Above is a photo of me with my family sitting at a table. Christine is looking at a photo of my painting of Rena as Stella Maris. She is standing in a sea of grass looking West at the setting sun. Behind her, and almost crowning her, is a crescent moon. Rena is wearing a dark blue cape that shines with stars. The hem of this robe has stars.

My mother, Rosemary Rosamond is in the background. Across from me is Victoria, and the girl is Shannon Rosamond. What these four women have in common, is, not one of them had anything to say about the Art of Rosamond. The other thing they have in common, is, they all had sexual intercourse with Victor William Presco whose childhood dream was to live in ancient Rome and be a Roman General. Jewish women and girls who were raped by Roman soldiers were – cast out! The true disciples of Jesus took care of widows, and I believe these cast outs who were titled ‘Whores’. I believe Mary Magdalene was in charge of these throw-away maidens, because, she was raped by a Roman.

Shortly after Christine beheld my painting of Rena, she took up art. All the women in this photo know, and knew, I was the Family Artist before being usurped by Christine. This is why Rosemary said;

“You were her John the Baptist. You prepared her way!”

My Rosemondt kindred in Holland worshipped the Star of the Sea because they belonged to a guild of sea-farers and traders. We see my family in ‘The Wedding Feast at Cana’ by Bosch. Christine was my disciple.

Jon Presco

Copyright 2013

Our Lady, Star of the Sea

The statue of Our Lady Star of the Sea venerated in the church of Sliema, Malta
Our Lady, Star of the Sea is an ancient title for the Virgin Mary, mother of Jesus Christ. The words Star of the Sea are a translation of the Latin title Stella Maris.

The title was used to emphasize Mary’s role as a sign of hope and as a guiding star for Christians, especially gentiles, whom the Old Testament Israelites metaphorically referred to as the sea, meaning anyone beyond the “coasts”, or, that is to say, sociopolitical, and religious (Mosaic law), borders of Israelite territory. Under this title, the Virgin Mary is believed to intercede as a guide and protector of those who travel or seek their livelihoods on the sea. This aspect of the Virgin has led to Our Lady, Star of the Sea, being named as patroness of the Catholic missions to seafarers, the Apostleship of the Sea, and to many coastal churches being named Stella Maris or Mary, Star of the Sea. This devotion towards Our Lady with this ancient title is popular throughout the Catholic world.

The miraculous statue of Our Lady, Star of the Sea in Basilica of Our Lady (Maastricht), the most important Marian shrine of the Netherlands
Stella Maris “sea-star” is a name of α Ursae Minoris or Polaris, the “guiding star” (also “lodestar”, “ship star”, “steering star”, etc.) because it has been used for celestial navigation at sea since antiquity. The name is applied to the Virgin Mary in Saint Jerome’s Latin translation of the Onomasticon by Eusebius of Caesarea,[1] although this is in fact a misnomer based on a transcription error. The Hebrew name Miryam, meaning drop of the sea, was translated by St Jerome into Stilla Maris, but at some later stage a copyist transcribed this into Stella Maris, and this transcription error became widespread.[2]

Paschasius Radbertus in the ninth century wrote of Mary, Star of the Sea, as a guide to be followed on the way to Christ “lest we capsize amid the storm-tossed waves of the sea.” At this time too the plainsong hymn “Ave Maris Stella” (“Hail, Star of the Sea”), became increasingly popular.

In the twelfth century, Saint Bernard of Clairvaux wrote: “If the winds of temptation arise; If you are driven upon the rocks of tribulation look to the star, call on Mary; If you are tossed upon the waves of pride, of ambition, of envy, of rivalry, look to the star, call on Mary. Should anger, or avarice, or fleshly desire violently assail the frail vessel of your soul, look at the star, call upon Mary.”[3]

Pope Pius XII in his encyclical, Doctor Mellifluus, also quoted Bernard of Clairvaux in saying; Mary … is interpreted to mean ‘Star of the Sea.’ This admirably befits the Virgin Mother.. (for) as the ray does not diminish the brightness of the star, so neither did the Child born of her tarnish the beauty of Mary’s virginity.[4]

[edit] Devotional application

The idea of Mary as a guiding star for seafarers has led to devotion to Our Lady, Star of the Sea in many Catholic coastal and fishing communities. Numerous churches, schools and colleges are dedicated to Stella Maris, Our Lady Star of the Sea, or Mary, Star of the Sea.

Stella Maris Monastery, the foundation house of the Carmelite order was established on Mount Carmel, Israel, in the early thirteenth century. The abbey was destroyed several times, but a refounded Stella Maris monastery is still considered the headquarters of the order.