Order includes:

• high-res image file formatted for print

• high-res image file formatted for web/projection

• A PDF of the Artist's statements & scripture reference for the visual

• A visio divina Bible Study Guide for you to use this image in a group study session that incorporates the ancient Benedictine spiritual practice of "divine seeing."

Credit Info:

When printing and sharing online, please always include the following credits:
Artist's name | A Sanctified Art LLC | sanctifiedart.org

From the artist:

Did it feel like a dream when the angel approached?
“Greetings, favored one!”

Did her mind spin as she pondered the impossibility of it all?
“You will bear a son . . . and he will be great.”

Did she lose her balance when she realized the gravity of her call?
“The child will be holy . . . the Son of God.”

Did her legs get weak after the words left her lips?
“Here I am . . . let it be.”

In the quiet that followed, did she question everything? Did she realize what this would mean—for her family, for Joseph, for her future? Did she realize she would be perceived as impure, as a threat to patriarchy, power, and proprietary? Did fear cloak her, like a garment pulled too tight?

And so, in a haze, she runs away—seeking refuge in the hill country, retreating to family who would keep her safe and help her make sense of her world turned upside down. 

As soon as she falls into Elizabeth’s arms, Elizabeth knows and feels it to be true. Yes, I feel it too. We are pregnant with promise. We carry this together. This is not a dream deferred. It is a dream confirmed, a dream shared. A dream that will birth joy.

In this image, Mary and Elizabeth’s bodies are tenderly intertwined. Halos, like crescent moons, encircle each of them and their wombs, signaling the cosmic change they bring forth.

— Lisle Gwynn Garrity