastly (but certainly not least) is the great John Paul II (identifiable via his red shoes, papal crozier and cassock) since he is such a legendary figure in our Church and many of us have wonderful memories of him and he’s the third longest reigning pontiff in Church history at 26 years (he’s behind Pius IX who reigned 31 years, and St. Peter who reigned for 37 years).

Third, we have several angelic figures in the middle panels. Around the Crucifix in the gold nimbus are seraphim angels who rank highest among all the choirs of angels and are closest to God in Heaven, hence why they’re around God made flesh in Christ crucified. This nimbus around the Crucifix is also intentionally done in the shape of a host emphasizing Christ’s presence in the Eucharist. Also flowing from the pierced heart of Christ are the red and blue rays of the Divine Mercy Image, reminding us that His pierced heart is the font of mercy, grace, and forgiveness. Moving up we see Sts. Michael (holding the spear) on the Marian side of the middle panel, and Gabriel (holding the trumpet) on the Joseph side of the panel. At the very top we have cherubim angels holding golden censers in praise to the Lord (Revelation 8:5). This is a personal favorite since you all know how fond I am of incense!! Together, these three ranks of angels represent the choirs of angels and, together with the saints depicted, the union of Heaven and earth in each Mass. This means that these figures (and all the rest of Heaven) stand shoulder to shoulder with us every time we gather around the altar.

Fourth, there is some additional Latin text at the peak of the middle panel which in Latin says “Vidi Dominum” (translated I have seen the Lord). This is the cry of our patroness, St. Mary Magdalene on Easter morning, and is a great reminder for us of the power of the Resurrection and the witness of the first disciples and that we now carry on their legacy and give witness to Christ’s Resurrection through our life.

Fifth, at the top of the beam over the altar you’ll find a dove, a symbol used throughout Scripture for the Holy Spirit. He sits over the altar representing His role in the Mass to transubstantiate (change the substance) the bread and wine into the Body and Blood of Christ at the Epiclesis (the first time the bell is rung during Mass) where the priest commands that the Spirit descend by God’s clemency.

Sixth, we have the two bird mosaics in the arches over the ambo and presider's chair. Over the ambo is the Phoenix arrayed in orange, the color of fire, is symbolic of both the Diocese of Phoenix but also of Resurrection. In mythology the phoenix symbolizes resurrection as it dies and is reborn and this symbolism was incorporated by the early church as an allegory for Christ. Hence it sits over the ambo as St. Paul writes in 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17 that at the word of command we will rise to meet Christ at His Coming. Over the presider’s chair is a pelican with three chicks. The mother’s breast is pierced and three red blood drops flow from her pierced flesh, giving her life to save that of her chicks. This too comes from the early church who saw this factual reality as an allegory for Christ and the Eucharist, His flesh is our food into eternal life. Placed over the presider’s chair this mosaic emphasizes the connection between the priesthood and the Eucharist.

Seventh, yes, we’re still going! On the altar itself we see a mosaic of the lamb who was slain sitting on the book of seven seals. This is a frequent image in Revelation and is a reminder of Christ as the Lamb of God and the book of life. This book is sealed with seven seals (one for each sacrament. So here we have, Christological imagery in the lamb, and sacramental theology in the seven seals as the seven sacraments, the avenues by which Christ’s life is communicated to us. Flanking the mosaic are the Greek symbols for the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet, alpha (Α) and omega (Ω). Continuing and tying back in with the theme of the Heavenly Jerusalem these two letters are “the beginning and the end” (Revelation 22:13).

On the ambo we have a book with a sword running through it. This is an image of what is written in the letter to the Hebrews that, “the word of God is living and effective, sharper than any two-edged sword, penetrating even between soul and spirit, joints and marrow, and able to discern reflections and thoughts of the heart” (Hebrews 4:12). Inscribed on the book is the first verse of the prologue of John’s Gospel in Latin “In principio erat verbum” (In the beginning was the Word). This is a reminder that Christ is the Word of God made flesh and that He is the Word which was spoken. This connects too to Genesis 1 and the account of creation that it was by God’s Word all things were made (“through Him all things were made” as we profess in our Creed). So, together with the phoenix above it, the ambo reminds us that God’s Word brings life. Above this book mosaic is what’s known as the Jerusalem Cross; an image made popular during the Crusades but speaks to the centrality of Jerusalem (the largest cross) as the place where redemption and salvation happened; and then the spread of the four Gospels (the four smaller crosses in each quadrant) throughout the world as they departed Jerusalem.

On the side panels of the ambo, carved into the stone, is the image of a tree with water flowing from it and many animals drinking from these waters. This is an image from the prophet Ezekiel (Ezekiel 47:1) where the rivers of life flowed from the temple (where God dwelt on earth) and gave life to the world! This is yet another symbol for us that our life flows from God and that He continues to sustain and nourish us spiritually through word and sacrament. There is also a cross at the base of the tree connecting the Cross of Christ with the Tree of Life, an image that also goes back to Genesis 3. Similarly, on the side panels of the main altar we see more birds (because we all know, as the Trashmen would say, “bird is the word”...sorry, I couldn’t resist that one; I’m sorry if that joke didn’t take flight…you’re permitted to groan now); these are peacocks and peacocks preserve their integrity for a while after death and therefore, were allegorized by the early Christians as a sign of resurrection; through Christ we resist the ravages of death and are born into new life. Likewise, the eyes on peacock feathers are symbols of God’s omniscience and eternal vigilance over creation and that nothing happens to any of God’s creatures outside the purview of His Providence.

Some fun facts about the artwork:

1. There are 48 seraphim faces visible in the nimbus, but myriads that are hidden! The number 48 is a very important number in scripture; it appears in several places and has many spiritual meanings. The number 48 may be related to the word “atonement,” which means “at-one-ment.” It can also mean "perfection", "completion", and "seal". The number 48 has Hebrew numerological significance because it adds up to 12 (4+8=12). Twelve represents spiritual perfection.
2. Over 500 sheets of double layer 24K gold leaf were used in the Vidi Domini and the nimbus!
3. The Vidi Domini lettering is 10 ft long each side and 14" high
4. The Sanctus text is 1 ft high and 43' long combined
5. The stars have 8 points each and contain gold flakes and 3 signatures :)
6. There is a total of 6 desert critters hidden in the landscape
7. The archangels are 8 ft. high
8. The cherubim are in the harmonic proportion of 3:4
9. The saints range from 6' - 8' tall, St. JPII being the largest, a "giant" of the faith!
10. To make our mosaics, pieces of glass were heated to over 3,000 degree Fahrenheit and then mixed with metal oxides to give them their colors
11. These glass pieces are then made into small pancake shaped discs and then cut by hand into the pieces that make up our mosaics
12. There are also pieces of stone in our mosaics and these stones are sourced from: Italy, China, Greece, and Turkey

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