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Our Lady of Grace, Dearborn Heights, Michigan

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MSGC : Collections : Window

Window

Building Name: The Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary Chapel

Studio Name: Emil Frei Associates, Inc.

City: Livonia

Window Shape: 5 (gothic arched, 2 vertical sections)

Subject/Title of Window: The Three Theological Virtues and The Three Vows taken by the Felician Sisters

Brief Description of Subject: All of the aisle and transept windows have the same basic pattern, two lancet windows --- the top symbol in each lancet sets the topic for that lancet, and the four symbols below are each encased in a geometrical shape surrounded by grisaille glass. The border and filler color used, like the geometric shape, is unique to the section of the Church they are located in --- the transept uses a quatrefoil shape and the color of ruby.
 
The transept is on two levels. In the lower level is a chapel and the upper level a choir loft. The choir loft is constructed at an angle like a bleacher. This will cause variations in height and visibility of some of the windows.
 
The top portions of this window are not visible. This window extends to the lower level where the bottom two sections are visible.
 
Left lancet, the Theological Virtues of Faith, Hope and Love. Note the virtues of Faith and Hope are not visible.
 
Love/Charity: Pictured here with inscription "Caritas," which can be translated from Latin as either "Love" or "Charity." St. Paul describes the virtue of Love in 1 Corinthians 13 in verses 4 - 5 as "Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self seeking. It is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs." He concludes in verse 13, "And now three remain: faith, hope, and love. But the greatest of these is love." St. Thomas Aquinas described the virtue of Charity as "The friendship of man for God, which unites us to God." Unidentified is the symbol in the background.
 
Work: Not a theological virtue but there are many writings in the Scriptures on this topic i.e Proverbs 13:4 (Douay-Rheims), "The sluggard willeth and willeth not: but the soul of them that work, shall be made fat." Work is symbolized here by keys, a broom, and a hammer.
 
Right lancet, the three vows taken by the Felician Sisters, Poverty, Chastity, and Obedience. Note the vows of Poverty and Chastity not visible.
 
Obedience: Pictured is a hand calming the wind and water. These symbols refer to Matthew 8:23 - 27, Jesus Calms the Sea --- When water from a storm was swamping the boat that Jesus and his Apostles were traveling on, the Apostles pleaded for Jesus to save them. When he calmed the storm, the Apostles "marveled, saying, 'What sort of man is this, that even the winds and sea obey him?' "
 
Prayer: Pictured are hands in prayer, and the inscription "ORA," the Latin for "pray." Not a vow taken by the Sisters but an integral part of their lives. They follow Paul's dictates in 1 Thessalonians 5:16 - 18, "Be joyful always, pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus."
 
Although the exact date is not known, this window was in place by 1944.

Height: 11'

Width: 6'

The MSGC is a constantly evolving database. Not all the data that has been collected by volunteers has been sorted and entered. Not every building has been completely documented.

All images in the Index are either born-digital photographs of windows or buildings or are scans of slides, prints, or other published sources. These images have been provided by volunteers and the quality of the material varies widely.

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