The New Adam
Caravaggio's Madonna dei Palafrenieri, first exhibited in Saint Peter's Basilica in 1606, is wonderfully disturbing. While Grandmother Saint Anne looks on, the Virgin Mother Mary allows the Child Jesus to place His little foot on top of hers; together the Mother and the Child crush the head of the serpent under their feet. The nakedness of the Child Jesus suggests that He is indeed the New Adam who, by His innocence, inaugurates a new creation: the Kingdom of God where only little children are allowed to enter.
Sexual Abuse: The Dark Sin
The darkness of this painting, so typical of Caravaggio, and the sinister writhing of the serpent combine with the purity of the Infant Christ to speak poignantly to the tragic drama of the sexual abuse of children. Adults who were sexually abused as children never really recover from the serpent's venomous bite. The poison has a delayed release. Its effects are experienced over time, triggering emotional chaos, spiritual distress, and even chronic physical illness. The serpent, moreover, hides in the darkness, biding its time in anticipation of new attacks.
Therapy
While therapy or some form of counseling is certainly helpful in dealing with the long–term effects of the serpent's bite, it is not sufficient. Rarely is a complete healing possible through therapy alone. In my experience, most persons struggling with the effects of sexual abuse will suffer recurrent crises, although with time these may become less frequent and less debilitating. The benefit of therapy is in helping the individual to identify what things trigger crises, what things feed into the chaos, and what strategies are effective in countering recurrent difficulties.
Supernatural Means
Ultimately, one is obliged to confront the evil, in its origin and in its effects, on spiritual ground and with supernatural means. This is where the adult living with the effects of sexual abuse as a child finds it necessary to identify with the Infant Christ in entrusting himself entirely to the Blessed Virgin Mary.
The Lord God said unto the serpent, I will put enmity between Thee and the Woman, and between thy seed and her Seed, which same shall bruise thy head, alleluia. (Antiphon at the Benedictus on December 8th, Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception)
Consecration to the Blessed Virgin Mary
Consecration to the Blessed Virgin Mary leads one to place one's own foot on hers in total confidence. So long as the serpent's head remains under the foot of the Immaculate Virgin and one's own foot rests on hers, the effects of the abuse are held in check. The serpent may writhe and hiss, but ultimately the All–Holy Mother of God and her Seed, that is the Infant Christ and those who belong to Him, will crush its head.
The Immaculate Conception
The coming Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary is of all days the most favourable to make or to renew a personal consecration to the Immaculate Mother of God, especially if one struggles with the long–term effects of sexual abuse. The renewal of one's consecration to the Blessed Virgin Mary opens again and again the floodgates of the graces given her by God for distribution to the weakest and most wounded of her children.
The Rosary: Where Hope Flowers
One will also find in the humble prayer of the Rosary an indispensable protection and a source of inner healing. The mysteries of the infancy and childhood of Christ are supremely effective in countering the effects of a childhood marred by abuse. In the presence of the Immaculate Virgin and her Child there flowers the hope of a serene and fruitful life. "Give glory to the Lord for thy good things, and bless the God eternal, that He may rebuild His tabernacle in thee" (Tobias 13:12).
His Excellency, Bishop Edward J. Slattery of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Tulsa, Oklahoma has given
Father Mark a special mandate to live under the Rule of Saint Benedict in adoration before the Eucharistic Face of Jesus, offering thanksgiving, intercession, and reparation for all his
brothers in Holy Orders. In this way, Father is preparing the foundation of the new Diocesan Benedictine Monastery of Our Lady of the Cenacle. Father Mark is available to the
priests and deacons of the Diocese for spiritual and sacramental support in their pursuit of holiness. He is also charged with the spiritual formation of women who desire to dedicate themselves to spiritual motherhood in favour of priests.
Beautiful, beautiful post.
I used to work with kids, most of whom had been sexually abused. I remember one in particular; He was 14 or 15 or so, and the locked unit that housed him bordered the children's unit. This boy had been caught perpetuating the same abuse which had been inflicted upon him, and it was like an addiction. I remember his shaking hands as he revealed his soul to me; how he wanted to be near the children in this unholy way; how much he despised himself for it. How much he hated what had been done to him and how much he regretted and didn't understand why he did it to others. He told me about his dream in which this had happened, and the dream ended in his suicide, and he hoped for the escape of death because he couldn't take the day to day torture of the cycle that he had been thrown into.
This kid was suicidal, and while the crimes he had already commited were horrible, he taught me to see that there is another side and that this predator was still a victim.
Please pray for him. I think he'd be in his mid-20's now or so, if he is still alive, and this kid was really suffering. People often don't see that side, but I can't forget it. I will never forget it.
I wish I had been able to, at that time, to impart the wisdom you've shared in this post. I'm not sure he was raised with any religion at all, but he seemed to understand where God was, and I think he believed in Hell...and had already condemned himself there.
I don't think I can adequately relate what this boy told me, how he suffered...and then caused suffering through his compulsion. And then caused himself further suffering as a form of twisted reparation. (you wouldn't believe the physical scars he had)
Thank you for this post
Father: Caravaggio probably did not intend the painting to be an allegory of healing from sexual abuse (you probably knew that but I feel compelled to say it).
However, the connections/reflections you make are excellent. I hope they will be helpful to someone in recovery.
I think consecrating oneself to the Blessed Virgin is always a good idea.
VOTF and SNAP should see this and use it. It's actually faith-based! Unlike most of their platforms.
Dear Cathy of Alex, Caravaggio was depicting the mystery of the Immaculate Conception based on Gen 3:15. Thank you for your comment.
Father Mark, O.Cist.,
Thanks for this meditation. Your concept of the poison and it's delayed release through one's life is, sadly, so true. One thinks that they have made so much progress, and then one finds that certain things trigger the release of the "poison" which make one realize that they haven't really gotten that far, even though healing has taken place.
The healing does come through God, but often times it seems that one person's wound is a source of healing for others. One may not feel any strength or healing themselves, but somehow it provides strength and healing for others whose paths they may cross in life. For me it deepens my appreciation of the mystery that "by his wounds, we were healed" and gives me much hope and the ability to trust in God more and more.
+What a gorgeous reflection! As Adoro mentions, and of course you also know, too many of the adult victims become perpetrators themselves, as the sex scandals that have rocked the Church have, unfortunately, all too clearly taught us.
This reflection should be used to help rehabilitate some of those perpetrators -- as these points (total abandonment to Mary and to Jesus through Mary) are their only hope.
When I think about this whole sad, sad reality, it makes me realize the urgent need to pray for God's protection of our children's innocence. Lord help us.
Your whole blog is very beautiful. Holy Advent to you.
December 27, 2006
On the eve of the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception, I was introduced to your beautifully worthy blog, through the article entitled, “Mary, the Child, and the Serpent� (Dec. 5, 2006) which was shared with me by an esteemed friend and insightful spiritual guide, Fr. Jacob Restrick. OP. Being an adult who was sexually abused as a teenager, and working through its ongoing impact in my life as a religious, I felt an immediate bond with what you were saying in the article. I was also amazed by the gift you had of directly addressing the deep woundedness in people’s lives, and coming up with such a powerful spiritual healing tool. I am very devoted to the mystery of our Blessed Mother’s Immaculate Conception, so that connection provided me with an additional attraction to your message. I have shared your article with others who also have been deeply moved by its powerful insights.
Consecration to Mary is such a powerful reality. She takes care of us even if we get lazy. But how much more enriching and, perhaps, efficacious, for us, when the focus on her mediation becomes more vital and habitual in our lives. May those of us poisoned with the venomous bite of sexual abuse place our foot confidently on Mary’s Immaculate Foot and with her crush the serpent’s head in our regard.
Thank you, dear Father, for being there with sincere love for the Face of Christ and the desire to see that image impressed more clearly upon the hearts of all his little ones.