Category: Assumption of Mary

Assumption of Mary, Blessed Mother, Blessed Mother Mary and St. Joseph, Catholic, Catholic Education, Catholic Spirituality, Catholicism, Christian Spirituality, Christianity, Church History, Education, Evangelization, Faith, History, Mary - Our Blessed Mother, Motherhood, New Evangelization, Popes, Religious Art, Religious Education, Roman Catholic, Roman Catholicism, The Blessed Virgin Mary, The Queenship of Mary, Virgin MaryLeave a comment

The Assumption of Our Mother Mary – We Venerate Her Today

Deacon Paul O. Iacono

We celebrate the Solemnity of the Assumption of Mary. In her honor let us review some the Church’s truths; dogmas which progressed to the point of Venerable Pope Pius XII proclaiming the meaning of the Blessed Mother’s life and her Assumption into Heaven. We are able to see this progression through Sacred Scripture, the various early ecumenical Councils of the Church, the individual writings of the early Church fathers (such as St. Cyril of Alexandria, St. John Cassian, St. Vincent of Lerins, St. Irenaeus, Tertullian, St. Augustine, St. John of Damascus, and the Gothic Missal of the 6th century). The … Continue reading The Assumption of Our Mother Mary – We Venerate Her Today

Angels, Art, Art Education, Artists, Assumption of Mary, Beauty, Catholic Art, Catholic Education, Catholic Spirituality, Catholicism, Christian Spirituality, Christianity, Education, Evangelization, Faith, Fra Angelico, Fra Angelico's Paintings, Jesus Christ, Mary, Mary - Our Blessed Mother, Motherhood, New Evangelization of the Catholic Church, painting, Roman Catholic, Roman Catholicism, sacred, Sacred Art, Sacred Artists, Sacred Images, Spirituality, The Queenship of MaryLeave a comment

Fra Angelico’s Four Reliquaries for the Church of Santa Maria Novella – Part 4 of the “Heaven on Earth” Exhibition

Deacon Paul O. Iacono

Today’s post is Part 4 in my series that began on May 16, 2018 concerning the recently concluded exhibition of extraordinary egg tempera paintings by the Dominican friar Beato Fra Angelico. The exhibition was held at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston, Massachusetts during the Spring of 2018 and was entitled Fra Angelico – Heaven on Earth. Nathaniel Silver, Associate Curator of the Collection for this exhibition, includes in his book, Fra Angelico – Heaven on Earth, articles by eleven scholars. Each paper is a quality contribution to scholarship. There is one article authored by Chiara Pidatella, entitled “The Provenance of … Continue reading Fra Angelico’s Four Reliquaries for the Church of Santa Maria Novella – Part 4 of the “Heaven on Earth” Exhibition

Art, Art Education, Artists, Assumption of Mary, Beauty, Beauty built on Gospel Values, Catholic Art, Catholic Education, Catholic Spirituality, Catholicism, Christianity, Education, Evangelization, Faith, Fra Angelico, Fra Angelico's Paintings, Gospel Reflections, Hope, Mary, Mary - Our Blessed Mother, Motherhood, New Evangelization, New Evangelization of the Catholic Church, Religion, Religious Art, Renaissance Art, Roman Catholic, Roman Catholic Beliefs, Roman Catholicism, sacred, Sacred Art, Sacred Artists, Sacred Images, Spirituality, The Blessed Virgin Mary, Uncategorized2 Comments

Fra Angelico – The “Heaven on Earth” Exhibition – Part 1

Deacon Paul O. Iacono

The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston, Massachusetts is the only venue in America for the extraordinary “Fra Angelico: Heaven on Earth” exhibition. This amazing collection of reliquaries which express the life of the Virgin Mary, and other paintings of the greatest painter of the Early Renaissance, will be on display until this Sunday May 20th, 2018. Earlier incorrect media reports had the last day as May 28th. I will be posting my photos of the Gardner Museum’s exhibit starting with this post and continuing on through the upcoming weeks and months. The exhibit consists of more than just the … Continue reading Fra Angelico – The “Heaven on Earth” Exhibition – Part 1

Angels, Archangels, Artists, Roman Catholic, Roman Catholic Beliefs, Roman Catholicism, Sacred Art, Sacred Images, Saints, St Gabriel, St Michael, St Raphael, Uncategorized4 Comments

St. Michael and the Archangels

Deacon Paul O. Iacono

On this day, September 29th, the Western Rite of the Catholic Church celebrates the Feast Day of Saints Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael (the Eastern Rite celebrates it on either November 8th or 21st depending whether or not they use the Gregorian calendar). Pope St. Gregory the Great (AD 540 – 604) mentions in one of his homilies: “You should be aware that the word “angel” denotes a function rather than a nature. Those holy spirits of heaven have indeed always been spirits. They can only be called angels when they deliver some message. Moreover, those who deliver messages of lesser … Continue reading St. Michael and the Archangels

Assumption of Mary, Catholic Art, Christianity, Fra Angelico's Paintings, New Evangelization of the Catholic Church, Religious Art, Roman Catholic, Roman Catholic Beliefs, Sacred Art, Sacred Images, UncategorizedLeave a comment

The Assumption of Mary

Deacon Paul O. Iacono

St. Paul’s Letter to the Romans (8:30), sets that stage for this great solemnity: “Those God predestined He likewise called; those He called He also justified; and those He justified He in turn glorified.” Today we celebrate the solemnity of the Assumption/Dormition of Mary. This is an ancient celebration documented as occurring as early as the 400’s, probably soon after the Council of Ephesus in 431 declared Mary the Theotokos: the Mother of God. In a homily on the solemnity of the Assumption, Pope John Paul II used  John 14:3 as a Scriptural foundation for understanding the dogma of the Assumption … Continue reading The Assumption of Mary

Assumption of Mary, Catholic Art, Gospel Reflections, Iconography, Mary, Orthodox Art, Sacred Iconography, Sacred Images, The Blessed Virgin Mary4 Comments

The Dormition – Assumption of Mary

Deacon Paul O. Iacono

Over the past two weeks, our Sunday Gospels have stressed the truth that to be a faithful disciple of Christ we must keep our focus – in good times and bad – on Jesus. On August 15th, the solemnity of the Assumption/Dormition of Mary, the Church again directs our gaze – for in focusing on Mary we see not only our Queen – but the one true sign – the Great Sign – who points the way to her Son. Her signature was that of a perfect disciple – for she possessed the confident competence and the courageous commitment – … Continue reading The Dormition – Assumption of Mary