St. Athanasius of Alexandria was “the Lion” of the Council of Nicaea. He was instrumental in providing well argued testimony rebuking the heretic Arius during the Council’s debates. His verbal skills, as […]
Saint Nicholas Slaps a Heretic! A Reflection Appropriate for Palm Sunday
The extensive Gospel reading for Palm Sunday relates the Scriptural and historical truth that Jesus triumphantly entered Jerusalem, yet, five days later He was arrested, put on trial, tortured, and executed. As […]
St. Joseph’s Art Workshop: Lesson 4 – Applying Color and Modeling the Face
Just wanted to notify the people who are following the art lessons in my St. Joseph Art Workshop tab that I just published Lesson 4: Applying Color and Modeling the Face. You […]
Fra Angelico – “Heaven on Earth” Exhibition – Part 2 – Ascension, Pentecost, the Last Judgement
I hope you had a blessed Feast of Pentecost! Please read Part 1 of “Fra Angelico – Heaven on Earth” (posted here on May 16, 2018) in order to receive a proper […]
Fra Angelico – The “Heaven on Earth” Exhibition – Part 1
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 […]
St. Joseph the Worker and Sacred Artists
Today, May 1, is the memorial of St. Joseph the Worker. I chose him to be the patron of St. Joseph’s Art Workshop (found within this site’s Menu Tab at the top […]
St. Michael and the Archangels
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 […]
The Gospel of John 1:35-42 – An Invitation to Follow Jesus
In our Gospel today we hear John the Baptist proclaim “Behold the Lamb of God.” We see in our mind’s eye, Andrew and another disciple, probably St. John, listening to the Baptist […]
The Way of Beauty On-Line Course and Reimbursement Scholarship Opportunities
The mission of the Fra Angelico Institute for the Sacred Arts is to teach the truth, goodness, and beauty of God through the prayerful creation of sacred art. We are happy to […]
Sin and the Sacred Artist
Our society is quite adept at pointing out the sins and foolishness of others. Cable TV, radio talk shows, and various web sites love to dwell on the ignorant and immoral actions […]
PREPARE! Bruno Mars in Light of Matthew 5: 13-16
If you had the opportunity to watch the Super Bowl half-time show last weekend you saw that there were a number of symbolic messages that were being sent by the producers and […]
Baptism, Discipleship, and the Art of Lorenzo Lotto
In our Gospel last week we stood at the banks of the Jordan River and witnessed Jesus’ baptism by John the Baptist. Today we hear John announce to all that the Spirit of […]
Mary and Joseph’s “Yes” – The Risk of an Open Heart
Our Gospel today (4th Sunday of Advent, Matthew 1: 18-24)) provides us with the story of a young couple, Mary and Joseph, who through their pondering of God’s request for understanding and trust […]
The Virtue of Christian Responsibility
This weekend’s Gospel (26th Week in Ordinary Time) about Lazarus, and a rich man by the name of Dives, is filled with very concrete images about the virtue of Christian responsibility. Jesus’ […]
Roger of Helmarshausen O.S.B. – Theophilus the Presbyter: Part 3 – The Prologues
Last February, in Parts 1 and 2 of this article, I shared with you some thoughts on an important figure in the history of Western European art: the Benedictine monk, Roger of […]
Pope Benedict 16th and the Virtues of Humility and Patience
May the Peace of Christ be with you on this unique day in the history of the Roman Catholic Church. Today we commemorate the memorial of Our Lady of Lourdes which reminds […]
Gaudete Sunday In Light of the Tragedy in Newtown, Connecticut
Today we celebrate Gaudete Sunday. Gaudete means, “Rejoice!” – and we visualize this by the rose-colored vestments and candle in the Advent wreath. Yet, it is so difficult to rejoice in light […]
St. Lucy – Patron of the Blind
On December 13th of every year we remember the life and death of Saint Lucy. Lucy was the virgin martyr who was put to death in the year 304 during the great […]
The Immaculate Conception of Mary – The Beauty of the New Eve
We are about to begin the second week of Advent and as you may know the word Advent has its root in the Latin word adventus which means “coming.” The liturgical term […]
The Exaltation of the Holy Cross of Jesus
Today we celebrate the feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross. During the first 280 years of its life the Catholic Church was severely persecuted. The symbol of the Cross, the […]
The Assumption of Mary
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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, […]
