William Hart McNichols Blogs

Our Lady of the Sign (of Ireland) and, A Christmas Blessing “If you only knew how powerful it is to bless people, you would bless people all the time.” (Paraphrase of the words of Our Lady of Medjugorje) On one of my visits to Medjugorje, I heard... 

El Santo Nino de Atocha (Christmas card illustration, 1985) “Comfort, give comfort to my people, says your God. Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and proclaim to her that Her service is at an end ... A voice cries out: in the desert prepare a way for th... 

The Advent of Hagia Sophia “She it was I loved and have searched for from my youth; I resolved to have Her as my Bride, I fell in love with Her beauty. Her closeness to God lends lustre to Her noble birth, since the Lord of All has loved Her. Yes S... 

Mother of God Seeker After the Lost When his parents saw him they were astonished; and his Mother said to him, “Child, why have you treated us like this? Look, your father and I have been searching for you in great anxiety.” He said to them, “... 

The Souls of the Just Are In the Hands of God Wisdom 3 The last Requiem Mass written for a Mass, was by French composer, musician, and organist for Cathe’drale Notre-Dame de Paris, Maurice Gustave Durufle’, and was first performed on All Souls Da... 

Francis : “I Hold Out My Hand and My Heart Will Be In It” (1979) “Adrienne saw his stigmata, she was deeply horrified. And she thought everyone would have been horrified as she was ... And now he sees the stigmata on his hands. They strike him ... 

Francis : “I Hold Out My Hand and My Heart Will Be In It” (1979) “Adrienne saw his stigmata, she was deeply horrified. And she thought everyone would have been horrified as she was ... And now he sees the stigmata on his hands. They strike him ... 

Our Lady of Sorrows * Jesus Christ Extreme Humility * St John the Apostle : Triptych of the Passion (Our Lady of Sorrows + 15 September) “You are the ones who stood by me in my trials...” Luke 22:28 ( I made a copy of this triptych for every prie... 

The Child Mary Soon to Become the Ark of the Covenant ( for Mary’s Birthday 8 September) “One meets the Blessed Virgin inevitably when one attains a certain intensity of spiritual aspiration, when this aspiration is authentic and pure. The very f... 

St John the Forerunner (John the Baptist - “The Angelic Man”) “...Then the King regretted what he had said; but because of the vow he’d made in front of his guests, he issued the necessary orders. So John was beheaded in the prison, and his h... 

Valentin Tomberg Holy Christian Hermeticist (27 February 1900 - 24 February 1973) “...the role accorded to the Virgin Mary does not stop growing. The Queen of the Angels, the Queen of the patriarchs, the Queen of apostles, the Queen of martyrs, co... 

The Dormition of the Mother of God 🦋 (15 August ) In virtually every icon of the Mother of God, she pleads for, prays for, grieves for and radiates with the presence of the Son. To look at her is to see her love for Him. The essence of the Dormiti... 

Charles Rich Holy Lay Contemplative (1899 - 1998) “With everyone else who works, can’t God want one person just to pray ? ... About two weeks ago, I was on the steps leading to the ground floor when all of a sudden I felt my inner being, Iight up... 

“St Ignatius Collapsing At The Altar” (pen and ink drawing 1982) “Even if someone were to express everything that is ‘within him,’ we wouldn’t necessarily understand him.” Ludwig Wittgenstein “No one points to God with such shrewd int... 

Holy Prophet Philip Berrigan of Jonah House (5 October 1923 - 6 December 2002) “We pray that : God intervene in the ecological crisis as Lord of Creation, because we refuse to change our abuse of the earth... and that the global war against childr... 

“Write what you see in a book and send it to the Seven Churches...” The Apocalypse 1:11 “The end is not an event but a person.” From “The Revelation of St. John the Divine” by George Bradford Caird (17 July 1917 - 21 April 1984) “We ar... 

St Maria Goretti : Patroness of Abused Children (1890 - 6 July 1902) “We are not to make of the work of Acts of the Apostles such an object of veneration that we take small account of this on going story; how God continues to write large the lives... 

Our Lady of Perpetual Help * Feastday 27 June) “It has been said that Our Lady of Perpetual Help never refuses a request, no matter how small or frivolous it may seem. Many who have felt unworthy to call on her in their direst need report hearing ... 

St Charles Healer of Mount Argus, Dublin (1821 - 1893) “Become accustomed to repeating these words so sweet and so meritorious: Blessed be God. May His will always be done. I adore thy holy will, O my God...What does it matter where we are on earth... 

The Holy Spirit: (Viriditas- The Holy Spirit - detail) “Behold, a sacred voice is calling you; All over the sky a sacred voice is calling.” The Servant of God Nicholas Black Elk “She is Divine Wisdom... For She is with all and in all, and of... 

The Burning Bush : for my 44th Anniversary of Ordination to the Priesthood * 25 May 1979 (and also, unbeknownst to me at the time, it’s also Padre Pio’s Birthday) “I’ve taken long walks craving one thing only: lightening, transformation, you... 

The Yakhrom Icon of the Mother of God 🌺 Happy Mother’s Day ! (I can still hear my Moms voice teaching me this prayer at age 5 - it flows so beautifully and I guess now, I’ve been saying this prayer for nearly 70 years) The M... 

St Pancratius of Rome (28 August 289 - 12 May 303 -Patron of youth who are bullied) “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.” (Matthew 19:14) Every once in awhile I’ll be ... 

San Jose’ Obrero : (St Joseph the Worker) 🌺 1 May 2023 “those who listen for the monkeys:/ what of this child /in the autumn wind ?” Basho (1644 - 1694) And happy Feastday of the Catholic Worker 🕊 For some unknown (to me) reason, I keep... 

Holy Prophet Daniel Berrigan, SJ ( 9 May 19 1921 - 30 April 2016) “Daniel my brother you are older than me Do you still feel the pain of the scars that won’t heal Your eyes have died but you see more than I Daniel you’re a star in the face of ... 

"St Joseph, Mirror of Patience" (for Divine Mercy Sunday) “... I recall a few lines from a fascinating apocryphal book of the sixth or seventh century entitled 'The History of Joseph the Carpenter.' In that story, Jesus says to Joseph at the saint�... 

Prospect Park Flowering Azalea (watercolor and gouache 1982) “Let the wilderness and dry lands exult, let the wasteland rejoice and bloom, let it bring forth flowers like the jonquil, let it rejoice and sing for joy... Strengthen all weary hands, s... 

“Behold, I Make All Things New ...” (Revelation 21 : 15) In early May of 1979, near the end of my theological studies in Cambridge, Massachusetts I needed to make a retreat to prepare for ordination (25 May) and I needed to study for the dreaded ... 

Prospect Park Stairway (color pencil 1982) “Dear Lady, can you hear the wind blow ? And did you know, your stairway lies on the whispering wind ?” Stairway To Heaven by Jimmy Page and Robert Plant “The Poetics of Space” by Gaston Bachelar... 

Prospect Park Tunnel Bricks (watercolor and gouache 1982... and, the Light at the end of the veritable tunnel ) “Have you never read this Scripture: ‘The stone that the builders rejected is become the head stone of the corner...’ “ Mark 12 : ... 

“I John, your brother...” (color pencil, 1982) “I John, your brother, who share with you in Jesus the tribulation and the kingdom and the patient endurance, was on the island called Patmos on account of the word of God and the testimony of Jesu... 

“I John, your brother...” (color pencil, 1982) “I John, your brother, who share with you in Jesus the tribulation and the kingdom and the patient endurance, was on the island called Patmos on account of the word of God and the testimony of Jesu... 

Park Slope Lamp, Brooklyn (watercolor and gouache 1982) “I have come as Light into the world, so that everyone who believes in me will not remain in darkness...” John 9:5 I wanted to start off Lent this year with Light. Full disclosure; I can har... 

Algae On The Lullwater Pond, Prospect Park, Brooklyn (watercolor and gouache, 1982) “All day I’ve faced the barren waste Without a taste of water, cool water... The shadows sway and seem to say, Tonight we pray for water. And way up there He’ll... 

Algae On The Lullwater Pond, Prospect Park, Brooklyn (watercolor and gouache, 1982) “All day I’ve faced the barren waste Without a taste of water, cool water... The shadows sway and seem to say, Tonight we pray for water. And way up there He’ll... 

St Mark the Evangelist “...and they all forsook him and fled. And there followed him a certain young man, having a linen cloth cast about his naked body; and the young men laid hold on him: and he left the linen cloth, and fled from them naked. And... 

St Mark the Evangelist “...and they all forsook him and fled. And there followed him a certain young man, having a linen cloth cast about his naked body; and the young men laid hold on him: and he left the linen cloth, and fled from them naked. And... 

St Francis Wounded Winter Light “First Corinthians 2: 1-5 shows us God’s power in the very act of preaching...A crucified Savior can be preached in divine power only by crucified preachers.” Raymond Ortlund, Jr. A few nights ago I finally got ... 

Holy Prophet Thomas Merton : Gaudete ! Christus est natus ! “Into this world, this demented inn, in which there is no room for him at all, Christ has come uninvited.” Thomas Merton "Even if a unity of faith is not possible, a unity of love is." ... 

The Mother of God of Vatopedi Feast day of Mary Mother of God : 1 January 2023 Then Mary said 'Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. Let it be done to me according to your word." Luke 1: 38 This is a very early icon, Our Lady of Vatopedi, written f... 

The Holy Family for Holy Family Hospital in Bethlehem : Frame by Roberto Lavadie of Taos, New Mexico “...He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being. What has come into bei... 

The Advent of Hagia Sophia “What Wisdom is and how She came to be, I will now declare, I will hide none of the secrets from you; I will trace Her right from the beginning and set out knowledge of Her, plainly, not swerving from the truth...She i... 

Mother of God Light In All Darkness : For Gaudete Sunday “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I say rejoice. Indeed, the Lord is near.” Philippians 4:4-5 Mother of God Light In All Darkness, Shelter Him our flame of hope With your tender hands. A... 

Our Sister Thea Bowman * (29 December 1937 - 30 March 1990) “I think that children carry a message just by the way they are, and it’s a message that needs to be heard ... My approach is : teach me. I will learn. I want to learn. I want to keep le... 

The Child Mary Soon To Become The Ark of the Covenant (This original painting is available please contact us if you are interested. ) “Contemplata aliis tradere...” (to share what you have contemplated), along with “Veritas”, (Truth) Dominic... 

St Francis (Detail from “Viriditas: Finding God In All Things) “Joy fall to thee father Francis,/ Drawn to the Life that died;/ With the gnarls of the nails in thee; niche of the lance;/ his Lovescape crucified/ And seal of his seraph-arrival...�... 

St Padre Pio : Mother Pelican ( 25 May 1887 - 23 September 1968 ) “My Children, I am close to you. Closer than you can imagine. I am in contact with your mind and am directing your thoughts. I am close to your heart and am counting your heartbeats,... 

The Mother of God Given Eagle’s Wings (The Queenship of Mary * 22 August) “But she was given the two wings like those of an eagle so that she might fly from the serpent into the wilderness, to the place where she is to be nourished for a time, an... 

The Servant of God Nicholas Black Elk (1 December 1863 - 19 August 1950) “Behold, a sacred voice is calling you; all over the sky a sacred voice is calling.” Nicholas Black Elk “A very great vision is needed, and the man who has it must follow... 

St Ignatius and the Passion of the World in the 21st Century “Soul of Christ, sanctify me. Body of Christ, save me. Blood of Christ, inebriate me. Water from the side of Christ, wash me. Passion of Christ, strengthen me. O good Jesus, hear me. With... 

The Black Madonna : Your Lap Has Become the Holy Table “Ave, ave, verum Corpus, natum de Maria Virgine, vere passum, immolatum in Cruce pro homine; cuius latus perforatum unda fluxit sanguine. Esto nobis praegustatum in mortis examine. O dulcis, O... 

St Padre Pio : Mother Pelican (25 May 1887 - 23 September 1968) “We should not forget that the saints are, first of all, masterpieces of grace, so that at times, in addition to imitating the example they leave for us, we should admire the extraord... 

The Virgin of Tenderness of Yaroslavl “...the Russian soul recognizes His voice and with ineffable joy throws itself at His feet. Apart from this faith and this hope, there is nothing left for us. The Russian land has been trodden by the Mother of... 

St Maria Goretti : Patroness of Abused Children (1890 - 6 July 1902) “We are not to make of the work of Acts of the Apostles such an object of veneration that we take small account of this on going story; how God continues to write large the lives ... 

St Anthony and the Child “Who are you, my dearest God ? And who am I, but your useless servant ?” St Francis of Assisi Through the intercession of my dear friend Fr Andre’ Cirino, OFM in Autumn of 1984, I was accepted into the Third Order of ... 

he Mother of God Overshadowed By The Holy Spirit “...I do not know what it is about you that closes and opens; only something in me understands / the voice of your eyes is deeper than all roses / nobody, not even the rain, has such small hands.” ... 

Holy Prophet Daniel Berrigan, SJ (9 May 1921 - 30 April 2016) “This Child is set for the rise and fall of many ... a sign that is spoken against a Child born to make trouble and die for it ...we say killing is disorder life and gentleness and commu... 

St Marina (Margaret) the Great Martyr: A Prayer For Marina Osvyannikova (For my 43rd Anniversary of Ordination : 25 May 1979) “Meanwhile, Saul was uttering threats with every breath and was eager to kill the Lord’s followers...he wanted to bring... 

ursing Icon of the Mother of God (for Mother’s Day 2022) “...her who not only/ gave God’s infinity/ dwindled to infancy/ welcome in womb and breast/ birth, milk, and all the rest/ but mothers each new grace/ that does now reach our race/ Mary I... 

Retablo de San Jose’ Obrero : Retablo of St Joseph the Worker : May 1 “Ite ad Joseph!” (Genesis 41:55 “Go to Joseph; whatever he says to you, do...” According to an ancient tradition, this utterly tender prayer was found in the 50th year of... 

Christ All Merciful “Come to me, all you who labor and are overburdened and I will give you rest...” Matthew 11:28-30 This year for Divine Mercy Sunday instead of the St Faustina Icon, I decided to show a very early icon, (number 22) Christ All ... 

The Risen Christ “Not even for a moment do things stand still - witness color in the trees.” (Seiju : 15 August 1776) December “ “In the wood of the Cross the Lord sees the tree and human work united. Men must work because they have sinned, a... 

Our Lady of Pochaev (Ukraine) and photo of the icon arriving in Magadan, Russia “... if my words don’t come together, listen to the melody, ‘cause my love is in there hiding. I love you in a place where there’s no space or time...” Leon Ru... 

St Vasily the Holy Fool of Moscow (feast day 2 August) “If anyone among you seems to be wise in this age, let him become a fool.” 1 Corinthians 3:18 In these days with Russia and Ukraine continually in the news, I turn to a woman like the incredi... 

The Triumph of the Immaculate Heart of Mary “On Friday 25 March , during the Celebration of Penance at 17.00 in St Peter’s Basilica, I will consecrate Russia and Ukraine to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. Pray together.” Pope Francis “Yarosla... 

Sister Wendy Beckett “Beauty will save the world.” Fyodor Dostoevsky (11 November 1821 - 9 February 1881) “One day Dostoevsky threw out the enigmatic remark: ‘Beauty will save the world.’ What sort of a statement is that ? For a long time I... 

St Joseph Terror of Demons “There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear...” 1 John 4:18 “There were many reasons for Christ’s Incarnation. A key one was to defeat the devil...Jesus did the Father’s will. He resisted the devil... 

Holy New Martyr Nestor Savchuk 1960 - 1993 “The news from Ukraine is very worrying. I entrust every effort for peace to the intercession of the Virgin Mary and the conscience of responsible politicians. Let us pray in silence…” Pope Francis �... 

St Thomas a’ Becket (1118 - 29 December 1170) “All my life they have been coming, these feet. All my life, I have waited.” From “Murder in the Cathedral” by T.S. Eliot “The blood of the martyrs is the seed of the Church.” From Apologeti... 

The Kenosis (self-emptying) of St Bernadette of Lourdes “Sometimes a person needs a story more than food to stay alive.” Barry Lopez from his fable “Crow and Weasel” “Wastefulness is the original Christian attitude...The entire Passion oc... 

St Ignatius offers a dead stick-Cross to St Hildegard, and the Holy Child Jesus to be blessed and “greened” (detail from the bottom panel of “Viriditas: Finding God In All Things”) “To sing is to pray twice.” Attributed to St Ambrose or t... 

St Brigid of Ireland (Kildare, c.451 - 1 February 525) “Remind us how to kindle the hearth, to keep it bright, to preserve the flame ... the protection of Brigid keeping us from harm, from ignorance, from heartlessness...” “Brigid’s feast day... 

St Henry Walpole, SJ : Splashed by the Blood (1558 -7 April 1595) “The Blood will be a sign for you on the houses where you are, and when I see the blood, I will pass over you.” Exodus 12:13 “The blood of the martyrs is the seed of the Church.�... 

The Murom Icon of the Mother of God “Behold the father is his daughter’s son/The bird that built the nest is hatch’d therein/ Might feeble is and force doth faintly creep/Up, heavy hearts, with joy your joy embrace/ This life, this light, this... 

San Jose’ Flor de Jesé 💮 (St Joseph Flower of Jesse) “... Matthan the father of Jacob; and Jacob was the father of Joseph the husband of Mary; of her was born Jesus who is called the Christ.” Matthew 1:16 (Genealogy of Christ) “O flower... 

Cristo Emmanuel : Cordero de Dios (Christ Emmanuel : Lamb of God) “The image of the Master: one glimpse and we are in love.” 15c. Zen Master Ikkyu “The end is not an event but a person.” G.B.Caird “And I wept much, because no one was found ... 

Cristo Emmanuel : Cordero de Dios (Christ Emmanuel : Lamb of God) “The image of the Master: one glimpse and we are in love.” 15c. Zen Master Ikkyu “The end is not an event but a person.” G.B.Caird “And I wept much, because no one was found ... 

Nuestra Senora de las Nieves (Our Lady of the Snows) “Wisdom will praise herself, and will glory in the midst of her people. In the assembly of the Most High she will open her mouth, and in the presence of His host she will glory: ‘ I came forth... 

Retablo de San Jose’ Obrero (Retablo of St Joseph the Worker) “Breathless, tremblin’ wonderin ‘ what’s gonna happen next ? Questions upon questions His little heart beatin’ on my chest. How can I be the one? The one who Father’s the Fat... 

Jesus Christ Redeemer Holy Silence (Hagia Hesychia) During these four weeks of Advent of 2021, I’m going to focus on icons of Wisdom. And though she is enigmatic and nearly defies our western mind’s need for a rational explanation, I’ll do my b... 

The Infant of Prague : (a statue of Spanish origin brought to Prague c.1556) “Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be given you besides.” (Matthew 6:33) “The more you honor me, the more I will bless you... 

St Albert the Great : Patron of Scientists and Students (1206-1280) “The moment he is able to in the morning, he enters into his contemplation. And it is in contemplation that he then goes to Mass. He thus allows himself in his contemplation to be ... 

The Souls of the Just Are In the Hands of God “...Only me beside you. Still you’re not alone. No one is alone, truly. No one is alone. Sometimes people leave you Halfway through the wood. Others may deceive you. You decide what’s good. You d... 

Jesus, Listen and Pray This is a very small image, 5”x7” - the first one I had the energy to paint after open heart surgery, in 2012. I had seen a card with Jesus in the lotus position praying and I knew I needed to go into it more, by painting/... 

The Bride : The Church “You are the ones who have stood by me faithfully in my trials...”. Luke 22: 28 Today happens to be the feast of Pope St John XXIII, this is also the feast of the Maternity of the Mother of God. And, this is the day in 19... 

St Francis Wounded-Winter-Light “He was always occupied with Jesus: Jesus he bore in his heart, mouth, eyes,ears, and in his entire body: Jesus.” Blessed Thomas of Celano “Put yourself out Brother Francis,” I used to cry. “Put yourself out ... 

St Faustina Kowalska : Apostle of the Divine Mercy (25 August 1905- 5 October 1938) “When you reflect upon what I tell you in the depths of your heart, you profit more than if you read many books. Oh, if souls would only listen to My voice when I a... 

St Padre Pio : Mother Pelican (25 May 1887-23 September 1968) “I will ask the Lord to let me remain at the threshold of Paradise, and I will not enter until the last of my spiritual children has entered...Once I take a soul on, I also take their en... 

St Hildegard of Bingen : Doctor of the Church (1098-1179) “Holy Spirit, you, quickening life, prime mover of the universe and root of all creation, cleanse your creation from impurity, heal the guilt and anoint the wounds. O radiant life, worthy of... 

Our Lady of Sorrows by Kathy Hendricks I saw them as I entered the supermarket parking lot. A family of four crouched in the shade of a small tree. Two young boys sat with their mother and waved at passing cars. The father held a sign asking for ass... 

The Servant of God Father Pedro Arrupe, SJ “There is only Christ : He is everything and He is in everything.” Colossians 3:11 “Grant me, O Lord, to see everything now with new eyes, to discern and test the spirits that help me read the signs of... 

St John the Forerunner (the Baptist) 🎶 “Well, get up John go down to the Jordan / get up John prepare the way/ Man from Galilee is waiting / You must meet him there today/ Get up John go tell my people / This will be a holy day / Tell them of th... 

Mother of God Asking For Humility (The Queenship of Mary) “From the earliest ages of the Catholic Church a Christian people, whether in time of triumph or more especially in time of crisis, has addressed prayers of petition and hymns of praise and ... 

San Lorenzo del Fuego : (Retablo of St Lawrence of the Fire The philosophers and the orators have fallen into oblivion; the masses do not even know the names of the emperors and their generals; but everyone knows the names of the the martyrs, better ... 

Our Lady and the Holy Child Visit St Ignatius the Convalescent (Celebrating an Ignatian Year 2021-2022, the 500th Anniversary of the conversion of St Ignatius) “These holy desires were confirmed in him by a visitation as follows : being awake one n... 

St Edith Stein : Patroness of Europe “Let go of your plans. The first hour of your morning belongs to God. Tackle the day’s work that He charges you with, and He will give you the power to accomplish it.” Edith Stein (St Teresa Benedicta of the... 

Mother of Fairest Love (Theotokos Kasperovskaya) “I am the Mother of fairest love, and of fear, and of knowledge, and of holy hope. In me is all grace of the way and of the truth, in me is all hope of life and of virtue...” Eccelesisaticus, 24 : ... 

Holy Priest Anonymous One of Sachsenhausen “Be gracious to me, O Lord, for I am in distress;my eye is wasted with grief, my soul and body also. Strong as I am, I stumble because of my inequality,and my bones waste away. I am the scorn of my advers... 

Our Lady of Perpetual Help (The Virgin of the Passion - feast day 27 June) “It is said that Our Lady of Perpetual Help never refuses a request, no matter how small or frivolous it may seem. Many who have felt unworthy to call on her report hearing ... 

St Anthony Heals the Sick (feast day 13 June) “Dear Anthony, you have always helped those who invoked you. I fervently pray for a sick person so dear to me. I beg you to obtain for him/her the gift of healing, or at least to ease his/her pain and f... 

Pentecost Sunday and Mary Mother of the Church : Come Holy Spirit “In Roman Catholic Mariology, Mother of the Church (Latin: Mater Ecclesiae) is a title officially given to Mary by Pope Paul VI. The title was first used in the 4th century by St Amb... 

La Sagrada Familia (The Holy Family) “The spiritual life is a long strange business and you’ve got to be quiet and docile enough to go on learning.” Iris Murdoch The month of May is always associated with the Mother of God. In 1870 Pope Pius IX... 

Litany to The Divine Mercy Lord, have mercy. Christ, have mercy. Lord, have mercy. Christ, hear us. Christ, graciously hear us. God, the Father of heaven, have mercy on us. God, the Son, Redeemer of the world, have mercy on us. God, the Holy Spirit, ... 

The Risen Christ During the dark winter nights I decided to listen to a long (over 20 hours) Audible book on the music and life of J S Bach; “Bach : Music in the Castle of Heaven” by John Eliot Gardiner. It opened my ears to The St John Passion, ... 

The Passion Triptych (Our Lady of Sorrows, Jesus Christ Extreme Humility, St John the Apostle) “The Lord not only takes leave of the things of this world; he begins to see them disappear one by one. His body, his whole humanity become distant to hi... 

Retablo de San Jose’ Obrero “Go to Joseph...” (Genesis 41:55) This beautiful phrase (loved by one of St Joseph’s greatest promoters, the healer and miracle worker of Montreal, St Andre’ Bessette) from the book of Genesis refers to Joseph, w... 

Holy Living Martyr Dianna Ortíz “Close your physical eye, so that you may see your picture first with the spiritual eye. Then bring what you saw in the dark into the light, so that it may have an effect on others, shining inwards from outside.” ... 

“Cross of New Life:The Flowering Cross” ☦️ (13’6” x 7’9”) The largest icon of my career is now completed and prepared for its new home. It has been my honor to write the “Cross of New Life: The Flowering Cross” The ancient Cat... 

The Chair of St Peter “I assure you and most solemnly say to you, when you were younger you dressed yourself and walked wherever you wished; but when you grow old, you will stretch out your hands and your arms, and someone else will dress you, and ... 

The Revelations of Julian of Norwich “Pray, even if you feel nothing, see nothing. For when you are dry, empty, sick or weak, at such a time is your prayer most pleasing to God, even though you may find little joy in it. This is true of all believi... 

Mother of Sacred Activism (with Eichenberg’s Christ of the Breadline) “My book called ‘A Life of Jesus’ may cause surprise for American readers when they discover an interpretation of Jesus somewhat at odds with the image they now possess. J... 

Jesus : Listen and Pray “Keep watch with prayer, so that you may not be put to the test: the spirit is ready but the flesh is feeble.” Matthew 26:41 (Basic English Bible) “He remained for some months in this state of tribulation, and bore i... 

San Jose’ Sombra del Padre (A blessed New Year of St Joseph !) “If earthly princes consider it a matter of so much importance to select carefully a tutor fit for their children, think you that the Eternal God would not, in his almighty power and... 

“Down In Yon Forest” (Repos de Jesus) Illustration, 1987 When Joan Baez put out her Christmas album “Noel” in 1966, I heard the song “Down In Yon Forest.” There is also a most solemn version of the song on Bruce Cockburn’s album, �... 

Our Lady of the New Advent : The Burning Bush “I beg you, dear children, beginning today, start to love, with a burning love, the love with which I love you.” Message of Medjugorje, May 29, 1986 “O resplendent Virgin, here on the mir... 

St Joseph Shadow of the Father “Truly I say to you, whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven...” Matthew 18:18 “With the Apostolic Letter ‘Patris corde’ (With a Father’s Heart), Pope Francis recalls the 150th anniversary of ... 

Hagia Sophia Crowning the Youthful Christ “Wisdom will honor you if you embrace Her. She will place on your head a fair garland; She will bestow on you a beautiful crown.” Proverbs 4:8-9 “When I was still a youth, before I went traveling, in... 

La Gloriosa Venida de Cristo Rey (The Glorious Coming of Christ the King) “For as lightning flashes and lights go up the sky from one side to the other, so will the Son of Man be in His day.” Luke 17:24 “...Jesus answered, ‘My kingdom is n... 

St Elizabeth of Hungary 💮 (7 July 1207 - 17 November 1231) “We must give God what we have, gladly and with joy.” St Elizabeth “What is sanctity but the mystery of beauty?” Nesta de Robeck (1886-1983) “She was known for mismanagement... 

The Advent of Hagia Sophia “Into this happy night In secret, seen of none, Nor saw I aught, Without other light or guide, Save that which in my heart did burn..” San Juan de la Cruz (John of the Cross) “She it was I loved and have search... 

The Proskynesis of St Stanislaus Kostka (1550 - 1568) “I find heaven in the midst of saucepans and brooms.” St Stanislaus Kostka “Born to the Polish nobility, the son of a senator. Attended the Viennese Jesuit College from age 14 with his bro... 

“The Souls of the Just Are In The Hands of God” “The souls of the just are in the hands of God and no torment shall touch them. They seemed, in the view of the foolish, to be dead; and their passing away was thought an affliction. But they are... 

St Martin de Porres : Patron of All Those Seeking Racial Harmony, Mixed Race People, Public Health Workers, and more, Barbers and Innkeepers (9 December 1579-3 November 1639) “Truly, truly I tell you, the one who believes in me will do the same th... 

Our Lady of Silence “When I awake, I am still with thee...” Psalm 139:18 “O God, you are my Lord, my father and mother, Lord of the mountains and valleys.” Prayer of the Kekchi Indian “Faith itself is the soul’s true country, and pray... 

Seraphic Father Francis (1182- 1226) “...he was always occupied with Jesus; Jesus he bore in his heart, Jesus in his mouth, Jesus in his eyes, Jesus in his ears, and in his entire body; Jesus.” 1 Celano 115 I like to say that as far as the ... 

St Padre Pio : Mother Pelican (25 May 1887 - 23 September 1968) “O Loving Pelican ! O Jesus Lord ! Unclean am I but cleanse me in Your Blood !” St Thomas Aquinas “I will ask the Lord to let me remain at the threshold of Paradise, and I will ... 

Environmental Prophet Rachel Carson (after the artist Hiroshige) 27 May 1907 - 14 April 1964 “Only within the moment of time represented by the present century has one species - man- acquired significant power to alter the nature of the world. �... 

Our Lady of Sorrows and The Triumph of the Cross - by Nicola Maddox My only child, my son, Todd, died in a one-car accident on August 27th of that year. He was almost 19 years old and was heading off to begin college. On the morning of September ... 

She Who Hears the Cries of the World : Birthday of Mary the Mother of God “During the Edo period in Japan, when Christianity was banned and punishable by death, some underground Christian groups venerated Jesus and Mary by disguising them as statu... 

Princess Diana : The Queen of Hearts 31 August 1997. I was living in Albuquerque for that summer to finish a triptych on Jesuit Martyrs for Boston College because I really needed my teacher’s help. I had just completed the massive work and I was ... 

Santa Rosa of Lima, Patroness of the Americas Rosa of Lima (1586–1617) is often called the patroness of America because she was the first saint to be canonized in the Americas (1671). Her feast day is August 23. Rose is a beloved saint among Spani... 

Santa Rosa of Lima, Patroness of the Americas Rosa of Lima (1586–1617) is often called the patroness of America because she was the first saint to be canonized in the Americas (1671). Her feast day is August 23. Rose is a beloved saint among Spani... 

Happy Anniversary of your entrance into Heaven - Nicholas Black Elk + 19 August 1950 🌿🌿🌿 There is only Christ : He is everything and He is in everything.” Colossians 3 : 11 In commemoration of my 40th Anniversary of Ordination to the Pr... 

The Dormition of the Mother of God “She is a breath of the power of God, pure emanation of the glory of the Almighty; hence nothing impure can find a way into her. She is a reflection of the eternal light, untarnished mirror of God’s active powe... 

St Clare’s Apparition of the Holy Child ( “Chiara Offreduccio” - 16 July 1194 - 11 August 1253) “Then the dying saint communed with her own soul, saying softly: ‘Go forth in peace, go forth without fear to Him who created you and has san... 

St Ignatius At Prayer In Rome (illustration from 1991) “I will ask for what I want: here I ask for interior knowledge of the Lord ... Take, Lord receive all my liberty, my memory, my intellect, and all my will - all that I have and possess. You g... 

Elijah McClain ? 25 February 1996 - 30 August 2019 "But the righteous man, though he die early, will be at rest. For old age is not honored for length of time, nor measured by number of years ... There was one who pleased God and was loved by him, a... 

Holy Quaker Martyr Mary Dyer Mary Dyer (ca. 1611–1660) was a Puritan convert to Quakerism who became one of the four people known as the Quaker martyrs of Boston. She was publically executed by the Puritans in Boston on June 1, 1660. A major ... 

Second Self-Portrait With Symbols 2014 “I’m gonna exchange my things for precious wings and fly, over the valley of the kings and queens where the sleeping cities lie. One bright night I’m gonna fly right out my window. Gonna fly so high in ... 

Trees for Rivera Funeral Home in Taos, New Mexico In 2014 I was asked by my dear friend Tim Rivera, to do something for the room in the Rivera Funeral Home , in Taos, New Mexico, which might bring Hope and Comfort to families of All Faiths...as they... 

Jerusalem Icon of the Mother of God “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children, as a hen gathers her children beneath her wings, and you were not willing.” Luk... 

St Anthony Heals the Sick (1195-1231) “Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father...” John 14:12 “He prays with a lot of... 

“Gerard Manley Hopkins Amidst the Fire-folk” (28 July 1844 - 8 June 1889) “Look at the stars ! look, look up at the skies ! O look at all the fire-folk sitting in the air !” GM Hopkins from his poem “The Starlight Night.” This is my s... 

Dr Martin Luther King : unfinished drawing 1983 “Drum Major Instinct" Event February 4, 1968 On 4 February 1968, Martin Luther King, Jr., preached “The Drum Major Instinct” from the pulpit of Ebenezer Baptist Church. Ironically, two months ... 

The Holy Feast of Pentecost : Kathi In A Prayer “In my most childlike hour, my heart has not deceived me. I will not break faith with my childlike heart.” James Finley Then Jesus looked up and said, “Father, I thank you that you have heard ... 

St. Padre Pio : Mother Pelican (25 May 1887-23 September 1968) “ O Loving Pelican! O Jesus Lord! Unclean am I but cleanse me in Your Blood!” St. Thomas Aquinas So many medieval and early Renaissance artists such as Beato Fra Angelico, painted... 

Holy Martyr St Dymphna of Ireland, for her feast day May 15 Written by my friend, Kathy Hendricks, a mother, grandmother, and author of several books on catechesis, spirituality, and family including "Heavenly Friends – An Introduction to the Beau... 

Mother of Holy Hope : “Be thou then, O thou dear Mother, my atmosphere...” “...A mother came to mould Those limbs like ours which are What must be our daystar Much dearer to mankind; Whose glory bare would blind Or less would win man’... 

Mary Most Holy Mother of All Nations “...Laudato si, mi Signore, per sora nostra Matre Terra, laquale ne sustenta et gouerna, et produce diuersi fructi con coloriti flori et herba. Laudato si mi Signore, per quelli ke perdonano per lo Tuo Amo... 

Holy Theologian Adamantius Origen: Spirit And Fire (185-254) “Jeremiah, while the people are captive in Babylon, makes his lamentations over the city, the country, and the people because of what happened. He makes these laments in individual stanz... 

Jesus Christ Divine Mercy And His Apostle St Faustina Kowalska “...so many hearts I find, broke like yours and mine torn by what we’ve done and can’t undo ... but there were sorrows to be healed and mercy, mercy in this world...” Leonard... 

Holy Theologian Cardinal Hans Urs von Balthasar (1905 - 1988) “Even if a unity of faith is not possible, a unity of love is.” (And) “Wastefulness is the original Christian attitude... The entire Passion occurs under the sign of this complete ... 

The Risen Christ “The valley is dark... you walk through the shadows uncertain and surely hurting ... and though you trust the light towards which you wend your way sometimes it feels all that you wanted has been taken away... You will walk... 

Holy Week and Our Lady of Magadan I believe it was during this same time, Holy Week in 1994 that I completed this commission for (now deceased) Archbishop Hurley of Anchorage, Alaska to give to the Orthodox Bishop of Magadan, Far East, Russia. Maga... 

Hagia Hesychia : Jesus Christ Redeemer Holy Silence (Holy Wisdom) “And when I breathed, my breath was like lightening...I cured with the power that came through me...” Nicholas Black Elk (1 December 1863 - 19 August 1950) A Mass was celebrated ... 

“Go to Joseph; what he says to you, do.” Genesis 41:55 "....it was permitted by God that Joseph have this anxious feeling constantly present within his heart. Joseph accepted it with resignation and never appeared outwardly to be restless or di... 

Beato Fra Angelico (1400-1455) - Patron of Artists - feastday 18 February “Freely you were given, freely give.” St Matthew 10:8 “On June 23, 1983, Pope St. John Paul II granted official cultus to Fra Angelico, who is now Blessed with an offic... 

The Kenosis (self-emptying) of St Bernadette of Lourdes “Sometimes a person needs a story more than food to stay alive.” Barry Lopez from his fable “Crow and Weasel” “Wastefulness is the original Christian attitude...The entire Passion ... 

The Silence of St Thomas Aquinas (feast day January 28) “There is nothing on this earth more to be prized than true friendship.” St Thomas Aquinas My Father, Stephen McNichols, was born on the old feast of St Thomas Aquinas, March 7, and so fr... 

St Agnes of Rome (b 291-martyred January 21, 304 AD) “The end is not an event but a person.” GB Caird When I was around age 5 I received a set of 4 small books called “Little Lives of the Saints” by Fr Daniel Lord, SJ. One of the first thi... 

Dedication of the year 2020 to the Most Holy Trinity “The arms of God be around my shoulders, the touch of the Holy Spirit upon my head, the sign of Christ’s Cross upon my forehead, the sound of the Holy Spirit in my ears, the fragrance of t... 

The Incarnation : illustration from 1997 “There it was - the true Light coming into the world, the genuine, perfect, steadfast Light that illumines every person...” The Gospel of St. John 1:9 (from the Amplified Bible) I can’t remember now if... 

The Feminine Name of God : Shekhinah “....here is the deepest secret nobody knows...and this is the wonder that’s keeping the stars apart I carry your heart (I carry it in my heart)” e e cummings 1952 “We may well prefer the dark secret ... 

La Gloriosa Venida de Cristo Rey (The Glorious Coming of Christ the King) “For as lightning flashes and lights up the sky from one side to another, so will the Son of Man be in His day.” Luke 17:24 St John Paul II’s inspiration to call the �... 

Blessed Anne Catherine Emmerich 1774-1824 “... Ismeria remained barren for some eighteen years. When she again became pregnant by God’s blessing, I saw that Ismeria was given a revelation at night. She saw an angel beside her bed writing a lette... 

Holy Bishop St Martin of Tours “We must obey God, rather than men.” Acts of the Apostles 5:29 “Martin (d.397 CE), named for the Roman god of war, grew up strong and handsome, earning himself a position in the elite Praetorian Guard. But at ag... 

“Qua-kah-ka-num-ad”:Woman Who Prays Always St Rose Philippine Duchesne : 29 August 1769 + 18 November 1852 I don’t remember where I found the book “The Way of a Pilgrim.” Most probably in the once tiny, magical bookstore, The Tattered Cov... 

Our Lady of the Rosary : 7 October 2019 I remember very clearly a story our novice master told us seminarians in 1968, about his Mother and the Rosary. He admitted to us that he was critical of his Mother because she only used the Rosary for prayer.... 

The Name of God Adam Kadmon : Rosh Hashanah 2019 (There is a beautiful explanation of this holy fiery calligraphy of the Name of God, in John Dadosky’s book “Image to Insight : The Art of William Hart McNichols” from UNM Press 2018 available f... 

The Birthday of Mary Mother of God (The Hortus Conclusus : The Enclosed Garden) “She is a garden enclosed, my sister, my promised bride, a garden enclosed, a sealed fountain...Fountain of the garden, well of living water, streams flowing down fr... 

Feast of the Queenship of Mary Mother of God “I choose the little ones and the weak...” these are words spoken to Estelle Faguette, during the apparitions of Pellevoisin, in November 1876 by the Mother of God. For me they echo her Son, in the G... 

The Dormition of the Mother of God She sleeps who knew no rest here. Promised early on a knife in her soul watching relatives, friends, multitudes... dividing, deciding, and finally calling for the blood of the Word clothed in her very own f... 

AVE MARIS STELLA Hail Star of the Sea! Hail Lady Mary, our gentle candle in the darkness! Send us the light when we are falling into sorrow when we are cast about by waves of fear and anger when we are drowning in despair. O Mother of Ho... 

St Ignatius Amidst Alaska “...at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth...” Philippians 2:10 (King James Bible) Of all the many icons and numerous drawings I’ve done of S... 

St John the Theologian “It is true that those we meet can change us, sometimes so profoundly that we are not the same afterwards, even unto our names.” Yann Martel, “Life of Pi” “Who’s gonna pay attention To your dreams ?” The Cars... 

“Robert A Johnson in the Golden World” (26 May 1921 - 12 September 2018) “You are precious in my eyes.” Isaiah 43:4 “Teach us the shortness of our lives that we may gain wisdom of heart.” Psalm 90:12 “For by grace you have been sav... 

San Jose En El Rio Grande Happy Father's Day Dear St Joseph, You alone were chosen by the Heavenly Father to love, guide and protect the Mother of God and Jesus the Son of God. You carefully walked with them until it was time for God to take you H... 

“There is only Christ : He is everything and He is in everything.” Colossians 3 : 11 In commemoration of my 40th Anniversary of Ordination to the Priesthood of Our Lord Jesus Christ , 25 May 1979, I am offering a prayer for the Canonization of N... 

San Isidro y Santa Maria y Niño : San Isidro’s Feast day is May 15 by John D. Dadosky This image actually recounts two saints. San Isidro (1070–1130) is especially popular within the Spanish-speaking Catholic communities in New Mexico. In S... 

St Joseph the Worker - May 1st. By Robert Ellsberg - Author of numerous books about the saints, and Editor of Orbis Books . “In early centuries, veneration of St Joseph received little encouragement. Much later, in the sixteenth century, St Josep... 

Saint Gemma Galgani by John D. Dadosky From the book ”Image to Insight” UNM Press 2018 Gemma Galgani (1878–1903) was born on March 12, 1878, in the village of Lucca in Italy. She lost her beloved mother at the age of seven. Gemma’s lif... 

The whole world grieves the tragic fires in Our Lady of Paris "Notre Dame of Paris". This is an illustration from The Cathedral Book, 1982, Paulist Press The Memorare Remember, O most gracious Virgin Mary, that never was it known that anyone who fl... 

Something to think and pray about-From the Irish Jesuit website, Sacred Space The Stations of the Cross is ultimately a journey of self-emptying. As we walk with Jesus toward Calvary, we see that he keeps leaving more and more of his old life behind... 

Oh, St. Joseph, whose protection is so great, so strong, so prompt before the throne of God, I place in you all my interest and desires. Oh, St. Joseph, do assist me by your powerful intercession, and obtain for me from your divine Son all spiritual... 

Blessed William Hart 1558 15 March 1583 Diocesean Priest And Martyr (On Asking Our Dear Brother In Heaven For A Commitment Not To Give Up And To Continue To Try And Live In God/Love) “Everybody looks so ill at ease, so distrustful, so displeas... 

El Buen Pastor (Taos, New Mexico * The Good Shepherd) ...and some thoughts for the beginning of Lent . The word Lent comes from the old English, “lencten,” which means”spring,” * “If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, you wi... 

Holy Hermitess Maria of Olonets + 9 February 1860 (Dedicated to all the brave firefighters who risk their lives daily for us) Both Maria of Olonets (+1860) and Blessed Anne Catherine Emmerich (+1824) died on February 9 and they share this feastday.... 

For the Feast of the Epiphany Christ Emmanuel : Cordero de Dios (After the Russian Master, Simon Fyodororvich Ushakov : 1626-1686) “And he said unto them, Unto you it is given to know the mystery of the kingdom of God...” Mark 4:11 Transfo... 

For the Feast of the Epiphany Christ Emmanuel : Cordero de Dios (After the Russian Master, Simon Fyodororvich Ushakov : 1626-1686) “And he said unto them, Unto you it is given to know the mystery of the kingdom of God...” Mark 4:11 Transfo... 

The Holy Family from "Image to Insight" book by John D. Dadosky This icon was commissioned by the Holy Family Hospital of Bethlehem Foundation (Washington, D.C.) for the hospital by the same name in Bethlehem, Israel, funded by the Knights of... 

Down in Yon Forrest ( An ancient Carol as sung by Joan Baez) Christmas card illustration 1987 Down in yon forest there's stands a hall The bells of paradise I heard them ring It's covered all over with purple and pall And I love my Lord Jesus ab... 

Our Lady of the New Advent, Gate of Heaven from "Image to Insight book" by John D. Dadosky In the winter of 1991, Bill’s work on an icon titled Christ Emmanuel was interrupted by his first and perhaps most important commission by Cardinal Staf... 

Holy World Evangelist Thomas Merton by John D. Dadosky Thomas Merton (1915–1968) was perhaps one of the most charismatic and complex personalities in American Catholicism during the past century. Since his unexpected death in 1968, his influe... 

World AIDS Day 2018 https://www.cdc.gov/features/worldaidsday/ “Mother of God Light in All Darkness, shelter Him our flame of hope with your tender hands. And in our times of dread and nightmares, let Him be our dream of comfort. And in o... 

“The Lord is close to the broken-hearted: he rescues those whose spirits are crushed.” Psalm 34:18 We grieve and mourn with all our Jewish sisters and brothers in Pittsburgh and throughout the world, in these days of the most recent murders and ... 

Today October 12th is the 20th Anniversary of the death of Matthew Shepard. His ashes will be interred in the National Episcopal Cathedral in Washington DC. The Passion of Matthew Shepard The entrapment and murder of the 24-year-old gay man, Matthe... 

St Francis Flowering Wound “I’ll hold out my hand and my heart will be in it ...” (From the song “For All We Know” By J. Coots and Sam M. Lewis 1934) On August 15, 1224, Francis of Assisi traveled some 90 miles north of Assisi to bemo... 

St. Michael of the Apocalypse For the Feast of the Archangels 29 September ***On 20 September the 100th Anniversary of the Stigmata of St. Padre Pio 1918-2018 “St Michael the Archangel, defend us in battle; be our protection against the wicke... 

“The Bride : The Church” At the heart of most of the recent Marian apparitions is the prophecy that the Church will undergo death and resurrection to be conformed to the Lamb of God. This past August a staggering new pageant of victims of violen... 

St Tarcisius of Rome The Invisible Companion (Patron of Children who are bullied) “The philosophers and the orators have fallen into oblivion; the masses do not even know the names of the emperors and their generals; but everyone knows the nam... 

St Vasily the Holy Fool of Moscow “If anyone among you seems to be wise in this age, let him become a fool.” 1 Corinthians 3:18 St Vasily, the Russian Orthodox saint, is also known as ‘yurodivy’ or holy fool for Christ. He was born of s... 

A blessed feast of Our Lady of Mt Carmel to all the Carmelites including the Third Order Carmelites. This order according to an ancient tradition was inspired by Holy Prophet Elijah, and has for centuries, given us such great saints as Simon Stock,Te... 

“Many historians have suggested that Stalin was responsible for a death total of around 20 million, citing much higher victim totals from executions, Gulag camps, deportations and other causes. Simon Sebastian Montefiore suggested that Stalin was u... 

Retablo de San Jose’ Obrero: (Retablo of St Joseph the Worker) This portrayal of St Joseph and the Child Jesus has a fairly long history. In October 1986 we had the first healing Mass for people with HIV-AIDS at Our Lady of Guadalupe Church on 14... 

St Joan of Arc and St Michael the Archangel “Life isn’t about finding yourself. Life is about creating yourself.” George Bernard Shaw St Joan of Arc was burned at the stake on the morning of May ... 

“The Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of the Church” (The new feastday proclaimed by Pope Francis, forever to follow Pentecost Sunday... Starting this year, the feast will be 21 May 2018) When I heard of Pope Francis creating a new Marian feast, ... 

St Martha of Bethany This icon was written for Steve Katsouros, SJ, Dean and Executive Director. Arrupe College, Loyola University Chicago. I asked him to write something after receiving the icon, here it is. About our friend Martha: The mul... 

Nuestro Salvador de las Sandias This icon was inspired in part by the beautiful snow scapes in Akira Kurosawa’s 1990 film Dreams. The icon depicts the resurrected Christ emerging from the winter. Christ holds a cottonwood branch, one of the first... 

St Ignatius and the Passion of the World in the 21st Century (2002) St. Ignatius Loyola (1491-1556) was perhaps one of the most influential saints in the history of Christianity. He founded the Society of Jesus (or Jesuits) and they alone have influ... 

A Meditation On Jesus (1969) By Daniel Berrigan, SJ 9 May 1921 - 30 April 2016 1. The gospel of Jesus is spoken in a world intoxicated with death mesmerized by death convinced of the necessary rule of death technologizing death acceding to... 

El Lucero Radiante del Alba (Jesus Christ Radiant Light of the Dawn) : Teenage Christ. This icon was originally painted (written) for an exhibit in Taos, New Mexico called “Sobre Muerte” (About Death) for the annual honoring of the Day of the De... 

Holy New Martyr Nestor Savchuk 1960 - 1993 Nestor Savchuk was born in the province of Crimea, southern Russia, as Nikolai Savchuk, in 1960. As a youth he excelled in boxing, wrestling, martial arts, and painting. In his twenties he began to work as ... 

The Nursing Icon of the Mother of God (Feastday, along with St Stephen , December 26) After my Mother died in August 2006, as Advent approached I was still in grief inside and couldn’t feel the usual intensity of the beautiful four weeks before Ch... 

St Peter Canisius : Doctor of the Church 1521-1597 My friend Fr Paul Begheyn, SJ commissioned this icon for the Dutch Province of the Jesuits in 1996. The first image I had for the icon was Peter wading through a thick,foggy, ominous, Grimm’s Germ... 

Our Lady of the New Advent : The Gate of Heaven The commissioning of this icon of the Archdiocese of Denver by Cardinal Stafford in 1991, was, unbeknownst to me at the time, an Annunciation of not only the New Advent , but an entirely new life for m... 

St Andrew the First Called (for St. Andrew Christmas Novena - starts on 30 November) “Hail and blessed be the hour and moment In which the Son of God was born of the Most pure Virgin Mary, At midnight, in Bethlehem, In the piercing cold. In ... 

Holy Poet-Martyr St Robert Southwell and The Burning Babe In an essay on the Spiritual Exercises of St Ignatius, Roland Barthes, the brilliant writer of linguistics, comments that this small book which was long supposed to be of little literary val... 

Christ the King : The Bridegroom (O Nymphios - in Greek) “The Lord comes out before the people, attired in the signs of his nonfulfilled kingship. In this nonfulfillment of his rule, his entire mission is contained. For if it had been fulfilled o... 

The Non-Violent Cross: and The Holy Cross of Talpa I was twenty years old and a Jesuit Novice when I read the theological masterpiece by Jim Douglass, “The Non-Violent Cross”, at a very humble place called” Charboniere Villa” (an old, warm, ... 

The Holy Souls : “The Souls of The Just Are In the Hands of God” -Wisdom 3 On April 27 2012 I was walking in the mountains with my friend and great Artist, Warren Kelly and his daughter Kaylie. I was gradually getting breathless, as if my life w... 

St Francisco Marto: "O Milagre de Fatima do Sol" "I have declared from the beginning the former things; they went forth from my mouth and I made them known; then suddenly I did them, and they came to pass, says the Lord. Because I knew that you were... 

For St Francis Day: "The Epiphany: Wisemen Bring Gifts to the Child" 1984 "... and St Lawrence the Deacon, led his persecutors looking for the wealth and treasures of the church to a house filled with the poor of Rome. He opened the door and said '... 

Holy Father Pedro Arrupe, SJ in Hiroshima with the Christ Child (For Arrupe College in Chicago) "violets here and there in the ruins of my burnt house" Shokyu-Ni 1713-1781 "a sparrows' nest perhaps inside the A-bomb dome" Kinichi Sawak... 

Holy Passion Bearer Mychal Judge, OFM 11 May 1933 - 11 September 2001 " A passion-bearer is one who faces his death in a Christ-like manner. Unlike martyrs, passion bearers are not explicitly killed for their Orthodox faith, though they hold to tha... 

The Bride : The Church "This mystery is very great, but I speak concerning the relationship of Christ and the Church." Ephesians 5:32 This is a very brief description of a complex yet mystical image St Paul calls a great mystery, but I trust you ca... 

Princess Diana : The Queen of Hearts 31 August 1997. I was living in Albuquerque for that summer to finish a triptych on Jesuit Martyrs for Boston College because I really needed my teacher’s help. I had just completed the massive work and I was g... 

Escaping the Dark Night, August 1578: San Juan de la Cruz "Before, I knew you only by hearsay but now, having seen you with my own eyes, I retract what I have said, and repent in dust and ashes." Job 42:5,6 "Where did you hide, My love, ... 

Holy New Martyr Blessed Franz Jaggerstatter "Through His bitter suffering and death, Christ freed us only from eternal death, not from temporal suffering and moral death. But Christ, too, demands a public confession of faith, just as the Fuhrer, Ado... 

"...I wish to thank you for your kind letter and the copy you enclosed of your painting of the Deposition. Your reproduction is most impressive and the theme - amor, muerte, vida -is inspiring. I would be quite anxious to see the original painting, f... 

The Shrine of St Anne This was a commission for the Church in Arvada, Colorado with the name The Shrine of St Anne. They were having their 75th Anniversary and I opened my book of Greek Icons and found this lovely depiction of Grandmother Anne hold... 

St Mary Magdalen : Contemplative of Contemplatives 22 July 2017 "This is the kind of story," Dorothy wrote, "that infuriates those who term us superstitious." Page 104 Dorothy Day : The World Will Be Saved By Beauty By Kate Hennessy Perhaps a b... 

Our Lady of Mt Carmel : 16 July 2017 "As soon as the reader has penetrated to the substance of this book, he will understand why it is dedicated to Our Lady of Mt Carmel. It is chiefly concerned with the doctrine of the Carmelite theologian, St John... 

Looking For God Outside and Within :Self Portraits With Symbols 1977 and 2014 In the time of selfies it's probably not necessary to explain why artists have long been commissioned to paint portraits or why they have looked into themselves to find ... 

Sadhu Sundar Singh 3 September 1889 - ? April 1929 I met the Sadhu through a book of his writings published in the wonderful series by Robert Ellsberg and Orbis Press the "Spiritual Masters". Then I read the beautiful biography by A.J.Appasamy whic... 

Mother of Fairest Love for Mother's Day 2017 In 1995 I had just finished the beautiful book by Carol Lee Flinders, "Enduring Grace : Portraits of Seven Women Mystics" and was inspired to work on Mechtild of Magdeburg. My Mom called concerned about a... 

Blessed Solanus Casey, OFM, Cap 25 November 1870 - 31 July 1957 1982 was the eight hundredth anniversary of St Francis' birth, and so many tributes to Francis happened around that year, including the most incredible and beautiful double album (now... 

Jesus Christ Seraphic Guardian of the Spilled Blood Here it is just near the beginning of May and why write a blog about this icon concerning the Wounds? Two reasons : 1) The Season of Easter is the season of the post resurrection appearances of ... 

The Risen Christ Appears to His Mother We all see Jesus differently, and my image of Jesus was forever and dramatically changed at age 19 when Fr John J Walsh, SJ showed us in the Jesuit Novitiate in Florissant, Missouri, Piero Pasolini’s black ... 

STATIONS OF THE CROSS The Stations of the Cross of a Person With AIDS, written and illustrated by William Hart McNichols. This piece was composed in 1989 when there was little in the way of treatment for those with AIDS. Although treatment has bec... 

Our new Patron of Victims of Slave Trafficking For the feast of St Patrick of Ireland " Unfortunately, the great Christian mystics have been generally presented as models of perfection or monuments of orthodoxy - sometimes, too, as inhumanly joy... 

"With all this, Job did not offend, nor did he put blame on God ...My heart is bursting within my breast .." Job 1:22 and 19:27 The Sire Of Sorrow (Job's Sad Song) (Antagonists) Man is the sire of sorrow (Job) I've lost all taste for lif... 

"...And All Shall Be Well. " Our Lord's message to Lady Julian of Norwich (Julian's Showings as a beginning to this Lent of 2017) I would guess to some, if not many, Julian might seem an odd choice to begin Lent. She is so hopeful and joyous, in... 

In The Cloud of Unknowing "Don't give up then, but work away at it till you have this longing. When first you begin, you find only darkness, and as it were a cloud of unknowing...." Prescient symbolism literally fills the recorded visions ... 

�Holy Passion Bearer Dorothy Stang � Sr. Dorothy Stang : Martyr of the Amazon (1931 - 2005) a new Patron of Ecology....along with St Francis and St Hildegard �I light a candle and look at Jesus on the Cross and ask for the strength to carr... 

" The image of the master one glimpse and we are in love." Zen Master Ikkyu : 1394-1481 " Oh my love for the first time in my life My eyes are wide open Oh my lover for the first time in my life My eyes can see ..." John Lennon and Yoko... 

"Egide Van Broeckhoven was the young worker-priest whose tragic death in Brussels on December 28, 1967, shocked the public. Those who knew him were aware that his work in the factory and his brutal death on the job were nothing else but the conclu... 

Christ Emmanuel and Christ Emmanuel Lamb of God Today begin the O Antiphons found in the beautiful, haunting, Advent hymn: "O Come O Come Emmanuel!" There are two versions of this song, (I am most fond of) which are very different; one is truly s... 

Our Lady of the New Advent : Gate of Heaven Our Lady of the New Advent : the Burning Bush It's often said that one person or event can change your life forever , but can one painting or artwork ...in this case an icon change you forever? This on... 

This recent Jesuit Martyr Thomas Anchanikal was beheaded on October 25 1997 like two of the "Apostles to India" before him, St Thomas the Apostle and St John de Brito. I hope if you are moved to do so, you will look up his story on google. I painted ... 

Nuestro Padre San Francisco de Asis It�s no exaggeration to say that Francis was probably one of the few true fundamentalists that have ever lived. Once he was converted at age 25 he looked to the Gospels for every step of his way. If Jesus said �... 

Mother of the Incarnate Word In 1996 I was asked to do five icons for the Jesuits at Boston College and it was in Boston I met Fr Jim Martin, SJ who was a theology student at the time. His community wanted an icon that would be a Contemplation on ... 

St John the Forerunner : Feast of the Beheading of St. John the Baptist 29 August So many powerful, spiritual and artistic images of John the Baptist swirl around me today on the feast of his martyrdom. John's two feasts begin and end the season of... 

St Louis IX and his son Philip III Patron of France and Bridegrooms It's easy to look at the Medieval world and criticize it, and it's saints, from our "much wiser and less violent " world, which we all realize is not true. From any point of view, ... 

The Dormition of the Mother of God She sleeps who knew no rest here. Promised early on a knife in her soul watching relatives, friends, multitudes, dividing, deciding, and finally calling for the blood of the Word clothed in her very own f... 

Our Lady and the Holy Child Jesus Visit St Ignatius the Convalescent in Loyola "...But in that house none of those books which he normally read could be found, and so they gave him a life of Christ and a book of the lives of the saints in Spanish ... 

St Andrei Rublev : 1370-1430 Patron of Iconographers : feast day 4 July Any list of the top 10 or 15 movies ever made will contain Andrei Tarkovsky's masterpiece Andrei Rublev also known as The Passion of Andrei Rublev. " ... In Tarkovsky's own tu... 

I assisted at a funeral today and this first reading spoke to me of the great tragedy and grief we all feel about the murders of innocent people in Orlando. A reading from the Book of Lamentations 3:17-26 My soul is deprived of peace, I have for... 

The Bride : Images of the Church By Daniel Berrigan, SJ Orbis Press, 2000 I have been unusually blessed to have prophetic, poetic as well as very talented writers look into the icons which have been "given to me." This includes Megan McKenna, Fr. ... 

In May this year, Pentecost and also the traditional month of Mary: Mother of God Similar To Fire Published by Orbis Press In 1990 I bought my first book on icons published by Rizzoli, New York. It is called simply "Russian Icons" by Father Vladi... 

Come Holy Spirit and renew the face of the Earth. Inspire us to care for her as well as each other. Inflame us with the courageous love of Holy Father Pope Francis to include all people in the voice and ministry of our Mother Church. St John X... 

I was asked by Tim Rivera to do something for the room in the Rivera Funeral Home, in Taos New Mexico, which might bring Hope and Comfort to families of all Faiths, as they sit in the main room during a service for their deceased loved ones. I thoug... 

As we enter Springtime, I'd like to bring you to Therese. Although we love all the saints for different reasons, when in great difficulty I always call on her as my 911 Saint . No one else answers so quickly. No one else makes you feel like she kno... 

The Risen Lord Appears To His Mother Mary I think my favorite painting of the Resurrection is the dazzling multicolored rising Lord by Matthias Grunewald where the shroud is lit with color and a large glowing rainbow aureole surrounds Christ. And ... 

Holy Week and Our Lady of Magadan I believe it was during this same time, Holy Week in 1994 that I completed this commission for (now deceased) Archbishop Hurley of Anchorage, Alaska to give to the Orthodox Bishop of Magadan, Far East, Russia. Magad... 

Mary, Mother of Mercy (Dedicated to Pope Francis in this Year of Mercy) "...Send your Spirit and consecrate everyone of us with its anointing, so that the Jubilee of Mercy may be a year of grace from the Lord, and your Church, with renewed e... 

Variation On Our Lady of Sorrows "For I know that my redeemer lives ..." Job 19:25 As a part of the Passion Triptych I had painted (written) an icon of Our Lady of Sorrows that shows the Blessed Mother lifting up one empty hand, the very hand t... 

For Lent 2016: Jesus Christ Morning Star (Jesucristo El Lucero Radiante del Alba) Following the murders in 1999 of the teenagers at Columbine High School in Colorado , I began to imagine creating an Icon of Jesus as a teenager. It seems that the ... 

Michele L. Catanese has a Master’s degree in Christian Spirituality as well as certification as a Spiritual Director and Retreat Director from Creighton University in Omaha, Nebraska. She was a Religious of the Cenacle for 7 years during which time... 

The Silence of St Thomas Aquinas ( feast day January 28 ) In my six year apprenticeship with master Iconographer, Friar Robert Lentz, OFM, I began to experience the importance of the silent mystery in so many enigmatic icons, such as Mother of God ... 

St Catherine of Siena: Guardian of the Papacy (1347-1380) For the people of the Church of the Risen Savior, Albuquerque, New Mexico (From their Pastor Fr Timothy Martinez) One of my favorite biographies of Catherine is by her spi... 

St Jude Patron of the Impossible Feast Day October 28 I can remember living in NYC in the 80's and continually seeing on the back page of local alternative newspapers the words "Thank you St Jude for ..." A multitude of things. There was never a ... 

3 card choices for Christmas 1) Our Lady of Maryknoll In light of Pope Francis recent beautiful Encyclical, "Laudato Si" about our care and concern for "our common home", I chose this icon of the Holy Child lovingly holding our world, for this Ch... 

St Teresa of Avila:Doctor of the Church (she is shown with the hands of Christ) This year is the 500th Anniversary of Teresa's birth in 1515 "One day while I was in prayer, the Lord decided to show me just his hands. I could never describe such... 

Viriditas : Finding God In All Things An image with Icons too, created for Loyola Chicago University 5ft x 10ft When Fr Mark Bosco, SJ commissioned me to paint his dream of these saints holding up the World, my question to myself was � How do the...