Idyllic and graceful, this 19th century French holy card depicts the depth of gentle and intimate love between Jesus, Mary, and his doves, which are you and me. If you look closely, you can see that Jesus is blessing the doves. Usually in Victorian Catholic art, doves mean the faithful, unless falling from the sky, such as this one gently coming to earth, suggesting possibly the Holy Spirit. And there she is, Queen of Heaven _and_ Earth, the relaxed mother Mary, seated on a woodland throne.

On the back, we have selected a beautiful prayer to the Mother Mary from her Saint Anthony of Padua, a contemporary of Francis of Assisi.

The phrase, Le Seigneur aime la louange qui vient des cœurs purs means, The Lord loves praise that comes from pure hearts. We think it's a quote from P. Eymard, i.e, Père or Father Eymard, an extremely popular priest at the time who promoted a devotion to Mary and the Eucharist and helped revive the French Church. He was canonized in 1962.

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You might also be interested in our art print of this image,

Thank you for your interest.

Sue and John