“And the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush; and he looked, and lo, the bush was burning, yet it was not consumed.” Exodus 3:2 There is a tradition in the Church that the burning bush which Moses witnessed,Continue Reading
For a while I considered a career in the merchant marine. I even attended the Maritime Academy in Vallejo, CA, preparing for a career as a deck officer. And while my life has taken many twists and turns since then, the sea has always had a certain hold onContinue Reading
Other projects kept me from getting back to this as soon as I had hoped but I was finally able to put some time in to get it finished. This is the cross that was started at the live painting event at Easter’s Books and Gifts. It portrays the crucifixContinue Reading
Recently completed private commission. A samurai kneels before the Blessed Virgin Mary and the child Jesus. Executed in a style reminiscent of Japanese woodblock prints.Continue Reading
Between the great empires of Rome and Persia, in ancient Mesopotamia, Ephrem was born in the city Nisibis. The preaching of Saint Jacob, Bishop of Nisibis, drew Ephrem to the Faith as a moth to a flame and he was baptized in his eighteenth year. He grew in learning andContinue Reading
Saint Catherine of Siena, writing in the 13th century. The above quote, attributed to Saint Catherine of Siena by Pope Saint John Paul II at World Youth Day 2000, is a paraphrase of Catherine’s words to Stefano Maconi, a young man who was considering entering a monastery. Saint Catherine urgedContinue Reading
Throughout his life, Fabio Chigi, known better to the world as Pope Alexander VII, lived with the specter of death. As a child he suffered from apoplexy so severe that at one point arrangements were made for his funeral. As Pope Alexander, it fell to him to suppress a pestilenceContinue Reading
It is not uncommon, even today, for an art historian or museum docent to attribute the use of heavy shadow in Baroque art to the “melancholy” mood of the artist. But this misses the point entirely. Baroque art was all about light, the light of Christ bringing truth to aContinue Reading
“Daughter of a Christian Algonquin woman captured by Iroquois and married to a non-Christian Mohawk chief. Orphaned during a smallpox epidemic, which left her with a scarred face and impaired eyesight. Converted and baptized in 1676 by Father Jacques de Lamberville, a Jesuit missionary. Shunned and abused by relatives forContinue Reading
Tradition holds that Saints Peter and Paul were martyred on the same day. Before they were led to their separate fates, Peter on the cross and Paul by the sword, they met and exchanged a “holy kiss.” This meeting of Peter and Paul, the “Concord of the Apostles,” is consideredContinue Reading