Mayer Munich Windows 2 - North side

Starting at the left side, or the north wall of the church, the first window from the vestibule is the next event in the life of Our Lady.  Here is a depiction of the Flight into Egypt as related in Matthew’s gospel.  Herod, learning of the birth of a new King of the Jews from the Magi, and being tricked by them, sets out to massacre all boys under the age of two.  Joseph, warned in a dream, takes his family to Egypt, departing in the middle of the night.  The inspiration of this window is clearly from the painting of Bernard Plockhurst, a German who would have been known to the artists in Mayer’s studio.  They have copied the painting unashamedly, rendering the details of clothing, position of the characters, and other details directly from the painting onto glass.

The next window is an interpretation of the life of the Holy Family in Nazareth.  Joseph, a carpenter, has taught his skills to his son, Jesus, who fashions from wood a cross, that he is meditating about as he holds it up for the viewer to make out its shape.  Our Lady is in the back, depicted as doing handwork with needle and thread, a tradition from the Golden Legend again.  In this depiction, the Holy Family would have been easily related to by the parish families, many of whom were tradesmen and laborers in local factories, shoes, hats, machinery and the granite quarries of Milford.

The third window on this wall tells the story from Luke’s gospel, when at the age of twelve Our Lord stayed behind in Jerusalem and was found by his parents three days later teaching in the Temple.  Virginia Raguin in her treatise, The Historical Background of Franz Mayer and the Bavarian Tradition of Stained Glass at St. Mary’s Church, Milford finds inspiration from the German painter, Heinrich Hoffman for the gestures, clothing and depiction of this story.  In the background, Our Lady and St. Joseph are seen arriving and discovering their son teaching the authorities in the Temple.

The middle window on this north facing wall is of the Wedding Feast at Cana.  An important moment in the gospels, recounted only in the Fourth Gospel, holds the final words of Our Lady, to “Do whatever he tells you.”  Here the Lord is overseeing the servant who pours water from the jar into a vessel.  The liquid leaves the jar clear as water and changes to the red color of wine as it reaches the new vessel. Our Lady is opposite her Son as she oversees the action that she has initiated to manifest her Son’s power.  In the background, the famous unnamed couple seem to be receiving the difficult news that the wine has run out as the bride seems to react with consternation and disappointment, unaware of the miracle occurring beyond their view but obvious to those in the church.

The next window in their series is of Easter morning.  Drawing inspiration, and even copying particular details from another of Plockhorst’s paintings, this window is not of the Risen Lord, but of the women at the tomb.  Here Our Lady, accompanied by Mary of Magdela (whose head is uncovered) and another woman, most likely one of her cousins, either Mary the wife of Salome or the wife of Cleopas, arrive at the tomb. Their surprised expressions to find the angel in place of the body of the Lord lets the viewer know the unexpected joy and startling news of this event.

The next window, over the side doorway is the patron of the parish.  Again, probably inspired by Plockhorst’s interpretations of the Immaculate Conception of Our Lady, the window depicts Our Lady being assumed into the glory of heaven.  Surrounded by angels who lift her body and soul from earth to our heavenly Father in the quatrefoil above, the viewer has a sense of the glory and majesty afforded to this exemplary servant of the Father’s will who became the Mother of His Son.

The last window in this series of the life of Our Lady is the final act of her life.  Assumed body and soul to the glory of heaven, in this last window she is crowned as Queen of heaven and earth.  With Our Lord to the viewer’s left, and Our Lady’s right and the Father on the opposite side, a crown is placed on Our Lady’s head.  The presence of the Holy Trinity is complete with the depiction of the Holy Spirit in the quatrefoil at the top of the window.  The understanding of Our Lady as a queen is a logical biblical conclusion.  In ancient times, many rulers had more than one wife and even several concubines.  However many there were, any king only had one mother.  And so, while in modern times, the wife of the king is understood to be the queen, in biblical times, the mother of the king was always the queen.  Our Lady reigns as Queen since her Son is King.

There are other windows in the story of our church, but they were added at a later time, and by different factories than Franz Mayer of Munich.  Therefore, their story is not included here, but will told at another place and time.