Maggie Guadalupe (since, as Zac says, she came to us as a gift from heaven) :)
Born 09/2008
Adopted 11/2008
Sunday, November 23, 2008
God's Great Creation... My new beagle pup.... "maggie"
Maggie Guadalupe (since, as Zac says, she came to us as a gift from heaven) :)
Born 09/2008
Adopted 11/2008
Friday, November 14, 2008
Wednesday, November 12, 2008
The Birth of Baha'u'llah: Holy Day for Bahai's
Today is a holy day for our Bahai brotehrs and sisters. Today is the birth of Baha'u'llah, the founder of Bahai. The Bahai faith teaches three essential principles: unity of God, unity of religion, and unity of humankind. Here are a few samples of art created by Bahai artists, in celebration of Baha'u'llah's birthday.
Artist: Laurie Mason
Artist: Laurie Mason
Artist: April Campbell Jones
Artist: Laurie Mason
Artist: Laurie Mason
Artist: April Campbell Jones
Icon of the Mother of God the Merciful
The Icon of the Mother of God the Merciful in Cyprus, written, according to Holy Tradition, by St. Luke- covered except for a portion of the lower icon.
Today the Eastern Churches commemorate the icon of the Theotokos, the Merciful. According to Holy Tradition, this was one of three icons that St. Luke the Evangelist wrote of the Mother of God after she gace him a piece of wood that the Archangel Gabriel had given her from the Tree of Life. St. Luke gave the icon to Christians in Egypt, but it was later taken to Constantinople, until Elder Isaiah took it to Cyprus and built a church in honor of the Mother of God. Once the icon arrived miracles began to occur. One story tells of the miraculous saving of sailors on a boat that was sinking after its side had been pierced by a swordfish. In desparation the sailors prayed, "Blessed Virgin of Kykko, save us!"
There are many copies of the icon of the Mother of God, including one of my favorites written by Simon Ushakov in 1668- a copy of which hangs near my bed. One of the distinctive features of this icon is the figure of Christ, who hides one hand in his mother's head covering while turning his body away from her. The Mother of God holds him in one hand, and points to him, or directs our attention to him with her other hand.
The icon of the Mother of God the merciful on Cyprus is specially venerated by many as it is believed to have been touched by the Blessed Virgin Mary herself. Since we have no relics of her, other than the clothes she wore or the objects she touched, this icon serves as a very real connection with the Mother of God for those who believe she not only held it, but blessed it.
Mother of God Eleusa Kiksk- Moscow, 1668
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
amor em paz (a love in peace)
... that love and peace may prevail, especially where it seems to be lost
On this Remembrance Day, may we remember those who have died in all wars, and pray for peace.
Shall we remember what war is?
Shall we remember what war is?
What is war?
In the human psyche
it is the fatal flaw,
a perversion of the human mind,
using our greatest brains to create
outrageous threats to all mankind.
War is
the profoundest disrespect
for the sanctity
of human life,
the ultimate in racism,
the collapse of morality.
War is
the ultimate in criminality,
the ultimate obscenity,
the ultimate crime against humanity.
So shall we honour war?
and shall we now praise troubled men?
Or shall we remember what war is
and give true meaning
to "Never again" ?
David Roberts
28 September 2004
Shall we remember what war is?
Shall we remember what war is?
What is war?
In the human psyche
it is the fatal flaw,
a perversion of the human mind,
using our greatest brains to create
outrageous threats to all mankind.
War is
the profoundest disrespect
for the sanctity
of human life,
the ultimate in racism,
the collapse of morality.
War is
the ultimate in criminality,
the ultimate obscenity,
the ultimate crime against humanity.
So shall we honour war?
and shall we now praise troubled men?
Or shall we remember what war is
and give true meaning
to "Never again" ?
David Roberts
28 September 2004
Monday, November 10, 2008
Nov. 10... Saints Aedh and Leo the Great
Today the Church remembers St. Aedh MacBricc, who is shown below in the Icon of All Saints of Britain and Ireland. St. Aedh established a religious community in Westmeath, after having became a monk when his brother stole his inheritance. He is known as a miracle worker and for curing St Brigid from a headache.
We also remember the great doctor of the Church, St. Leo the great. He first served as a deacon, but was raised to Bishop of Rome. He fought against the Pelagian heresy, and proclaimed the necessity of grace for salvation. He was a thoughtful preacher and theologian, and his Tome was the basis for the Chalcedonian Definition which affirmed the two natures of Jesus Christ- fully divine and fully human.
The image above is by New Orleans folk artist Jan Keels. You can see more of her work at
heart and soul art
I conclude with a favorite poem in honor of St Leo's contributions to the Church's Christological musings and theology.
As kingfishers catch fire, dragonflies draw flame;
As tumbled over rim in roundy wells
Stones ring; like each tucked string tells, each hung bell's
Bow swung finds tongue to fling out broad its name;
Each mortal thing does one thing and the same:
Deals out that being indoors each one dwells;
Selves — goes itself; myself it speaks and spells,
Crying, What I do is me: for that I came.
I say more: the just man justices;
Keeps grace: that keeps all his goings graces;
Acts in God's eye what in God's eye he is —
Christ. For Christ plays in ten thousand places,
Lovely in limbs, and lovely in eyes not his
To the Father through the features of men's faces.
Gerard Manley Hopkins
We also remember the great doctor of the Church, St. Leo the great. He first served as a deacon, but was raised to Bishop of Rome. He fought against the Pelagian heresy, and proclaimed the necessity of grace for salvation. He was a thoughtful preacher and theologian, and his Tome was the basis for the Chalcedonian Definition which affirmed the two natures of Jesus Christ- fully divine and fully human.
The image above is by New Orleans folk artist Jan Keels. You can see more of her work at
heart and soul art
I conclude with a favorite poem in honor of St Leo's contributions to the Church's Christological musings and theology.
As kingfishers catch fire, dragonflies draw flame;
As tumbled over rim in roundy wells
Stones ring; like each tucked string tells, each hung bell's
Bow swung finds tongue to fling out broad its name;
Each mortal thing does one thing and the same:
Deals out that being indoors each one dwells;
Selves — goes itself; myself it speaks and spells,
Crying, What I do is me: for that I came.
I say more: the just man justices;
Keeps grace: that keeps all his goings graces;
Acts in God's eye what in God's eye he is —
Christ. For Christ plays in ten thousand places,
Lovely in limbs, and lovely in eyes not his
To the Father through the features of men's faces.
Gerard Manley Hopkins
Saturday, November 8, 2008
O Wounded Jesus
O Wounded Jesus
hanging suspended on a cross
whipped
bleeding
struggling to breathe
abandoned, rejected, forsaken
confused
bewildered
alone
yet
loving
loving the man who nailed your wrists and feet to the wood
loving the man who pressed a crown of thorns into your brow
loving the ones who ridicule you and mock you
loving
loving the women who stand at your feet in unconsoleable anguish
loving your mother whose own heart is pierced with pain
loving me
loving
forgiving
reconciling
help me
help me, wounded me
I can not love those who afflict me
I can not love those who abandon and forsake me
I can not love those who injure me day and night
help me, wounded me
I can not forgive
I can not forgive
I can not forgive
O Wounded Jesus
hanging suspended on a cross
show me your love
help me forgive
help me love
help me, wounded me
November 6, 2008
Image: Marc Chagall, White Crucifixion
Friday, November 7, 2008
I'm off for a weekend retreat at Richmond Hill
Autumn Sun (Yelena Salakhova, 2007)
Lost in the forest...
Lost in the forest, I broke off a dark twig
and lifted its whisper to my thirsty lips:
maybe it was the voice of the rain crying,
a cracked bell, or a torn heart.
Something from far off it seemed
deep and secret to me, hidden by the earth,
a shout muffled by huge autumns,
by the moist half-open darkness of the leaves.
Wakening from the dreaming forest there, the hazel-sprig
sang under my tongue, its drifting fragrance
climbed up through my conscious mind
as if suddenly the roots I had left behind
cried out to me, the land I had lost with my childhood---
and I stopped, wounded by the wandering scent.
Pablo Neruda
Blessed William Temple, Archbishop of Canterbury
"It is a mistake to suppose that God is only, or even chiefly, concerned with religion."
Wednesday, November 5, 2008
Monday, November 3, 2008
Remember to Vote! (Obama 08) The Change We Need!
Requiem of a Nation
Artist: Luiz Coelho, October 2008
Water Color on paper
Available for purchase. $500 email me for information or visit him
here
St. Martin de Porres
Not to hurt our humble brethren (the animals)
Is our first duty to them, but to stop there is not enough.
We have a higher mission:
To be of service to them whenever they require it.
St. Francis
Most glorious Martin de Porres,
whose burning charity embraced not only the needy brothers and sisters,
but also the very animals of the field,
splendid example of charity,
we hail thee and invoke thee!
From that high throne which thou dost occupy,
deign to listen to the supplications of thy needy brothers and sisters that,
by imitating thy virtues,
we may live contented in that state in which God has placed us
and carrying with strength and courage our cross,
we may follow in the footsteps of Our Blessed Redeemer
and His most afflicted Mother,
that at last we may reach the Kingdom of Heaven
through the merits of Our Lord Jesus Christ.
Amen.
Altar del Dia de los Muertos
The altar in Prince of Peace Chapel at the University of Mary Washington's Canterbury House, Fredericksburg, VA. trasformed for the Day of the Dead.
Saturday, November 1, 2008
All Saints Poem
All Saints’ Day
John Keble
Hurt not the earth, neither the sea, nor the trees, till we
have sealed the servants of our God in their foreheads.
Revelation vii. 3.
Why blow’st thou not, thou wintry wind,
Now every leaf is brown and sere,
And idly droops, to thee resigned,
The fading chaplet of the year?
Yet wears the pure aerial sky
Her summer veil, half drawn on high,
Of silvery haze, and dark and still
The shadows sleep on every slanting hill.
How quiet shows the woodland scene!
Each flower and tree, its duty done,
Reposing in decay serene,
Like weary men when age is won,
Such calm old age as conscience pure
And self-commanding hearts ensure,
Waiting their summons to the sky,
Content to live, but not afraid to die.
Sure if our eyes were purged to trace
God’s unseen armies hovering round,
We should behold by angels’ grace
The four strong winds of Heaven fast bound,
Their downward sweep a moment stayed
On ocean cove and forest glade,
Till the last flower of autumn shed
Her funeral odours on her dying bed.
So in Thine awful armoury, Lord,
The lightnings of the judgment-day
Pause yet awhile, in mercy stored,
Till willing hearts wear quite away
Their earthly stains; and spotless shine
On every brow in light divine
The Cross by angel hands impressed,
The seal of glory won and pledge of promised
Little they dream, those haughty souls
Whom empires own with bended knee,
What lowly fate their own controls,
Together linked by Heaven’s decree;—
As bloodhounds hush their baying wild
To wanton with some fearless child,
So Famine waits, and War with greedy eyes,
Till some repenting heart be ready for the skies.
Think ye the spires that glow so bright
In front of yonder setting sun,
Stand by their own unshaken might?
No—where th’ upholding grace is won,
We dare not ask, nor Heaven would tell,
But sure from many a hidden dell,
From many a rural nook unthought of there,
Rises for that proud world the saints’ prevailing prayer.
On, Champions blest, in Jesus’ name,
Short be your strife, your triumph full,
Till every heart have caught your flame,
And, lightened of the world’s misrule,
Ye soar those elder saints to meet
Gathered long since at Jesus’ feet,
No world of passions to destroy,
Your prayers and struggles o’er, your task all praise and joy.
from The Christian Year, 1887
John Keble
Hurt not the earth, neither the sea, nor the trees, till we
have sealed the servants of our God in their foreheads.
Revelation vii. 3.
Why blow’st thou not, thou wintry wind,
Now every leaf is brown and sere,
And idly droops, to thee resigned,
The fading chaplet of the year?
Yet wears the pure aerial sky
Her summer veil, half drawn on high,
Of silvery haze, and dark and still
The shadows sleep on every slanting hill.
How quiet shows the woodland scene!
Each flower and tree, its duty done,
Reposing in decay serene,
Like weary men when age is won,
Such calm old age as conscience pure
And self-commanding hearts ensure,
Waiting their summons to the sky,
Content to live, but not afraid to die.
Sure if our eyes were purged to trace
God’s unseen armies hovering round,
We should behold by angels’ grace
The four strong winds of Heaven fast bound,
Their downward sweep a moment stayed
On ocean cove and forest glade,
Till the last flower of autumn shed
Her funeral odours on her dying bed.
So in Thine awful armoury, Lord,
The lightnings of the judgment-day
Pause yet awhile, in mercy stored,
Till willing hearts wear quite away
Their earthly stains; and spotless shine
On every brow in light divine
The Cross by angel hands impressed,
The seal of glory won and pledge of promised
Little they dream, those haughty souls
Whom empires own with bended knee,
What lowly fate their own controls,
Together linked by Heaven’s decree;—
As bloodhounds hush their baying wild
To wanton with some fearless child,
So Famine waits, and War with greedy eyes,
Till some repenting heart be ready for the skies.
Think ye the spires that glow so bright
In front of yonder setting sun,
Stand by their own unshaken might?
No—where th’ upholding grace is won,
We dare not ask, nor Heaven would tell,
But sure from many a hidden dell,
From many a rural nook unthought of there,
Rises for that proud world the saints’ prevailing prayer.
On, Champions blest, in Jesus’ name,
Short be your strife, your triumph full,
Till every heart have caught your flame,
And, lightened of the world’s misrule,
Ye soar those elder saints to meet
Gathered long since at Jesus’ feet,
No world of passions to destroy,
Your prayers and struggles o’er, your task all praise and joy.
from The Christian Year, 1887
Tapestry of the Communion of Saints- Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels
Communion of Saints Tapestries
The tapestries created by artist John Nava for the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels are the largest collection hanging in a Catholic place of worship in the United States. Throughout the ages, large scale pictorial wall cycles have served as one of the most effective forms of literary expression, vividly telling the stories of the Greeks, Romans, Medieval and Renaissance periods, especially to a largely illiterate population. (from thew cathedral website. Check it out)
Blessed Feast of All Saints
Apparition de l'Eglise éternelle- Olivier Messiaen
Apparition of the Eternal Church
Te Deum- John Rutter
Sine Nomine- Ralph Vaughn Williams
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