ABSTRACT
Traditional representations of Christ’s conception depict the Holy Ghost, the spirit or sperm of God, entering the Virgin Mary through her ear.4 The idea here seems to be of the annunciation to Mary being synonymous to, or simultaneous with, her impregnation.5 As the Archangel Gabriel announces to Mary her glorious fate as the Mother of God, a dove enters the picture, penetrating her auricular canal. And so it is that the power of the Word became flesh in her womb.
