As we approach the conclusion of the Fortnight for Freedom, we draw near to the decisive hour, an hour of decision in the history of our great nation; an hour which truly […]
Deacon Paul O. Iacono
I am an ordained Roman Catholic deacon from the Diocese of Providence, Rhode Island, USA. In 2009, my wife and I founded the Fra Angelico Institute for Sacred Art. In 2010 we received the blessing, and permission to proceed with implementation from his Excellency the Most Reverend Thomas J. Tobin D.D., Bishop of the Diocese of Providence, RI, USA.
All faiths are welcome to my site and, hopefully, will discover some article or piece of sacred art that will catechize, challenge, comfort, and assist in their creativity, artistic curiosity, and faith in the Roman Catholic Church.
The current mission of the Fra Angelico Institute for Sacred Art is threefold:
* To catechize and evangelize the truth of the dogma, doctrines, and traditions of the Western Rites of the Catholic Church and to express how this applies to the Western and Eastern Rites' sacred art;
* To promote the prayerful creation of sacred art in the traditions of both the Western and Eastern Rites; and
*To support the union of the Christian artist's prayer life to their creative process.
Even though the Institute is directed toward the catechization and edification of Catholics, all faiths are welcome and free to comment on anything they read in my blog.
Please see the "About the Founders" page on the website for more information; you may subscribe to our blog at fraangelicoinstitute.com. Thanks and welcome!
3rd Century Bronze Medallion of Saints Peter and Paul
In response to a valuable comment made about my post – Part 2 – Icons, Icon Painters, and Praying with Sacred Images, I thought everyone would enjoy seeing one of the oldest […]
When People Or Governments Get In Our Face
Recently I received a rather funny email from a friend concerning a God loving Marine coming to terms with an atheist professor. It triggered, however, a serious reflection on how we, as […]
Seeds of Faith and Art
In our Gospel today, from St. Mark Chapter 4: 26-34, we have two important parables concerning the reign of God: the first concerns the farmer’s sowing of seed and the second refers […]
Icons, Icon Painters, and Praying With Sacred Icons: PART 3
My favorite sacred icon of Our Lord Jesus Christ is the 6th century encaustic icon of Christ Pantocrator (Christ The Almighty One) from St. Catherine’s Monastery in the Sinai Peninsula. This sacred image was a […]
Part Two: Icons, Icon Painters, and Praying With Sacred Icons
The sacred icon is a visual aid that helps the person enter into a conversation with God, an angel, or a saint. If a sacred icon is to be painted with this […]
A New Class of Iconographers Begin Their Studies: The Work of The Holy Spirit
On Wednesday evening, May 23rd, ten members of the Fra Angelico Institute for the Sacred Arts here in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Providence, Rhode Island USA were commissioned and blessed to […]
Icons, Icon Painters, and Praying With Sacred Icons: Part One
A few issues have come up in discussing some basic terms with people. I would like to be clear on how I have come to understand these words because it may affect […]
St. Matthias and the Renewal of Easter Hope – The Lord Loves His Friends
Today is the feast day of St. Matthias. The Acts of the Apostles relate that Matthias was chosen by lot to replace the disciple who had betrayed Jesus in the garden. In […]
Stones that Sing – The Photography of Dennis Aubrey and PJ McKey
A few months ago I discovered the exquisite photography of Dennis Aubrey and PJ McKey. They have a blog here on WordPress called Via Lucis. Their post of May 10th discusses and […]
ORO et CREO: PART THREE – A Personal Reflection
This is the third part of a three part series on a Spirit filled idea called Oro et Creo (“I Pray – I Create”). This idea was started by artists Jamie Medeiros […]
ORO et CREO: I Pray – I Create – Part Two – A Wonderful Idea For Your Church
This is the second part of a three part series with Jamie Medeiros, an artist whose parish is in Tiverton, Rhode Island, and Deacon Tom Lambert, a Permanent Deacon within the Diocese […]
ORO et CREO: “I Pray – I Create” – Part One
Soon after an article appeared in our Diocesan newspaper (The Rhode Island Catholic) in June 2011 on the Fra Angelico Institute for the Sacred Arts, I spoke on the phone with a […]
Shaped By The Potter’s Hands
All of us struggle with the reality that the experiences of our life may harden our hearts and deafen our ears to God’s truth. We may be similar to the disciples in […]
Our Living Hope: The Tomb Cannot Hold Us
Catholics, Orthodox, and Protestants – we are all an Easter people. For two thousand years we have – through faith in historical documents and human witness – been invited to believe in […]
Holy Saturday Meditation: Something Strange Is Happening
“Something strange is happening – there is a great silence on the earth today, a great silence and stillness. The whole earth keeps silence because the King is asleep. The earth trembled […]
Good Friday Meditations
It was about nine in the morning when they nailed Jesus to the cross. From noon until three o’clock there was darkness over the whole world. At three o’clock, Jesus cried out […]
What Does The Silence Of Christ Say To Us?
In the passage from the first Epistle of Peter known as the Canticle of Peter (1 Peter 2: 21-24) Peter describes Jesus’ acceptance of His passion. He explains: “Christ suffered for you, […]
The Solemnity of the Annunciation – The Confident Sacrifice Of A Pure Heart
Many years ago, Blessed John Paul 2 spoke to the seminarians of Rome on this, the Solemnity of the Annunciation. He began his homily with the phrase: “Fear not!” Echoing the archangel’s comments […]
The Artist As Contemplative – Part 4 – A Meditation on the Scourging of Christ
In this series on the Artist As Contemplative it is my hope that you are exposed to some different techniques that may assist you in your prayer relationship with Our Lord. The […]
The Feast of St. Joseph – Universal Patron of the Church
At the birth of Christ, the seven hundred year old messianic prophecies of the prophet Isaiah became an historic reality. On a yearly basis, we celebrate and remember that moment on the […]
The Artist As Contemplative – Part 3 – Prayer Tips
Today, we are asking our good friend, St. Teresa of Avila to help us in the process of thinking clearly about prayer. She is a worthy mentor – for she cuts to […]
The Artist As Contemplative: Part 2: A Simple Step Into Prayer By St. Teresa of Avila
In our last post, The Artist as Contemplative – Part 1: The Proper Approach, we discussed the need to have the proper approach to prayer. One of the assumptions that I have is […]
The Artist As Contemplative – Part 1: The Proper Approach
All artists, by their very nature, contemplate. They are natural born contemplatives. In its dictionary definitions we see that the word contemplate means: 1) “to intently look at something, 2) to study […]
Making Room In Your Heart for God, Prayer, and Creativity
The Gospel of St Mark, chapter 9: 14-29, challenges us to ask ourselves the question “How does the effective disciple of Jesus live his or her life?” Clearly the ineffectiveness of Jesus’ […]
Perilous Times For People Of All Faiths
There is a very striking phrase from yesterday morning’s Gospel: Mark says, “…and when they got out of the boat, the people at once recognized Him…” – they immediately recognized Him. The […]
The Demons Say “We Are Legion.” Jesus says “Trust Me.”
The Gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke all contain the story of the demoniac from the territory in northern Israel called the land of the Gerasenes. They describe the fact that the […]
St. Vincent of Saragossa – Martyr – And An Artistic Challenge!
Today, January 23rd, is the Feast Day of Saint Vincent of Saragossa. St. Vincent was a deacon and served as a minister and trustworthy pastoral assistant of Bishop Valerius, of Saragossa, Spain. […]
Whose Star Do We Follow?
St. Thomas, in his Summa Theologiae, has a wonderful meditation on today’s Solemnity of the Epiphany. He says that “Salvation was to be through Christ and apply to all sorts and conditions […]
Christ Child by Fra Angelico
To all the friends, followers, and members of the Fra Angelico Institute for the Sacred Arts, We wish you all a very Merry and Holy Christmas Season and a grace filled New […]
Five Days Before Christmas: A Unique Story About The Graciousness of God
A very clear narrative greeted us in yesterday morning’s Gospel by St. Luke. He tells us that both Zechariah and his wife Elizabeth were both righteous before God: walking in all the […]
Sacred Photography – A Shot That Will Rock Your Soul
The following photograph haunts my mind. I found it on the blog (http://soulblindministry.com/2011/12/12/necessity/) of an artist who had a horrific life changing experience and has now turned his life, and possibly his art, […]
A Beautiful Pregnant Young Woman And Her Message To A Weary World
Today’s feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe, the patroness of all the Americas, recalls the apparition of our Blessed Mother on the hill of Tepeyac in present day Mexico City from December […]
The Joy Filled Christian – A Sermon on Survival in the Face of Tribulation
Today is Gaudete Sunday. Gaudete means “Rejoice!” The Church has us visualize this by the rose colored candle in the Advent wreath and the rose colored vestments. Gaudete Sunday appears at the […]
The Immaculate Conception – A Time To Reflect On The Meaning of Mary
1) Mary’s Personal History Tradition tells us that Mary was the daughter of Saints Joachim and Anne. They were devoted Jews who raised their child to be loyal and pure within the […]
Stones and Sea Glass Can Tell A Story – The Art of Valerie Szlatenyi
One of the first St. Francis of Assisi parishioners to contact me to become a member of the Fra Angelico Institute for the Sacred Arts is a wonderful lady and artist by […]
Just A Minute Mr. Disney – Let’s Take A Look At The Art Of Peter D. Spaine!
Another South Kingstown, Rhode Island artist, a fine gentleman by the name of Peter D. Spaine, contacted me this past summer when he read about the Fra Angelico Institute for the Sacred […]
Shades of Monet – The Art of Eric Peter McLaughlin
The Fra Angelico Institute for the Sacred Arts, as a gathering place for sacred artists to create, share, learn, and pray together about their creation of sacred art, has blossomed into a […]
A Custodian of Beauty – The Talent of Artist Jamie Medeiros
After an article explaining the mission of the Fra Angelico Institute for the Sacred Arts appeared last June in our Diocesan newspaper, the Rhode Island Catholic, I received a call from a […]
The Lovely Work of Artist Trudy Manney
One of the Institute’s members, Trudy Manney, has been an important contributor to St. Francis of Assisi Parish here in Wakefield, RI for many years. She is a painter and she also […]
The Beautiful Lace Needlework of Esther Paris
Two weeks ago, at our Autumn Meeting of the Fra Angelico Institute for the Sacred Arts, some of the members displayed examples of their secular and sacred art. The mission of the […]
The Fra Angelico Institute’s Appearance on Catholictv.com
My wife and I were invited by Catholictv.com to appear on their network on November 4, 2011 to explain the Fra Angelico Institute for the Sacred Arts and its relation to the […]
Fra Angelico and Your Mission as a Sacred Artist
The following is a homily that I gave during the Inaugural Mass of the Fra Angelico Institute for the Sacred Arts which occurred on Friday October 28, 2011 at St. Francis of […]
Beauty Built on Gospel Values
David Clayton, artist in residence at Thomas More College of Liberal Arts in New Hampshire, has written a wonderful essay that capsulizes the essential nature of what Pope Benedict 16th is saying […]
Our Lady of the Rosary
All the events of human history have to be backlit by the reality of our faith that God does not abandon His people. An example of this truth is today’s memorial of […]
St. Francis of Assisi, Simplicity, and Sacred Artists
Today is the feast day of St. Francis of Assisi. He is one of the patrons of the Fra Angelico Institute for the Sacred Arts. St. Francis reminds us how we admire, […]
Sacred Artists Must Be Empty Vessels
In this morning’s Gospel St. Luke is clear that Jesus is carefully listening to the argument that breaks out among His disciples as to who is the greatest among them. One translation […]
The Challenge of Sacred Iconography – Part 2: The Byzantine Empire – Justinian and the Church of Holy Wisdom
As we continue our discussion of sacred iconography it is imperative that we take a historical view and look at the major contribution the Byzantine Empire and its civilization made to this […]
The Triumph of the Cross and Our Lady of Sorrows by Jed Gibbons
Today we celebrate the feast of the Exaltation – or Triumph – of the Holy Cross. The early Catholic Church was intensely persecuted during the first 280 years of its life – […]
David Clayton, Needle Arts, Music, and the Creation of Beauty
My wife Jackie and I had the pleasure to meet Mr. David Clayton, artist-in-residence at Thomas More College of Liberal Arts in Merrimack, NH at a lecture he gave this week in […]
