Omaha daily bee., 1912-04-07

Lords mother. when the apotles visited
and opened her grave. they found 1t fra
grant and OVERLOOKING with roses and
lilies. Since then these flowers have been
called her own, as is signlfied IN Solo
mons song. Il am a flower OF Sharon
and a rose of the valley" The white
lily OF our gardens. the purest and most
beautiful of its Rind, is always painted
in pictures Of the virgin. To the Thought
less observer 1t is simply lovely flower.
very white, cold and fragrant. 1t is ac-
cepted as a fitting symbol for Easter
and in art lis recognized as the emblem
Of the annunciation.
The lilies stand before her like a screen.
Thro' which God surely hears,
For there she kneels to pray
She watts our prayers to God
Mary. the queen.
symbolic of Saints.
In legendary and sacred art II is SYM
bolic also of the spotless lives Of such
saints as st. Francis. st. Anthony Of
Padua, st. Catherine of Siena and others
1t was white lily which the venerable
Bebe calls THE most worthy symbol Of
the virgin, whose pure white petals rep
resent her holy body. whose golden
stamens her pure soul, shining with God
like light" The lily stalk in the hand
Of the Archangel Gabriel first appears
in the times of the Italian masters;
earlier painters represent him with a
scepter or olive branch instead. There
is always vase or pot OF lilies with
three blossoms on each stem. And the
legends tell us OF the sacred meaning
the holy trinity, Father, Sen and
Spirit" Since earliest times the lily has
been used in sacred architecture. and
open lilies carved in wood appear in all
the wonderful abbeys and oathedrals Of
the old world.
or peculiar interest, yet undecided, is
the question OF the nativity Of the lily.
II was the flower which the Master men
toned in the sermon on the mount, but
II is not positive what variety II was
that He showed the people when lie said:
Consider the lilies OF the field. how they
grow; they toll not. neither do they SPIN
West from the sea Of Gennesareth, near
the scene OF the parable OF the sewers.
IS a fertile plain, covered at different
seasons Of the year with many varieties
CT lilies OK all colors, among them the
tulip. thought by some to be the rose
In the valley" Many commentators give
the lilly d the field" as the yellow
daffodil, or narcissus. whose golden bios
SONS adorn the fields OF the east ia the
autumn. later travellers explain that i.
is the chalcedon. or byzantine lily. which
blooms IN thu. spring. at the time of the
year when He preached the sermon on
the MOUNT, and filled the landscape with
a red and geld splendor. Others claim
the purpose flowers Of the wild artichoke
as the true sacred lhy.
Lily in Literature.
In literature the lily holds a queenly
place. In days Of old romance. when
MINISTRIES and troubadours wandered up
and down the land, they sang the praises
Of the faire ladye and her hand OF lily
white. We are made TO realize that she
was "eondescending Mistress" and they
liked the idea of her fragillty, her dainty
hslplessnsss. am glad the days have
sone BY when women ''wrUng their nly-
white hands" il Is much better 10 have
her WORK with her ''bonny brown hands"
English poetry Is fun Of the lily. from
dear Dan Chaucer IN his Canterbury
Tales" down 20 Dante Gabriel Rossetti
in The Blessed DaTnozeL" Spencer cllngs
calamity to the lily haad." In The
Fairie Queen" We have the arompiny
Eon' and Una with helpless lily hands.
Ard the mystical flower was a part Of
his fag-oa fairy garden Shakespeare