For Feb. 14; in this picture of Our Lady, the distinctive mark is that she is wearing an apron; I call this painting Our Lady of the Apron. She looks like an ordinary, modest, housewife.

Our Mother is looking towards heaven seeking for directions in her life, for her decisions, instead of choosing just what is “popular,” “cool” or “more comfy.”

In seeking God’s Will, she is internally talking to God, praying. Our work is prayer, contemplation; we do it in the presence of God. She is ready to serve, because our Christian vocation leads us to serve, following Christ who did not come to be served but to serve. But not any kind of service, not any kind of work rather, she's ready to work well as an act of love of God; she has her hair gathered to be more effective in her work so nothing will fall from her hair.

She's carrying the Child Jesus. When we work, in a manner of speaking, we are carrying the Child Jesus with us, because we are doing his work. The Child is also looking towards heaven, because he, and the Father, with the Holy Spirit, are not separated, but one God. He is always doing the Will of his Father, who sent him. He is wrapped in a prayer shawl typical of the Jews, indicating that he belongs to the people of Israel. He is declaring the continuity of the covenant, that he is the fullness of the New Covenant.

The painting is framed with a thin golden frame; our work, no matter how humble, becomes pure gold in the eyes of God.

The painting is resting upon a red carpet. Our Lady is hinting to us that we must be like carpets, soft carpets, on which the others may be able to step comfortably. It means that this service to the others should be directed to make their life, and their way to heaven, easier, more pleasant, as an expression of fraternity, because we are all involved in the same journey as a family towards heaven.