The Archdiocese of Denver launched the public portion of its nine-year novena that will usher in the extraordinary Jubilee Year 2033. The year will mark exactly 2,000 years from when Christians believe the redemption of the world took place with the passion, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
At the start of Lent, Denver Archbishop Samuel J. Aquila announced the theme of the daily prayer, which is directed to the Virgin Mary under the title "Mary at the Foot of the Cross." The archdiocese's communications office confirmed to OSV News that Archbishop Aquila and his leadership team started praying the novena last year, prior to releasing it to the public on Ash Wednesday, March 5.
"As Mary was present with Jesus throughout his passion, she will guide us in meditating upon these mysteries and participating in Jesus' salvific mission on the cross," Archbishop Aquila said in his pastoral note to the faithful of the Denver Archdiocese.
"Mary stood at the foot of the Cross as Jesus suffered, taking upon himself the sin of the world, and anticipated the moment when he would ultimately put sin to death when he breathed his last," the archbishop continued.
Archbishop Aquila explained the concept of a nine-year novena is not unprecedented. He pointed out that his predecessor in Denver, retired Cardinal J. Francis Stafford, proclaimed a nine-year novena in preparation for the Jubilee 2000 that celebrated 2,000 years since the incarnation of Jesus Christ. And he commissioned an icon of Our Lady of the New Advent.
Similarly, for the nine-year novena preparing for Jubilee 2033, Archbishop Aquila commissioned a local sacred artist, Elizabeth Zelasko, to create an icon of Mary standing at the foot of the cross. The faithful have been encouraged to reflect on the image as they pray the novena.
The archbishop's pastoral note includes a guide explaining the symbols on the icon that depicts a bowed Mary standing on Mount Calvary with a pained, sorrowful expression in her eyes, clothed in a black cape dotted with twinkling white stars.
Among the various signs in the icon the note explains are Mary's hands, in a carrying position but empty, with one hand holding the swaddling cloth she once wrapped Jesus in as her newborn son. There are two small angels on either side of Mary, representing the angels present in her life as recorded by the Gospels, who accompany her in this time of tremendous suffering. On the upper left hand of the icon is a black circle bordered by a white ring, showing the eclipse of the sun that took place while Jesus was hanging on the cross.
"The entire purpose of sacred art is to help us pray, pray together and center our thoughts on the transcendent truths of our faith," Zelasko told Denver Catholic, the archdiocesan news outlet, about the unveiled icon. "I had many hours to sit with the Virgin Mary at the foot of the cross while I was painting. I thought about the magnitude of that moment, her Immaculate Heart being pierced with a sword, the evil one losing, and her great love for us and for our archdiocese. I prayed for all of you while I worked. May this image be a blessing for you."
Archbishop Aquila encouraged the faithful to pray the novena everyday and contemplate the icon in the lead-up to the extraordinary Jubilee 2033.
He suggested specific prayers for the the reparation of sins; the celebration of Masses for the Forgiveness of Sin and Masses to the Blessed Virgin Mary at the Foot of the Cross as found in the Roman Missal; praying the Chaplet of the Holy Face of Jesus and the rosary's sorrowful mysteries; and making a conscious effort to offer "every good deed to the honor and glory of the Father out of charity."
