July 22, 2026

Wednesday Word . . . Window Stories: North Nave – Rear

The north wall of the nave (on the right as you enter the church) has three windows, and the rearmost window on the north side depicts Christ blessing children.

Jesus, centered in the frame, has three children gathered around him, while holding an infant in his left arm. The oldest is a girl I would put at about 12-years old and she is holding two bouquets of flowers, one white and one orange (although the white flowers could be a headpiece or crown to contrast the crown of thorns Jesus will wear later). If you didn't know this child was a girl, the artist makes it explicit by putting her in a pink dress or tunic.

A second child appears to be a young boy of about 8-years old who is wearing a white tunic. The third child could be either male or female, about 4-years old and is wearing a green tunic. Jesus is reaching down with his right hand to touch him or her on the head. A woman stands to Jesus' right, and is most likely the Blessed Virgin Mary as she is garbed in the traditional blue.

Out of the six figures in the window, only Jesus is shown with a halo. This is a departure from other windows that depict Mary with a halo and often show children with halos to convey their innocence.

The left margin has a butterfly, which is a symbol of resurrection and/or new life and could have been chosen as a nod to children who grow and change into adults over time. The right margin has an image of what I'm guessing is a beehive. This has several meanings in Christian art such as a good work ethic, the purity of the Church (because worker bees don't mate), and the community of the Church (many individuals working for one goal), among other things.

All three synoptic gospels (Matthew, Mark, and Luke) have stories about Jesus blessing children over the objections of the disciples, and in each Jesus says something along the lines of, “It is to these that the kingdom of heaven belongs.” There are many interpretations of this, but my favorite is for us to view the kingdom of heaven with the same awe, wonder, and fascination that children often view life. In sharing stories of our faith, can we do it with the same excitement and fascination that children have when showing a new bug to their parent?

We all have faith stories to share. What's yours?

Blessings,

Todd+