“Blessed Mother and the Dragon ”
Oil on Canvas, 48 ”x36,” © 2011 Lili Bernard

Revelation 12:1-3 "A great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars; and she was with child; and she cried out, being in labor and in pain to give birth. Then another sign appeared in heaven: and behold, a great red dragon having seven heads and ten horns, and on his heads were seven diadems. "

Revelation 13:16 "And he causes all, the small and the great, and the rich and the poor, and the free men and the slaves, to be given a mark on their right hand or on their forehead, and he provides that no one will be able to buy or to sell, except the one who has the mark, either the name of the beast or the number of his name. Here is wisdom. Let him who has understanding calculate the number of the beast, for the number is that of a man; and his number is six hundred and sixty-six."

Revelation 12:4 "And his tail swept away a third of the stars of heaven and threw them to the earth. And the dragon stood before the woman who was about to give birth, so that when she gave birth he might devour her child."

Revelation 14:6-8 "And I saw another angel flying in midheaven, having an eternal gospel to preach to those who live on the earth, and to every nation and tribe and tongue and people; and he said with a loud voice, “FEAR GOD AND GIVE HIM GLORY, because the hour of His judgment has come; worship Him who made the heaven and the earth and sea and springs of waters.”

And another angel, a second one, followed, saying, “Fallen, FALLEN IS BABYLON the great, she who has made all the nations drink of the wine of the passion of her immorality.”

Then another angel, a third one, followed them, saying with a loud voice . . ."

Revelation 14:9 "Then another angel, a third one, followed them, saying with a loud voice, “If anyone worships the beast and his image, and receives a mark on his forehead or on his hand, he also will drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is mixed in full strength in the cup of His anger; and he will be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb. And THE SMOKE OF THEIR TORMENT GOES UP FOREVER AND EVER; they have no rest day and night, those who worship the beast and his image, and whoever receives the mark of his name.” Here is the perseverance of the saints who keep the commandments of God and their faith in Jesus."

Revelation 14:13 "And I heard a voice from heaven, saying, “Write, ‘Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on!’” “Yes,” says the Spirit, “so that they may rest from their labors, for their deeds follow with them.”

-- The three angels I painted here are Los Tres Juanitos, the two native Cuban brothers (De Hoyos) and the little Afro-Cuban slave boy, Juan Moreno, to whom the Virgin Mary appeared in Cuba around 1612. Juan Moreno left a testimony that the Blessed Mother was floating in the ocean on a wooden plank with the words engraved,"Yo soy La Virgen de La Caridad." Hence, Cuba's patron saint is called, Caridad. She is syncretized with the Orisha Ochun in Santeria, the religion which arose from the mixture of Christianity and the Ifá religion of the African Yoruba slaves. The mirror, the fan made of peacock feathers, the stars, the cowrie shells, the yellow dress and the pregnant belly are all symbols which pertain to Ochun.

For more on Caridad's story, visit my painting Cachita-Ochun: http://lilibernard.com/Pages/CaridadCobre.html