Tag: Epiphany

Malinda K. Reese and the Feast of the Epiphany 2023

On By Deacon Paul O. IaconoIn Roman Catholic, Three Wise MenLeave a comment

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Today’s Feast of the Epiphany celebrates the revelation of the Incarnation of God, as the child Jesus, to the gentile nations. The Gospel of Mathew (Mt 2: 1-12) speaks of distinguished foreigners Balthazar, Caspar, and Melchior, as they traveled to the home of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph. Three travelers bearing gifts to a Child whose future mission they cannot comprehend. A mission which resulted in excruciating death and glorious resurrection.

The beautiful Church of the Incarnation in Montefrio, Spain was the setting for Ms. Malinda K. Reese’s singing of the 1300 year old Latin Rite monastic hymn “O Come, O Come Emmanuel.” The church was empty at the time of her visit and the natural acoustics of its design beautifully enhanced her voice. Ms. Reese is a singer/songwriter, actress, and YouTube vlogger.

Please listen to her very short performance twice (click on the link below).  In the first viewing it will be natural to watch the foreground, listen to her sing and notice her reactions to the church’s acoustics. In your second viewing, concentrate only on the background – the church’s interior.

The hymn begins with a large life-size crucifix behind her and the camera then circles the interior, the video ending with a direct view of the altar and tabernacle. It is a view which presents us with an explanation of the mission of the Christ Child for it simply points to the Cross. It leads us to our faith in His resurrection, the truth of His words in the Scriptures, and our belief that He is present in the Holy Eucharist at every Mass and in every tabernacle in the world.

Emmanuel: “God is with us.”    Let us raise our eyes and offer Him the gifts of our hearts, minds, and souls.

“Rise up in splendor, Jerusalem. Your light has come, the glory of the Lord shines upon you. See, darkness covers the earth, and thick clouds cover the peoples; but upon you the Lord shines, and over you appears his glory. Nations shall walk by your light, and kings by your shining radiance. Raise your eyes and look about; they all gather and come to you…bearing gold and frankincense, and proclaiming the praises of the Lord.”    (Isaiah 60:1-6)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IlNBnzyiomU

Painting: detail – Christ Child from the Madonna delle Ombre (Madonna of the Shadows), 1450, fresco by Fra Angelico (Guido di Pietro, c.1387-1455). Museo di San Marco dell’Angelico, Florence, Italy.

Copyright © 2011- 2023 by Deacon Paul O. Iacono – All Rights Reserved. Permission to reprint my essays in their entirety and/or my personal paintings must be obtained from me by using the comment box and making a comment/request on the post. I will respond to you through answering in the comment box. Students, and those interested, may quote small sections of my essays as long as the proper credit and notation is given. Thanks.

Whose Star Do We Follow?

On By Deacon Paul O. IaconoIn Art, Artists, Beauty, Catholic Art, Catholicism, Jesus Christ, Roman Catholic, Sacred Art, Sacred Artists1 Comment

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 of men because in Christ Jesus there cannot be Greek or Jew, slave and free man. In order that this should be foreshadowed in Christ’s birth, he was made known to men and women of all conditions, because as St. Augustine says, the shepherds were Israelites, the Magi were Gentiles, the first were near, the latter from afar: both hastened to Christ the cornerstone…. The Magi were wise and powerful, the shepherds, simple and lowly. He was also manifested to the just, Simon and Anna, and to sinners, namely the Magi. And also both to men and to women… so as to show that no human condition was barred from His salvation.”

Dominican Father Andrew Carl Wisdom, OP adds to these observations the following prayer: “Newborn King, you show no partiality in your love for us. Young or old, rich or poor, educated or uneducated, you could not love us any more in the next moment than you do in this moment. But my witness wavers at times, Lord. I lose track of the real Star, caught up in becoming one myself. Help me to once again kneel before you like a little child and open up my treasuries of time and talent on behalf of the work which I was sent.”

As you know, this blog is dedicated to evangelizing the truth, goodness, and beauty of God through the study and creation of sacred art in His honor. As artists the meaning of the Epiphany is very important solemnity to us. Why? Because it reminds us and redirects our creative efforts away from following the supposed light and friendship of the secular world, the television, the political party, or the glow of the computer screen, to the true Light – the Light emanating from the face of Christ.

Yes, we have to exist within our particular culture. We have to make a living and provide for ourselves and our loved ones. Yet, as Christians, Jesus Christ’s manifestation to the Magi asks us to remember that we must live in the world but not have our souls be overcome or compromised by it. The shepherds and Magi were changed by the Light of Christ’s face – may His Light and Presence change us, too.

Image of Jesus Christ by Blessed Fra Angelico (1387 – 1455).

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