Category: Religious Art

Art, Catholicism, Christian Spirituality, Christianity, Images of the Infant Jesus, Jesus Christ, New Evangelization, Religious Art, Roman Catholic, Sacred Art1 Comment

Christ Child by Fra Angelico

Deacon Paul O. Iacono

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 Year!  May the blessings of the child Jesus and the adult Savior remain with you, and your loved ones, throughout the coming months. We thank you so very much for your support, advice, and participation, and we look forward to sharing new artistic adventures with you during the next year! Thanks again for all that you have done to make the Institute meaningful and helpful in the promotion … Continue reading Christ Child by Fra Angelico

Art, Artists, Beauty, Beauty built on Gospel Values, Catholic Art, Catholic Spirituality, Catholicism, Christianity, Mary, New Evangelization of the Catholic Church, Religious Art, Roman Catholic, Sacred Art, Sacred Images, Spirituality, stone and glass art, UncategorizedLeave a comment

Five Days Before Christmas: A Unique Story About The Graciousness of God

Deacon Paul O. Iacono

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 commandments and ordinances of the Lord – they were blameless; but they have no child. Elizabeth was barren and both were elderly. We read of Zechariah silently bringing his heavy heart before the Lord – even after all those years – it was still burdened with disappointment. The couple probably remembered Psalm 112 which says: “Happy the man who fears the Lord, who takes delight in his commands. … Continue reading Five Days Before Christmas: A Unique Story About The Graciousness of God

Art, Beauty, Beauty built on Gospel Values, Catholic Art, Catholic Devotions, Catholicism, Gospel Reflections, Mary, New Evangelization of the Catholic Church, Religious Art, Roman Catholic, Roman Catholic Beliefs, Sacred Art, The Blessed Virgin Mary1 Comment

The Immaculate Conception – A Time To Reflect On The Meaning of Mary

Deacon Paul O. Iacono

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 Jewish holy tradition. Mary was born within the royal line of King David and was betrothed and later married Joseph, a respected Jewish carpenter from Nazareth. Little is known of Mary’s day-to-day life other than the references to her in the Gospels. Those early references indicate that she was a loving, concerned, and devoted person. During her Son’s ministry she attended the wedding feast at Cana, was present at … Continue reading The Immaculate Conception – A Time To Reflect On The Meaning of Mary

Art, Artists, Beauty, Beauty built on Gospel Values, Catholic Art, Mosaics, Religious Art, Sacred Art, Sacred Artists, stone and glass artLeave a comment

Stones and Sea Glass Can Tell A Story – The Art of Valerie Szlatenyi

Deacon Paul O. Iacono

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 the name of Valerie Szlatenyi. In our discussion she shared with me the work she had recently done for the Wakefield Baptist Church Memorial Garden here in Wakefield, Rhode Island. The work is a large garden mosaic casting in glass and stone. It appears in a quiet corner on the Baptist Church yard grounds. Valerie described the process she went through as she decided upon her composition for … Continue reading Stones and Sea Glass Can Tell A Story – The Art of Valerie Szlatenyi

Art, Artists, Beauty, Beauty built on Gospel Values, Catholic Art, Catholicism, Jesus Christ, Mary, New Evangelization, New Evangelization of the Catholic Church, Religious Art, Roman Catholic, Sacred Art, Sacred Artists, Sacred Images, The Blessed Virgin Mary, Uncategorized1 Comment

A Custodian of Beauty – The Talent of Artist Jamie Medeiros

Deacon Paul O. Iacono

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 lovely young woman by the name of Jamie Medeiros. She explained that she was from Massachusetts and that she, too, had been touched by the Holy Spirit to offer people the opportunity to blend the creation of beauty with personal prayer. She described the process through which she currently leads people to express themselves in art while they are praying – actually to make prayer part of their … Continue reading A Custodian of Beauty – The Talent of Artist Jamie Medeiros

Catholic Art, Catholicism, Jesus as a teenager, Religious Art, Roman Catholic, Sacred Images, UncategorizedLeave a comment

The Lovely Work of Artist Trudy Manney

Deacon Paul O. Iacono

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 restores statues. If you ever visit St. Francis Church you will see the beautiful job she did in restoring the statue of our Blessed Mother. Trudy correctly composed the colors of Our Lady’s garments and did a fine job in her color choice for the skin tones of both the Blessed Mother and the infant Jesus. Besides the restoration of the Blessed Mother’s statue, Trudy also recently restored … Continue reading The Lovely Work of Artist Trudy Manney

Catholic Art, Catholicism, Lace Needlework, Needlework, Orthodox Art, Religious Art, Roman Catholic, Sacred Art, Uncategorized2 Comments

The Beautiful Lace Needlework of Esther Paris

Deacon Paul O. Iacono

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 Institute is to deepen the prayer life of its participants by evangelizing the truth, goodness, and beauty of God through the understanding and creation of sacred art. Some of our members were involved in this effort before they became participants in the Institute – evidence that the Holy Spirit is working in many different ways, through the efforts of a variety of talents, to express the truth, beauty, … Continue reading The Beautiful Lace Needlework of Esther Paris