Blessed Virgin
Our Lady of Kibeho
July 29, 2010
Our Lady of Kibeho
This week a friend sent me the book, Our Lady of Kibeho: Mary Speaks to the World from the Heart of Africa
What makes Kibeho so appealing is that Our Lady came to one of the poorest countries in the heart of Africa to open hearts to Jesus. As in Fatima and Lourdes, she chose young people to convey urgent messages to the people, to government officials, and to the bishops – messages urging Rwandans to end the ethnic hatred in their country, to repent of their sins, and to make Jesus the center of their lives. These messages were meant not only for Rwanda but for the whole world. Jesus and Mary told the visionaries that they came to Rwanda to let all the people know that even the poorest of the poor in the world were in their hearts.
Eight of the visionaries have been declared by the Church to be authentic, but during the years between 1982 and 1994 many people in remote villages throughout the country claimed to have seen both Jesus and Our Lady. It is likely that these appearances were authentic in many cases. The bishops just did not have the manpower to examine all of them and so stopped with the eight visionaries. Not all the people who saw them were Catholic or even Christian. One illiterate young man (one of the eight authenticated) was pagan and so were his parents. Yet Jesus came to him personally and taught him the complete Bible and infused deep theological knowledge in his heart, sending him throughout all Rwanda to spread the Gospel.
One striking fact reported by the visionaries was that Our Lady’s skin glowed with such a light they could not tell if it was white or black. Some of them were taken to see both heaven and hell. And, as at Fatima and Lourdes, Our Lady asked for daily praying of the rosary, the prayers that bring the Gospel alive in our minds every time we meditate on the mysteries. She also taught one of the visionaries the Rosary of the Seven Sorrows, an old devotion in the Church but unknown in Africa and asked that she spread this devotion to everyone. The Blessed Virgin also asked that a basilica in her honor be built in Kibeho, and the people also built a small chapel of the Seven Sorrows there.
Even as Our Lady warned the people that Rwanda would become a “river of blood” if the hatred of the people was not quickly stopped, miracle after miracle occurred in Kibeho amongst the hundreds of thousands of pilgrims who flocked to this remote village. Sadly, neither the government officials nor the people repented of the hatred, and the prophetic warnings came true during 100 horrifying days of mass murder and genocide. Rwanda in 1994 was awash in blood amongst unspeakable suffering.
Nineteen-eighty-two was not that long ago, nor was 1994. Is there less hatred in the world today or more? How can man be so stubborn that even in the face of major miracles and stark evidence of God’s love in this day and time, that he will not excise evil from his heart? What horrors will be visited upon this world as we continue to lie, cheat, steal and murder one another? It was not a lack of grace from heaven to change hearts that brought about the slaughter in Rwanda. It was man’s hardening against the grace and stubborn refusal to accept the grace available to everyone. Let Kibeho speak to us today and let us heed the messages by daily conversion of heart.
Our Lady of Kibeho was written by Immaculée Ilibagiza who survived the Rwandan genocide and lived in hiding for several years afterwards. She is well acquainted with the apparitions and several of the visionaries. I have put this book in my Custom Shop, or you can click on the links in this post to purchase it from Amazon.
Thoughts on the Visitation
July 2, 2010
The Visitation, Vicente Masip (b. ca. 1475, Andilla, d. 1550, Valencia), panel, Museo del Prado, Madrid
Today is the feast of the Visitation of the Blessed Mother to her cousin Elizabeth. Mary, newly carrying Jesus in her womb, brought the sanctifying grace of Baptism to St. John the Baptist as he rested in the waters of the womb of Elizabeth. He lept and his mother felt it. Beyond the obvious pro-life message of this incident recounted by St. Luke (1: 37-47), many other lessons, especially those of trusting in the Lord abound in this ten verse passage.
And blessed art thou that hast believed, because those things shall be accomplished that were spoken to thee by the Lord.
Mary trusted. Elizabeth trusted. Both pointed to Jesus as did St. John the Baptist from the womb to his death. What God asked of them they did without question and the whole human race was saved.
God has His plans for us, too, and those plans are not only for our own good but for the good of others. We all have a part in helping others to heaven, no matter how small. The difficult thing is to do God’s will without second guessing Him. Mary did not second guess God and neither did Elizabeth.
On Wednesday of this week as I was chopping beans for blanching before freezing and pulling leaves off mint stems, my back was really hurting but the job had to be done. Standing at the kitchen sink I had a bit of an epiphany. Learning to trust in God is my big spiritual job right now. As I thanked God for the goods of the garden I also saw that I had to thank Him for everything else He sends me, including pain and fatigue and anything else disagreeable in my life, as well as the good things. I saw that the spirit of thankfulness reflects belief and trust that He knows what is best for me.
We can’t give what we don’t have. If we are to be like Mary carrying Christ to Elizabeth, we have to do whatever necessary to imitate her faith and trust, letting Christ grow in us. If we are to be like Elizabeth who received Christ and His mother, we have to do whatever is necessary to recognize Him in the many hidden ways He comes to us and the many gifts He gives us. These are the little day-by-day acts that constitute doing our part in God’s plan for the salvation of souls. We don’t need to know the specifics. We just need to follow faithfully where He leads us growing in His grace. Someday all will be clear to us and we will be eternally praising Him with joy.
Sabbath Moments
June 12, 2010
Colleen at Thoughts on Grace hosts this every Saturday. Sabbath Moments are the times when we rest in God.
By now my readers know that beauty, especially natural beauty, moves me to God. This week I took some photos of veggies in our garden to include in one of my posts. As I turned to go back to the house I saw the Stella d’oro daylilies blooming in an attractive pattern.
I confess that all flowers remind me of Our Lady, and these joyful blooms are no exception. The golden color for the Queen of heaven, for the “House of Gold” in the Litany of the BVM; and the elegant drape of the green leaves as of a full skirt on an ante bellum gown, green the color of hope and renewal, said to me, “I am here.” Everywhere I turn God shows Himself and so often He brings His most perfect creation, the Blessed Virgin, with Him.
Often my Sabbath Moments are just that – moments – a quick second when I think of God and His goodness and generosity to us. Seeing the daylilies was one. In the midst of all the evil afflicting the world, God continues to say that He is here and wants us to acknowledge Him as our Creator and Redeemer, as the One Who loves totally in a way we can never completely comprehend.
Let us praise Him for His wondrous deeds, great and small, and let us show Him to others joyfully, as the daylilies do, in all we do and say.
Polish Madonnas in Art and Poetry
May 20, 2010
It is Mary’s month all of May. That is my excuse to bring my readers some beautiful paintings I stumbled upon when I was searching for information on the Madonna with Child Clothed with Sunlight that I blogged about last week in the post Decoding Sacred Art.
"Carol" - Click on the image for information on the meaning and the poem which inspired it
From the University of Dayton which hosted this exhibit:
“Polish Madonnas in Art and Poetry” is a collection of fifty-four paintings by Wislawa Kwiatkowska from the Diocesan Museum in Plock, Poland.
...The verses of the modern Polish poets who inspired the paintings of Wislawa Kwiatkowska likewise emphasize the presence and influence of Mary in Polish daily life. Mary is found in settings familiar to Poles — a garden of dill, a forest strewn with mushrooms, lush flower gardens, holy shrines, and sites that recall Poland’s tragic history; wherever Poles live and breathe, Mary is there with them, and her presence is commemorated in Polish poetry and painting. In fact, Mary is understood to be so intimately present in daily life that the poems — and the paintings — often reveal a folksy, humorous quality.
The Art of Wislawa Kwiatkowska
In the work of Mrs. Kwiatkowska, the influence of nineteenth century art can be detected, but it does not overpower her own unique style, which she developed through the years. She studied at the Academy of Art in Warsaw and in its Department of Art Preservation and Restoration.The world of her works is filled with imagination, decorum, fantasy, and fable, but her paintings are not without realism. Flowers, plants, and birds provide depth. She employs colors that are bold, bright, and crisp. A characteristic of her work is to join the picture, painted on canvas cloth, with the frame, which eliminates the distance between the work and the viewer. The pictures are painted in oil and measure 90 cm x 75 cm each.
Wislawa Kwiatkowska has also produced many pedagogical works for children, filled with drawings of butterflies, flowers, and animals. In addition, she illustrated the stories of Hans Christian Andersen and The Little Prince by Saint-Exupery.
"Soldier's Fate" - Click on the image for information on the meaning and the poem which inspired it
This painting, Soldier’s Fate, reminds me of our valiant men and women who suffer and die in combat every day. One could just as well paint Mary weeping over the dead on today’s battlefields all over the world. The message, while explicitly Polish, is universal for all times and places. She is, after all, the Mother of us all.
Kwiatkowska’s work is appealing for many reasons, but especially for the intense feeling of love for the Blessed Mother. The Bogarodzica, the Polish “Mother of God”, brought the Poles through many wars, the communist regime of post-World War II, and now into the 21st century where this Eastern European country may provide an enduring witness to Christ and leadership in justice that the world so sorely needs. If it can hold to it’s Christian roots, it may well be the last Christian state in Europe from which the seed of restoration may spring.
Be sure to visit the Polish Madonna exhibit site to see all of Kwiatkowska’s works that were displayed and use them to pray for the conversion of sinners and world peace. For myself, I never get tired of looking at these lovingly painted images of Our Lady.
Decoding Sacred Art
May 10, 2010
Madonna with Child Clothed in Sunlight, detail, c. 1450-60, tempera on panel, parish church in Przydonica, Poland
Since it’s May, Mary’s month, in her honor I wanted to spread devotion to her through a special painting. A few years ago I stumbled upon this beautiful work of art and earlier this year traced its origins. Ever since I first saw it, I was captivated by it and hope others will be,too.
Sacred art has always been a way of teaching the truths of the Faith and this piece, Madonna with Child Clothed in Sunlight, is no exception. Although I knew much of what the painting said, I lacked an understanding of its total meaning. Fortunately a kind priest who writes icons and teaches art enlightened me so I can now bring a good and much more complete interpretation of it to you.
Considering the history of Poland and the age of this work, we are very fortunate that it still exists. My feeling is that it should be made widely known and loved not just as an example of great art, but because of its spiritual significance. That it resides in a small parish church in the diocese of Tarnow, Poland in the town of Przydonica means this treasure is not very accessible to most people.
Great art is timeless. Its message is ever old and ever new in immutable truth. Painted between 1450-1460 by an unknown artist, this unusual image is obviously the Woman of the Apocalypse clothed in the sun with the moon beneath her feet, but there is a great deal more than that to it.
A painting of tempura on panel, this work is a blend of eastern and western art in the style of icons and of the Italian school of the time which alone makes it noteworthy. Renaissance painting styles came from Italy to France, then to Prague and then to Northern Europe. The use of gold is a technique imported from Italy while the position of Mother and Baby are similar to many icons.
Our Lady stands atop a downward curved crescent moon with a face beneath. Educated people of the 15th century knew astronomy and the cycles of the moon. In the west the “man in the moon” was a common portrayal in art, poetry, and literature because westerners see a man in the moon. (Asians see a rabbit in the moon.)
Whenever Mary is shown with the moon it means she, like the moon, reflects the light of the sun who is the Son of God. Standing above the face depicts her exalted status above all others in the human race. She is crowned as queen and her damask robe is studded with diadems along the edge, as is the Baby Jesus’s robe, also a sign of royalty.
This painting is unique for many reasons, particularly because it is very rare to find artists showing Our Lady clothed in damask. Damask is a type of woven cloth originating in Damascus, Syria, a crossroads between east and west on the most important route of the old Silk Road. From the time of the Crusades on, many Catholics made pilgrimages to the Holy Land from all over Europe, including Poland. Damascus was a safe stop on the journey and from there the fabric was brought back by returning pilgrims to Europe. It was the very costly linen of royalty. Thus, her damask clothing along with her jeweled crown is another sign of the Queenship of Mary.
Mary’s inner robe, which is blue with a golden damask pattern, is an icon symbol of Divinity. Mary is clothed in and by the Divine Trinity. The white outer robe symbolizes creation , purity, Gods divine light, and righteous people who are good, honest, and live by the Truth.
Because of its weave, damask has a quality of iridescence which the painter skillfully reproduced, further creating the analogy of Mary’s luminous splendor of grace.
Jesus wears a red violet robe, a color of royalty and authority and His left hand extends in the direction of Mary and the lily flower, which is a symbol of purity. He appears to be presenting His mother to us by the position of His hands, seeming to say, “See and love My Mother as I love her. Look to her as I, the child, looked to her.” Mary’s eyes are humbly lowered in the direction of her Baby, her all-precious Son and her God.
Jesus and Mary are set before a grove of trees with flowers on the ground. This is a Polish custom in the depiction of Our Lady and also typical of Renaisance paintings with their emphasis on detail of the natural world. It says Mary and Jesus are among and with all creation, walking with us in our daily lives as we go to and fro about our business. The perfection of the Mother and Son does not keep them from being with us far less perfect creatures. Heaven has met earth and the divine is enmeshed in our lives. The Polish devotion to Our Lady is a key part of their culture and spirituality and Poles have historically portrayed Mary in all aspects of their lives.
From a technical standpoint (art history) the painting shows the style of depth that was practiced in the Renaissance with an attempt to create the illusion of space and perspective while maintaining the italo-byzantine tradition with the gold leaf behind the forest and stylized leaves on the trees and on the plants on the ground. This manner of painting allows the subjects to stand out in simplicity and splendor with no distraction from the truths they declare.
Green is the color of spring and of hope, of new life and creation, as are the flowers. Wherever Mary goes with Baby Jesus, she brings hope in the life to come.
The position of Mary holding Jesus is like an icon, but the eyes are not icon eyes which generally are very large. The heads of Jesus and Mary plus the white lily form a triangle within a circle delineated partially by the lines of the cloak below her hand holding Jesus. With this we not only observe the rules of great art (the Divine Proportions), we also have the Trinity and the Alpha and Omega.
Prominently placed, the lily declares the perfect chastity of Mary, Virgin and Mother, and because of the inclusion of Jesus, His perfect chastity too. It tells how highly prized and placed chastity is in the order of virtues.
Often artists in the time this was painted did not sign their work and apparently no record exists of who did this one. We can surmise a few things, though. He very possibly may have been a priest or monk, he knew sacred scripture, theology, and astronomy well, he was a man of prayer or he could not have painted such a richly spiritual work, he had a great love of the Blessed Mother, he had knowledge of damask and its patterns probably from association with royalty and Polish pilgrims to the Holy Land, and most likely he studied art in Italy for a time or was taught by someone who did. That he was highly skilled is borne out by the simplicity, delicacy and precision with which he executed the work.
Sacred art is a window on the divine. It should inspire prayer and sentiments of the love of God and heavenly things. For me, this painting is a beautiful subject for meditation, and one I never get tired of. I hope this will be true for others as well.
If you know someone who loves Our Lady and would enjoy hearing about this painting, please send them a link to this post. It will help me spread the knowledge of this painting and love of Mary and her Baby to the world.
Sunday Snippets – A Catholic Carnival
May 9, 2010
Welcome to Sunday Snippets, a weekly gathering where Catholic bloggers share their favorite posts of the week. Hosted by RAnn at This, That and The Other Thing, you’ll find many interesting takes on God, the world, and the Faith.
Today is Mother’s Day, the first one without my earthly mother who passed away March 24th of this year. While I miss her, I am grateful that God was so merciful to take her quickly, and grateful that I can still celebrate Mother’s Day by thanking God for having given me such a good mother. Of course, today is also Our Lady’s Mother’s Day, too, and I thank her for the attention she has given me as a child of God.
This week I wrote a post on The Meaning of the Rosary to give an idea of its history and place in Catholic devotion. Other posts you might find interesting are: The Heart of Personal Holiness which features Bishop Slattery’s magnificent sermon from the celebration of Pope Benedict’s ascension to the chair of Peter; The Asparagus Bean Surprise where I tell about something God did to give me something better than I asked for; and Sabbath Moments where I reflect a little on St. Michael the Archangel’s nobility of spirit.
God bless all my readers.
The Meaning of the Rosary
May 7, 2010
Last Sunday RAnn at This, That, and The Other Thing gave her fellow Catholic bloggers a challenge to write a post about the rosary. Since May is the month of Mary, and the prayer Catholics use to see the mysteries of faith through Mary’s eyes is the rosary, it’s a good time to learn a little more about this special prayer. I wrote an article some months ago about the history of the rosary that I’d like to share here.
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Still-Life with Symbols of the Virgin Mary, 1672, Dirke de Bray (active 1651-1678 in Haarlem), oil on panel, Amstelkring Museum, Amsterdam
The Rosary, from the Latin “rosarium” meaning “rose garden” or “garland of roses” is one of the most popular non-liturgical devotions in the Catholic Church today. For at least a millennium before St. Dominic, who is credited with starting the Rosary devotion, Muslims, Buddhists and other non-Christian as well as Christians followed a tradition of counting repetitive prayers on beads or knots, or placing stones in a bowl or pocket to track the number.
Within Judeo-Christian tradition, the practice of reciting the 150 psalms daily transferred from the Old Testament devout Jews to the monks and monasteries of the Catholic Church. The average person in Europe, however, did not know how to read or write until Guttenberg’s printing press made learning much more widely possible. As a result, the clergy, who were the best educated for centuries, encouraged the practice of reciting 150 “Our Fathers”, using a string of beads to count them in fifties. These beads became known as the “PaterNoster” beads. As time went on, a parallel psalter of 150 “Hail Marys” became known as the Marian Psalter. Today most people are educated well enough to pray the official liturgies of the Church, but the Rosary remains a core devotion beyond the liturgy among the faithful.
Unfortunately due to the many religious wars and plagues of the middle ages and early renaissance, a great deal of documentation regarding the rosary and St. Dominic which would have been preserved by monasteries and convents was lost to us through their destruction. We do know the following:
1. The Hail Mary at the time of St. Dominic consisted only of the first part we recite today from the Gospel of St. Luke 1:28, 42. The word “Jesus” was not added until the 14th century, and the remainder of the prayer came later.
2. The “Our Father” and the “Glory be” as part of the rosary also came later.
3. The Mysteries of the Rosary were fixed about 250 years after St. Dominic, and were added to by Pope John Paul II in the 2002-2003 Year of the Rosary. [1]
4. A 15th century Dominican named Alan de Rupe, O.P. revived the Rosary devotion 250 years after the time of St. Dominic. He preached the Marian Psalter of 150 Hail Marys and 150 mysteries and divided them into three groups of fifties according to the Joyful, Sorrowful, and Glorious mysteries. It was not until the reign of Pope Pius V in 1569 that the fifteen mysteries were officially established.
5. The crucifix and extra beads before starting the mysteries did not come until long after St. Dominic.
St. Dominic of Guzman, 1685, Claudio Coello (b. 1642, Madrid, d. 1693, Madrid), oil on canvas, Museo del Prado, Madrid
6. St. Dominic founded “The Militia of Jesus Christ” which, according to Dominican records, recited the Marian Psalter daily, as did “The Confraternity of Prayer” founded by Dominicans at Piacenza in1259, thirty-eight years after the death of St. Dominic. [2]
7. The Abligensian heresy, a dualism belief similar to Manicheism, became the occasion for St. Dominic to preach using the Marian Psalter interspersed with meditations on the life of Christ. The prayers on the beads were the body of the rosary and the meditations the soul.
8. From 1521 on, various popes credited St. Dominic with instituting the Rosary and gradually they gave it the form we know today.
The Holy Rosary, as it is sometimes called, means so much to Catholics because it provides an easy way to link the faithful to Jesus and Mary in daily life. It promotes meditation on the life of Christ and especially fosters a love of his Mother which pleases Jesus as it would please any son. When prayed as a family, it promotes unity. It was Father Patrick Peyton, CSC (1909-1992), who, seeing the disintegration of Christian values in society striking at the heart of the family, took to the radio in1945 and campaigned for the praying of the Rosary under the slogan, “The Family That Prays Together, Stays Together.” His religious order, the Congregation of the Holy Cross, still carries on the “Rosary Crusade” he founded.
Three Children of Fatima
As Archbishop Domenico Sorrentino said in a Zenit interview in 2004, “If it is well understood,” it is a prayer that says much.” He described it as deeply “contemplative. The repetition, which often from a distance might seem to be mechanical, in fact serves as a breath of the soul which, gazing on Jesus Christ, assumes a contemplative attitude through Mary’s eyes and heart.”
Contemplating Sacred Scripture accompanied by the Blessed Mother through the Rosary inevitably draws the faithful closer to Christ. She knew him best and she was given to us by him to be our Mother, too, at the foot of the Cross (John 19: 26-27). Because of its connection with Sacred Scripture, the Rosary means comfort, hope, light, love, and peace as it leads to the contemplation of heaven in the midst of this vale of tears.
[1] Rosarium Virginis Mariae, Pope John Paul II, October, 2002
[2] The Rosary and its Meaning by Father Francis William, p.26
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We often see St. Dominic painted with the rosary and to this day every Dominican wears a rosary as part of the habit (see painting above). St. Bernadette Soubirous and other saints are portrayed praying the rosary, too. Among the messages Our Lady of Fatima brought to the three children was to pray the rosary every day, and there is a famous picture of the three children with their rosaries (see above).
I pray the rosary as I am going to sleep at night and in the morning before I get up. It’s a good way to calm down at the end of the day and to have a little “God time” before starting a new day. Part of the prayers I say when on a road trip is the rosary for the intention of arriving safely at the destination. Because of the difficult times we are facing in our country, one of my rosaries each day is dedicated to the Sorrowful mysteries as I pray for deliverance of our nation. I see Christ suffering in our people. Praying the rosary faithfully helps me understand the Bible better and is a way I can glorify God and honor Jesus through honoring Mary.
My favorite book on the rosary is by St. Louis de Montfort, The Secret of the Rosary.
Consecration to the Immaculate Heart
March 25, 2010
Bishop James Vann Johnston
Update: 4/5/10
St. Mary’s Cathedral was packed with people from all over the diocese. Considering that folks that live at the western end traveled 5-7 hours to reach the Cape, this was a priority for many. Look for growth in faithfulness to the Christian vocation and leadership in Christian living from southern Missouri. Some of the graces will remain hidden as always in God’s work, but I am confident that Our Lady will obtain much for us that will help us visibly witness to the love of God and bring others to Jesus.
Our bishop gave us a theologically sound prayer of consecration that speaks of his fatherly concern for all people living in the diocese. For those who are familiar with this diocese, this consecration is a major, really big thing, and a sign of much good to come.
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Today Bishop James Vann Johnston is consecrating the Springfield-Cape Girardeau diocese to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. Many of us had written to him requesting this, so we are overjoyed that he chose the solemn feast of the Annunciation, the beginning of the Incarnation to formally put the diocese under Our Lady’s protection.
Today all parishes of the diocese prayed the consecration prayer and the bishop’s ceremony takes place this evening after the 5:15 Mass at St. Mary’s Cathedral in the Cape.
This is the consecration prayer:
O Most Holy Trinity: Our Father in Heaven,
You chose Mary as the fairest of Your daughters;
God the Son, You chose Mary as Your Mother;
Holy Spirit, You chose Mary as Your spouse;
in union with Mary, we adore Your majesty
and acknowledge Your supreme, eternal dominion
and authority. Most Holy Trinity.
we place the Diocese of Springfield-Cape Girardeau
into the hands of Mary Immaculate in order that
she may present this diocese to You.
Immaculate Queen of Heaven and Earth, refuge of sinners
and our most loving Mother Mary, we humbly cast
ourselves at your feet, consecrating to your Immaculate
Heart all peoples and parishes of the Diocese of
Springfield-Cape Girardeau. Protect the bishop of
this diocese and all his priests and deacons.
Protect the consecrated religious of this diocese.
Protect the families of this diocese. Draw forth the
precious gift of many vocations to the priesthood and
religious life. Look after sinners, the sick, the poor, the
tempted and upon all who are in need of your intercession.
O Mary, Immaculate Virgin, we ask that you draw
all of us closer to your Son’s Eucharistic Heart.
Let all of us be fit instruments in your immaculate and
merciful hands for introducing and increasing God’s glory
to the maximum in all the many strayed and
indifferent souls. Help us as far as possible to serve the
advancement of the blessed kingdom of the
most Sacred Heart of Jesus. For wherever you enter
you obtain grace of conversion and growth in holiness,
since it is through your hands that all graces come to us
from the most Sacred Heart of Jesus.
O Mary, conceived without sin, pray for us
who have recourse to you!
Sabbath Moments – Madonna with Child
March 20, 2010
Sabbath moments are the moments we rest in God, when we take time to just Be with God rather than Do. Sabbath moments are those times when we live in the moment and find the holy in the ordinary. I invite you to share your Sabbath moment(s) at Colleen’s blog Thoughts on Grace on Saturdays. If you don’t have a blog, share about it in a comment! Hope you will join us!
I found this striking image of the Madonna with Child Clothed with Sunlight several years ago at 1st-art-gallery.com. You can order paintings of Old Masters from them. Last evening I was so upset over the trampling of our Constitution and the frenzy to pass what is to me a “Death bill” that I knew I had to find peace. Because sacred art is so calming to me, I decided to find out more about this image. Above all others, it has continued to come to my mind over the years and I always hoped I could discover it’s origin. Well, I hit pay dirt.
Madonna with Child Clothed in Sunlight, detail, c. 1450-60, tempera on panel, parish church in Przydonica, Poland
An artist, unknown to us today, painted it in Poland. This image is not the complete painting but it is the only part I could find online. The church where it hangs is located in the Tarnow diocese in the small town of Przydonica, Poland. Unfortunately I can’t read, write, or speak Polish so I am at a loss to learn more about it although I have done a lot of searching today.
I did find this much: Tarnow, an area of southern Poland with ancient and unusual architecture, is a tourist destination and deservedly so because of the beauty of the countryside and the many shrines there. Our Lady is much loved by the Polish people and you can find many images of her all over Poland.
My father, who passed away last September, grew up in a small Polish-German town in the Minnesota lake country. They had two Catholic churches in town: St. Stanislaus for the Poles and St. Henry for the Germans. Although of Bavarian descent, he loved everything Polish – literature, art, music, history and especially Pope John Paul II. I know he would have loved to have seen this painting.
My Sabbath Moment is to gaze on this work of the love of Mary and her Child and appreciate that God has given so many artists over the years the grace to create such beautiful images.
Please send all your Polish friends and acquaintances a link to this post and ask them to send it on to other Polish people so they can perhaps give me more information about the painting, an interpretation of it, the church it is in, and any other relevant facts. I would like to make this image of the Madonna much better known.
Fifth Station: Simon of Cyrene
March 14, 2010
Christ Carrying the Cross, Hieronymous Bosch (b. ca. 1450, 's-Hertogenbosch, d. 1516, 's-Hertogenbosch), Oil on panel, Palacio Real, Madrid
Simon of Cyrene is Forced to Take Up the Cross
V. We adore Thee, O Christ, and we praise Thee.
R. Because by Thy holy cross Thou hast redeemed the world.
And as they led Him away, they laid hold of one Simon of Cyrene, a passer-by, and forced Him to take up the cross of Jesus. And they laid the cross on him to carry after Jesus.1
V. Whoever does not carry his cross and come after Me.
R. Cannot be my disciple.2
Let Us Pray
Receive our prayers, O Lord, / and be appeased, / and in Thy mercy subdue to Thy service even our rebellious wills. / Through Christ our Lord. Amen.3
Hymn: For the sins of His own nation, saw Him hang in desolation, till His spirit forth He sent.
1 Mt. 27: 32, Mk. 15: 21, Lk. 23: 26. 2 Lk. 14: 27. 3 Secret, Saturday of Fourth Week in Lent.
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The Secret prayer is very old in the celebration of the traditional Roman liturgy. The celebrant says it in a low voice at the end of the Offertory because the choir is singing the offertory during this time. Even at a Low Mass the Secret is said quietly. It was called “secret” because it is the only prayer in the traditional liturgy that is said this way. It is part of the Propers of the Mass.
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The painting above shows Simon of Cyrene helping Jesus carry the Cross. Dating from Bosch’s mid-to-late period, this portrait of Christ draws the viewer into His eyes for an enduring devotional image. The Blessed Mother collapses into the arms of St. John in the distance.
Sunday Snippets – A Catholic Carnival
March 6, 2010
Welcome to our regular Sunday Snippets where you will find a group of Catholic bloggers sharing their best of the week. Some of us blog about a variety of subjects so you are sure to find something interesting. Visit our virtual living room at This That and the Other Thing where RAnn is our hostess. If you are a blogger, join us by creating a Sunday Snippets post and linking to RAnn’s site. Sign in on Mr. Linkey to create a link to your site.
This week I posted quite a few items. Archbishop Chaput of Denver gave a great talk to the Baptist University of Houston on the role of Christians in American public life. You can learn a little history of Catholicism in America here. I love this bishop! The link is: http://www.sufferingwithjoy.com/2010/03/02/a-pernicious-construct/.
Monday I gave into my arty side and posted a digital painting with a Good Friday themed poem here: http://www.sufferingwithjoy.com/2010/03/01/marys-tears/. I called it “Mary’s Tears”.
Lent for me is a yearly reminder of the need for reparation and forgiveness. I bring you Dr. Paul Takashi Nagai’s address to the parishioners on November 23, 1945 at the bishop’s Requiem Mass for those killed by the atomic bomb in Nagasaki. Really, it’s awesome. Find it here: http://www.sufferingwithjoy.com/2010/03/02/the-way-of-reparation/. I tried to find out if his cause for sainthood had been advanced but the internet search yielded nothing. I’m not giving up, though. Maybe I’ll write to his Cathedral of Maria parish in Urakami.
We’re used to hearing of Eucharistic Miracles in many centuries past, but what about today? Here’s a video about recent Eucharistic Miracles that show Jesus is still trying to get our attention. It’s a great subject for Lent and very impressive.
God bless all my readers.
Mary’s Tears
March 1, 2010
The last few days I’ve been working on this art piece in my digital art program. It’s my first try at this kind of look and seemed like a good Lenten project.
Late last November we had rain and, looking out the window, I saw how beautiful the raindrops were on the nandina bushes. The sight made me think of Mary’s tears at the cross, so I took my small digital camera out and snapped a few shots. Finding an area on one that I liked, I cropped it and painted the image. Then through other digital machinations I finished the image, wrote the poem and voila!
If you want to share this with others, please link to this post, credit me and leave a comment here. I’d like to know if it is worthwhile for me to make more of these kinds of images. God bless you, readers.
Jesus and Mary in Art
February 11, 2010
Sometimes it is just too much to pray using books or even rosaries when people are ill. But sacred art demands no effort from us in gazing upon it’s beauty. This window to the divine draws our spirit and sweeps us to prayer almost before we know it. It teaches us the truths of our faith wordlessly – a catechism in brush strokes, mosaics or sculpture.
Picturing Mary
The same can be said of the DVD, The Face: Jesus in Art
Both of these were made for WNET 13, a New York public television channel. Whenever I watch them I think what a great teaching aid they would be for home schooling families. You can stop the video to demonstrate art principles and you can use it for art projects and appreciation. But most of all, these videos inspire great love for Jesus and Mary through the artwork filmed. I highly recommend them and have placed them in my store.
St. Jane of Valois
February 4, 2010
St. Jane of Valois
Today we honor St. Jane of Valois, surely an example of humility, persistence in prayer and also great charity. She was born in 1464 and died in 1505. A daughter of King Louis XI and Charlotte of Savoy, she was hated by her father from birth because he wanted a boy. Not only did he not get a boy, Jane was sickly and had some physical handicap. The king banished her to a country place where she was raised in a condition of grave neglect. But God had plans for His spurned and despised creature. She developed a deep devotion to the Blessed Mother, especially in the mystery of the Incarnation. The Angelus was her favorite prayer. One day Our Lady revealed to her that she would found a religious community dedicated to her.
St. Jane could not escape being a pawn in the hands of her father. Although he despised her, in a political scheme he betrothed her to his second cousin, Louis, Duke of Orleans, at the age of two months. They were married when Jane was nine. She remained his loyal and devoted wife for twenty-two years. Unfortunately, the Duke did not return her devotion. He had not wanted the marriage and hated her even though she was instrumental in obtaining his release from prison for treason. Upon taking the throne as Louis XII, he publicly humiliated her by treating her ill in front of the court, repudiating her and seeking an annulment of his marriage from Rome. He got the annulment on the grounds that the marriage had not been consummated and that he had not consented to it. St. Jane saw this as a great blessing and used her situation to found the Order of the Annunciation.
The charism of her order is to practice the ten virtues of Our Lady as found in the Gospels. They are:
- Most Pure (Mt 1:18, 20, 23; Lk 1:27,34)
- Most Prudent (Lk 2:19, 51)
- Most Humble (Lk 1:48)
- Most Faithful (Lk 1:45; Jn 2:5)
- Most Devout (Lk 1:46-7; Acts 1:14)
- Most Obedient (Lk 1:38; 2:21-2, 27)
- Most Poor (Lk 2:7)
- Most Patient (Jn 19:25)
- Most Merciful (Lk 1:39, 56)
- Most Sorrowful (Lk 2:35)
St. Jane also charged her community to pray for her husband, her father, and her brother as her legacy. Such forgiveness after the cruel treatment she received is awe-inspiring. St. Jane would be a great patron to ask for help in mastering the virtue of forgiveness. When she died, she was buried with the royal purple and a crown under her habit.
The Angelus, 1857, oil on canvas, Jean-Francois Millet
During St. Jane’s lifetime the Angelus prayer spread throughout France, helped by Pope Sixtus IV who was the first to attach an indulgence to it in 1475. Devotion to this prayer continues today, and is enshrined in the great Impressionist painting of Jean-Francois Millet (1814-1875) of the Barbizon school of landscape painting.
It is interesting that almost two-hundred years after Pope Sixtus encouraged the praying of the Angelus a painter named Jean-Francois created a work expressing the devotion to Our Lady that St. Jane (Jeanne) of Valois, whose spiritual directors were Franciscans, practiced.
We cannot escape suffering in this world so we might as well profit from it spiritually as did St. Jane, who though queen, was humiliated repeatedly by the very people who should have loved and cherished her. She is a great example of suffering with joy.
If you would like to know how to pray the chaplet of the Ten Virtues of the Blessed Mother, go here.
Barb’s Custom Shop
I’m building an Amazon store of special recommendations for readers. It’s taking awhile because I’m hand-picking the items, but the shop is now open! You’ll be able to look at items and still get back to this site by clicking on “Suffering with Joy” at the bottom of the store page.
The first category that’s ready is “the Blessed Mother and those who love her and the Catholic faith”. I’ll be adding another category dedicated to wellness, and a third for art movies (my hobby) which I’ll be reviewing from time-to-time. To get to the store you can either click on the store tab at the top of the page or click on “Barb’s Custom Shop” on the sidebar. Ishopping is great for those like me who can’t get out much and totally hate malls but like to browse without pressure. Hope you enjoy it.
Readers are welcome to submit suggestions for me to add and I will if they fit the purpose of this site. (Art movies are about beauty which I will be discussing at some point in relation to wellness and spirituality.)
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