PLEASE NOTE: This window is located in the Divine Mercy Chapel, which is reserved for Perpetual Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament. Out of respect for Jesus' Presence in the Sacrament, as well as for those present in adoration, please do not enter this chapel for the sole purpose of viewing these windows. They may be viewed through the windows in the doors to the chapel. 

According to parish lore and several written accounts, this window and that of The Last Supper in the St. Gregory Chapel were brought to St. Martin's from a 16th century monastery in northern Germany. The details of why these windows came here are unclear, but it could possibly have been for reasons of church-state conflicts in Germany. It was such a scenario in Italy which resulted in the relics of Sts. Magnus and Bonosa being transferred here in 1901 after the Italian government confiscated a Cistercian convent. 

While the monastery these windows came from may have been built in the 16th century, it is not clear if the windows are that old. This particular window is definitely no older than that: this scene was not depicted in art until that century. This is one the few Biblical subjects that originated as a Protestant topic, first painted by Lucas Cranach the Elder in 1538. The depiction of the Savior with a child in His arms originally served as a Protestant alternative to the many Catholic images of the Madonna and Child. It may also have been used by the Lutherans and Calvinists (and eventually, Catholics) as a "weapon" against the Anabaptist belief that only adults should be baptized. 

In this window we see the much loved and tender scene which is recorded in the Gospels of Matthew {19:13-15}, Mark {10:13-16}, and Luke {18:15-17}, when parents brought their children to be blessed by Jesus. The Apostles scolded these people, but Christ said, "Let the children come to Me and do not hinder them. It is to just such as these that the Kingdom of God belongs." He also admonished them, "I assure you, unless you change and become like little children, you will not enter the Kingdom of God." 

Reflecting on this story, Father Alban Butler wrote, "Those who would enter Heaven must be as little children, whose greatest glory is their innocence. Now, two things are ours to do: first, to preserve it in ourselves, or regain it by penance; secondly, to love and shield it in others." Fittingly enough, near the chapel which houses this window is the parish's confessional, where the Sacrament of Penance reconciles us to God when we fail to preserve innocence in ourselves or in others. 

As He does in all depictions of Him in the windows of St. Martin's Church, Christ bears the cruciform nimbus. This special halo is a circle divided into quadrants by the beams of a cross, the lower vertical beam of which is hidden behind the Lord's head. 

Jesus is wearing a red cloak, as is traditional in most artistic portrayals of Him. In art, red is symbolic of victorious love. This red cloak also calls to mind the royal garment placed on Him in mockery by the Roman soldiers, and the Blood He shed for our sins. Due to its symbolizing both blood and victory, the clergy of the Catholic Church wear red vestments when they offer Mass on the feasts and memorial days of martyrs, and for the commemoration of Passion Sunday and Good Friday. Red is also worn on feasts of the Holy Spirit, but this is due to its similarity with the color of fire. 

Behind Jesus grows two palm trees. This tree was a symbol to both Christians and Jews, owing to Psalm 92:13 - "The righteous shall flourish like the palm tree..." Also, the walls of the Temple in Jerusalem were adorned with carvings of this tree {see 1 Kings 6:29-35}, which were meant to symbolize the Tree of Life in the Garden of Eden. Man's disobedience in Eden caused his fall from God's grace and banishment from the fruit of this tree. The palm tree can thus remind us that Jesus came to restore that grace to us. One medieval legend held that a palm tree will grow straight and tall even if a heavy weight is suspended from it, and a poem from that period stated: 

Again, we can see a symbol of Christ, who bore the weight of both the cross and our sins, and gave us the sweet fruit of eternal life. 

These trees also remind us of the palm fronds and other tree branches placed on the road for our Lord's triumphant entry into Jerusalem, just days before His suffering, death, and Resurrection there. This event, which occurred shortly after Christ blessed the children, is commemorated by the Church on Palm Sunday. The words of Jerusalem's people as Jesus entered ("Hosanna... Blessed is He Who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!" {Matthew 21:9}) are repeated daily in the Mass before the consecration of the Eucharist. 

Some type of vine also grows behind Jesus, with branches emerging from both sides of Him. This is a reminder of the words He spoke to the Apostles: "I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinegrower. He prunes away every barren branch, but the fruitful ones He trims clean to increase their yield... Live on in Me, as I do in you. No more than a branch can bear fruit of itself apart from the vine can you bear fruit apart from Me. I am the vine, you are the branches. He who lives in Me and I in him will produce abundantly, for apart from Me you can do nothing. A man who does not live in Me is like a withered rejected branch..." {John 15: 1-6}. Vines also had additional meaning in medieval times. Because some vines, such as ivy, were often seen clinging to dead trees and yet continued alive and green, the plant became a symbol of the eternal life of the soul after the death of the body. 

Because this is the Divine Mercy Chapel, which is used for Perpetual Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament, one might be tempted to think it more appropriate to have the Last Supper window in this room. However, the Last Supper window (as we will see) is an invitation to Mass, to actually eat Christ's Body and drink His Blood. In the Divine Mercy Chapel, we come not to partake in the Eucharist, but to adore it. Thus, a window reminding us to have the faith of children is very proper here. We come here and kneel before the exposed Blessed Sacrament with the simple faith of children to worship what has all the outward appearances or "accidents" of bread, but which has as its substance the Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity of our Savior, Jesus Christ. 

Another reminder of Eucharistic Adoration is the mural to the right of this window, portraying Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane. Behind Jesus, Who is praying and agonizing over the painful death He knows is coming, the Apostles can be seen sleeping. When He saw their weakness, He asked them, "Could you not watch one hour with Me?" {Matthew 26:40}. In Eucharistic Adoration, it is traditional to "keep watch" with Jesus for one hour. 

The Catholic Church has been described as a "hospital for sinners". This chapel and the confessional just outside its doors are reminders of the Church's most powerful "medicines" - the Sacraments of Penance and the Eucharist. 

- Frederick Faber (1814-1863) 

- Henry F. Lyte (1793-1847)