Mary of the Cell
Issue #04 2026
Reflection
She who retreats into the quiet.
While preparing a retreat on the theme ‘Living in the way of Mary’ I came across the feast of ‘Our Lady of the Cell’. I had no knowledge of the feast, not of the statue associated with it. It has tapped into my own increasing desire to nurture and explore my contemplative side.
In the year 1157, a Bendictine monk named Magnus was travelling from his abbey in St. Lambrecht, Austria, to find a hermitage, as he longed for an even more quiet and contemplative place to live than the abbey where he resided. He carried with him a wooden statue of Mary and Jesus made of lime wood.
As he continued his journey through the forest, he came upon a huge black boulder that blocked his path. He was unable to proceed any farther, and so he took out the statue of Mary he was carrying, set her down, and prayer to her for guidance.
Soon the earth began to tremble and the boulder split in two with a loud cracking sound. A strange light shimmered from the stone, which Magnus recognized as the presence of Mary herself. He realized at that moment that this was the place where he was to build the hermitage along with a small shrine to display the statue that brought about this miracle. As news spread, pilgrims began making the journey to visit and pray.
In the statue of Mary that Magnus carried, the baby Jesus carries an apple that connects him to the story of the Fall and Redemption. Mary holds a pear in her hand, a symbol of the abundant fruitfulness of life.
Now there is a grand basilica church where the former church once stood and the wooden statue (shown below) can be viewed there. It is kept in the chapel of miracles, said to be located at the precise location where Magnus had built his original cell. The place became known as Mariazell, or Mary of the Cell.
Writer Christine Paintner in her book ‘Birthing the holy’ writes; “I hold Mary of the Cell close to my heart as a reminder of the gifts we receive when we turn inward for reflection and opening to the Divine Presence in our hearts. She guided a hermit deep into the forest to find his sanctuary place. The hermit cell and the forest are places of retreat, of withdrawing from the world’s demands and giving focus on the inner life. This is the path of the sacred feminine, and it’s one Mary asks us to follow.”
Contemplation and solitude
The desert mothers and fathers have much wisdom to offer on the theme of contemplation and solitude. They lived in a simple hut or room called ‘the cell’.
Abba Moses offers us this short gem; “Go sit in your cell, and your cell will teach you everything”. In the cell you simply stay with yourself, you sit with your emotions and you shut the door to any intrusion.
“The outer cell is a metaphor for the inner cell, a symbol of the deep soul work we are called to do in order to become fully awake. It is the place where we come into full presence with ourselves and all our inner voices, emotions, and challenges, and we are called to not abandon ourselves in the process through distraction or numbing. It is also the place where we encounter God deep within our hearts”. (C Paintner)
Spend some time sitting with Our Lady of the Cell asking her to nurture in you a desire to deepen and value your contemplative side.
Blessing:
Mary of the Cell,
Guide us into the caves of our heart as we make the long pilgrimage inward like the seekers of desert and wilderness before us.
Call us deeper into ourselves, until we find the sacred spark within.
Guide us to surrender our own agendas and yield to this time of gestation and transformation that can only happen in the dark.
Br Bill Sullivan
September 2026
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With best wishes,
Br Bill Sullivan