written by Luke in the Holy Bible when she answers God‟s plan that be it done to me according to your word 1:38. Here, Pilar says in her pray that
For the first time since I had abandoned the path of faith, I felt a strong desire to pray. Although I was seated in a pew, my soul was kneeling at
the feet of the Lady before me, the woman who had said “Yes,” when She could have said “no.” But she had said, “Thy will be done,”… Coelho,
1994: 85.
Slowly but full of recovering faith, Pilar learns the meaning of total surrender from Mother Mary. The Mother Mary‟s expression “Thy will be done,”
influences Pilar to surrender what she does in her life.
b. Pilar’s lover
Pilar‟s lover also reflects total surrender from Mother Mary by developing his gift from God. Pilar‟s lover is a talented person who receives gift from God to
cure the sick. He surrenders to God and let his gift works with him in his life. “Every person on earth has a gift,” he began. “In some, the gift manifests
itself spontaneously; others have to work to discover what it is. I worked with my gift during the four years I was at the seminary. Coelho, 1994:
162-163
It means that Pilar‟s lover realizes that he needs time to discover his gift and tries to explore that gift in his life. He accepts love from heaven and he allows himself
to be guided. In other words, Pilar‟s lover surrenders to allow himself to be guided.
At the seminary, Pilar‟s lover finds the answer that the gift that he receives is a way to surrender to God by performing miracles and helping the
needy. Pilar‟s lover also understand the meaning of total surrender. He learns it
from his experience through his four years in seminary and his journey to meet a special person. Therefore, Pilar‟s lover can share his knowledge to other people
about what he believes. The quotation below shows that Pilar‟s lover understand the meaning of total surrender.
“God is love. But the one who understands the best is the Virgin.” “The Virgin understands the mystery of total surrender,” he went on. “And
having loved and suffered, she freed us from pain. In the same way that Jesus freed us from sin.” Coelho, 1994: 48
The explanation of Pilar‟s lover provides that Mother Mary has capability on understanding the mystery of total surrender. He learns from Mother Mary and
applies it in his life by developing his gift. In the next conversation below, Pilar‟s lover emphasizes on The Virgin who also teaches total surrender.
“You said that something here in this city altered your course.” “Yes, I think it did. I‟m still not absolutely sure, and that‟s why I wanted
you to bring you here.” “Is this some kind of test?”
“No. It‟s a surrender. So that She will help me to make the right decision.”
“Who will?” “The Virgin.” Coelho, 1994: 57 It can be noticed that every answer of Pilar‟s lover there is a strong belief
of surrender. The man believes if he surrenders of what he does, so that The Virgin helps him to make a right decisi
on. Based on the characterization of Pilar‟s lover who is a religious man, he has a faith that there is a way if he surrenders of
what he does in his life. The o
ther proof that Pilar‟s lover understands the meaning of total surrender is ilustrated when Pil
ar‟s lover asks her to company him to visit a church in Saint-Savin. The church consists of stone walls and wooden floor, their
footsteps echoe inside the church, and there is an altar of our Lady which has an image made by wooden carving, Mary with her so
n in her lap. Then, Pilar‟s lover starts to tell the artist who creates that image. Their conversation is quoted below
“The artist knew the Great Mother, the Goddesss, and the sympathetic face of God…It was „Where did you learn all this?”
“Well, I learned in the same way that this artist did: I accepted love from on high...Truth resides where there is faith I looked around again at the
interior of the church- the worn stones, fallen and replaced so many times. What had made human being so insistent? What had caused them to work
so hard at rebuilding this small temple in such a remote spot, hidden in the mountains? Faith Coelho, 1994: 78-79.
Pilar‟s lover tells his spiritual life experience through his learning of Virgin Mary. He says that he has the similar way the artist does. He realizes that what he
searching for is truth resides where there is faith. The location of the church they visit is in a remote area in the middle of mountain with old building and the
reason this place is still kept is a faith. Pilar‟s lover learns the important of total
surrender leads him to find the truth, the right decision and it is influenced by a faith.
3. The link between Mother Mary and the Divine
This part deals with the study of Marian tradition. Previously, the writer analyses on the veneration of Virgin Mary and reflecting total surrender from
Mother Mary as the model of faith. This third part discusses the link between Mother Mary and The Divine. It is raised based on the quotation from Pilar‟s
lover “She is the feminine side of God. She has her own divinity” Coelho, 1994: 59.
a. Pilar
The appearance of Mother Mary produces a phenomenon in Catholic Church which has strong mainlined of patriarchy. Therefore, people search for
female metaphor that has an image of The Divine and the person is Mother Mary.
