In designing Nest of the Doves, I chose to call the Marian section The Dove Cote of Our Lady because that was the term St. Teresa of Avila used to describe the convents she founded in the reform of the Carmelite Order. It was through her leadership and that of St. John of the Cross, that, under the protection of Our Lady of Carmel, the order rekindled its original charism: contemplative prayer, zeal for God, and zeal for the salvation of souls. We are blest to live near a Carmelite monastery, and it has been our experience that, like doves who sing to God in all the vicissitudes of life, the the nuns are filled with the joy of the Holy Spirit. I hope that as you visit the small collections of holy cards gathered here you will appreciate them even more in the light of the Metaphor of the Dove in Carmelite spirituality.

As we contemplate the early holy cards in which the artists employed the symbol of the dove to show the soul's relationship to the Mother of God, we see ourselves as the children of a most tender spiritual mother. Knowing in whom Eternal Life is to be found, she leads us to her Son and brings us safely into the arms of Divine Love.

Using the the dove to symbolize the relationship of the soul to the Mother of God was explored in a variety of ways by the early holy card artists, so, to keep the collection more manageable, I've divided them into small thematic collections that will be linked on the left of this page.

I've also included a link to Images of Mary, a collection of other 19th century holy cards that honor the Virgin Mary but that do not employ the symbol of the dove.