"Light of Life," an amazing Pro-Life story

In a recent article, Mary Kochan from Catholic Exchange says:

"I have never believed that abortion was anything other than a violation of God's command against murder. Even though I grew up in a pseudo-Christian cult (Jehovah's Witnesses) I recognized that, and so, when I finally became a Protestant Christian, there was little to change in my understanding on that subject. But when I became Catholic, it was another story. Before I was "against abortion" but in becoming Catholic, I became truly pro-life.

The were two main ways that being pro-life as a Catholic differed from being "against abortion" as a Protestant: comprehending that artificial birth control perverted marriage and having the Blessed Virgin to contemplate.

As I was undergoing my conversion to the Catholic faith, Mary's maternal interest in me personally became apparent to me, and the historic images of her in art and iconography became quite interesting to me. One sees through the ages that Catholic artists have drawn their Blessed Mother close to them and close to their times with art. Unique among all images of Mary is the icon of Our Lady of Guadeloupe, painted by no human hand, but also unusual in depicting Mary as pregnant. Contemplating these representations of the Blessed Virgin in an age that has declared war upon its own unborn, it occurred to me that an image not merely depicting Mary as pregnant, but instead also showing the Divine Christ Child in her womb would be particularly fitting for our day. This impression was very strong upon me, but I am not an artist.

Nellie Edwards is an artist. When I saw her painting, "Light of Life," the very strong impression that I felt years ago was renewed and fulfilled. Here was what I had pondered in my heart a decade earlier, only strikingly more beautiful: Our Lord, fully God and fully man — fully God and fully unborn infant — is cradled in the womb of the Blessed Mother. The story of how this marvelous and startling portrait of Our Lady came to be interested me greatly, so I was eager to learn about it from the artist herself..."

What follows is an interview between Mary Kochan and the artist Nellie Edwards. It is certainly worth reading and will make your day. Please click here for the article on Catholic Exchange.