FLIGHT

When the Magi came in search of Jesus, they go to Herod the Great in Jerusalem and ask where to find the newborn "King of the Jews". Herod becomes paranoid that the Child will threaten his throne, and seeks to kill Him . Herod initiates the Massacre of the Innocents in hopes of killing the Child (Matthew 2:16). But an angel appears to Joseph and warns Joseph to take Jesus and his mother into Egypt (Matthew 2:13).

Arcabas

Egypt was a logical place to find refuge, as it was outside the dominions of King Herod, but both Egypt and Palestine were part of the Roman Empire, linked by a coastal road known as "the way of the sea", making travel between them easy and relatively safe.

Interesting to note the Flight into Egypt is one of the listed Seven Sorrows of Mary.

At Al-Maṭariyyah, then in Heliopolis and now part of Cairo, there is a sycamore tree (and adjacent chapel) that is a 1672 planting replacing an earlier tree under which Mary was said to have rested, or in some versions hidden from pursuers in the hollow trunk, while pious spiders covered the entrance with dense webs.

The Flight into Egypt was a popular subject in art, showing Mary with the baby on a donkey, led by Joseph, borrowing the older iconography of the rare Byzantine Journey to Bethlehem. Before 1525, it usually formed part of a larger cycle, whether of the Nativity, or the Life of Christ or Life of the Virgin. After paintings of the Nativity of Jesus, the Flight is the most popular subjects in the life of the Christ Child.

The artist of these painting is one of my new favorites and to me conveys the mystery of this feast in a way words cannot.  His use of colors in his art is vivid and wondrous.

Jean-Marie Pirot known as ARCABAS, a name given by his pupils, is a French contemporary sacred artist. Born in  Tremery, France in 1926, he moved to Canada in 1969, where he was appointed guest artist by the Canadian government, and was a professor of the University of Ottawa. In 1972 he moved back to France  and founded the atelier Éloge de la Main. Since 1986, he lives and works in St Pierre de Chartreuse, near Grenoble. His works are usually inspired by stories of the Bible. Of himself and his work he says:

"I took to calling myself a painter and it is a fact that I paint ten hours a day, two hundred and fifty days a year. The hundred or so remaining days are given over to wanderings, distress and the obstinate search for a "consciousness of being", suddenly lost and without which nothing is possible, especially not the passionate and often hazardous creation of those sorts of mirrors that we call works of art.

Let's say that any clear-sighted person is revealed in their thoughts and actions which, like a mirror, reflect back their own image, revealing their true selves. In this regard, a work of art provides a good example: as a mirror for its creator, it has the further faculty of revealing in a discreet but sure way, the whole creation.

Joseph's Dream (take the Mother & Child)

Days without inspiration are dark ones. They remind us constantly, as the author of Ecclesiastes does, that all is dust and returns to dust. This very fact kills all forms of joy and hope. But on a closer look, this reality hides another axiomatic one: this cosmic dust, more or less coagulated and assembled in diverse forms, holds in its inmost being the Spirit of the Universe. Docile and friendly, this divine medium can be led astray, separated and made diabolical. But, captured in its innate unity, it bears the phosphorescent clarity of meaning and flows, thus enriched, like an incandescent river towards a greater destiny, a new form in the Creation.
This is, par excellence, the raw material, made of Earth and Heaven, that is used by artists, these frank and open imitators, to whom, for sure, God grants His smile and His tenderness."

CHRISTMAS ROSE

J. Kirk Richards

The Child Jesus to Mary, the Rose
A Ballade John Lydgate, OSB
Translated by Jacob Riyeff


My Father above, seeing your hopeful meekness,
spread balm like dew on Roses where you stood
and sent his Spirit, greatest summit of cleanness,
into your breast (O Rose of womanhood!)
when I for man was born in humble manhood:
for this, with myriad Roses of heavenly sway,
I rejoice to play before your holy face.

Kindest mother! who from the first enclosed
the blesséd bud that sprang out of Jesse,
of Judah you are the single perfect Rose

J. Kirk Richards

chosen by my Father for your firm humility—
you the purest, never fading, bore me:
for this, with myriad Roses pure and chaste,
I rejoice to play before your holy face.

O mother! mother! in great mercy you stand,
fairest mother living on whom we call!
Though I have suffered bloody wounds for man,
five Roses there are among them all
against whose mercies devils fight and fall.
Rose of succor, hear man’s surest grace:
when to me they pray before your holy face.


John Lydgate (c.1370-1449/50) was a Benedictine monk of
Abbey of Bury St. Edmunds in eastern England. He is
best known for his prolific work as a poet. He saw himself as
following in the footsteps of Geoffrey Chaucer. He wrote on
many topics and in many genres, but the monastic cast
of his poetry, which combines piety and learning, is evident
throughout. I have translated here one of Lydgate’s short
poems, a Chaucerian ballade with rime royal stanzas.

J. Kirk Richards

Joel Kirk Richards (born 1976) is an American artist who specializes in Judeo-Christian themes.
He was raised in Provo, Utah and studied at Brigham Young University.  Richards attributes much of his love for the arts to an early emphasis on musical training in his parents’ home.

Much of Richards's work focuses on the life of Jesus. Two years in Rome influenced his art, which often consists of subdued browns and rusts. His love of the textural, the poetic, and the mysterious makes his art unique.

A BLESSED CHRISTMAS

This year I chose as my personal Christmas card the lovely  "Madonna of the Fir Tree" which I first saw some years ago when our then Archbishop Brunette used it as his greeting. Other than the gentle, vivid loveliness of the piece, what strikes me is the crow sitting in a tree to the left of the Virgin.  A little research on the artist let me to this information:.

Marianne Stokes (1855-1927), born Marianne Preindlsberger in the Austrian province of Styria, was an Austrian painter. She settled in England after her marriage to Adrian Scott Stokes (1854-1935), the landscape painter, whom she had met in Pont-Aven. Marianne  was considered one of the leading artists in Victorian England. Her  paintings were met with much love and admiration, both for their appeal and her devotion to the rustic genre style, no matter the subject.

THE MOTHER OF ALL PEOPLES

J. Kirk Richards

The fifth and final woman listed in Matthew's genealogy is Jesus' mother, MARY. She is depicted as a young woman, a virgin, who was engaged to Joseph. Engagements were serious contracts between two families usually lasting about a year before the couple was formally married and began to live together. The penalty for sexual misconduct was anywhere from being stoned to death to annulling the engagement (divorcing her, Matthew 1:19) and sending the woman back to her family in disgrace.

The genealogy of Jesus is a description of the descent of Jesus. The New Testament provides two: one in the Gospel of Luke and another in the Gospel of Matthew. Matthew's starts with Abraham, through King David and his son Solomon, down the legal line of the kings via Jeconiah to Joseph. Luke gives a different genealogy, starting with Adam, through Nathan, a minor son of David, and again to Joseph.


St. Hilary, Bishop of Poitiers, made the astute observation that Mary and Joseph belonged to the same clan and so would have common descendents. Her genealogy is given in Luke 3 . She was of the tribe of Judah and the lineage of David. She was connected by marriage with her cousin Elisabeth, who was of the lineage of Aaron (Luke 1:36).

Joseph was clearly the son of Jacob (Matthew 1:16), Thus, the genealogy of Christ in Luke is actually the genealogy of Mary, while Matthew gives that of Joseph.

Arcabas

 The two genealogies show that both parents were descendants of David: Joseph through Solomon (Matthew 1:7-15), thus inheriting the legal right to the throne of David, and Mary through Nathan (Luke 3:23-31), her line thus carrying the seed of David, since Solomon’s line had been refused the throne because of Jechoniah’s sin.

Matthew inserts four women into the long list of men. The women are included early in the genealogy, as we have mentioned in past Blogs, Tamar, Rahab, Ruth, and  Bathsheba. Why Matthew chose to include these particular women, while passing over others such as the matriarchs Sarah, Rebecca, and Leah, has been much discussed.

There may be a common thread among these four women, to which Matthew wishes to draw attention. He sees God working through Tamar's seduction of her father-in-law, through the collusion of Rahab the harlot with Joshua's spies, through Ruth the Moabite's unexpected marriage with Boaz, and through David and Bathsheba's adultery.

It has been suggested that Matthew may be preparing future generations for the inclusion of the Gentiles in Christ's mission. Others point out an apparent element of sinfulness, emphasizing God's grace in response to sin.

Matthew gives us the story of Joseph's struggle with Mary's virgin conception. He is described as a good man who did not want to bring disgrace or death on Mary, but struggled with believing that she had not been unfaithful to him. Joseph does believe Mary after an angel appears to him in a dream and confirms what Mary told him.

Left unsaid is how Mary had the courage to tell Joseph that she was pregnant. But that courage and willingness to be the servant of the Lord (Luke 1:38) enabled her to bear the shame of a pregnancy before marriage and to be the mother of the Messiah.

Our first four women in Jesus genealogy were in the Old Testament, His Mother Mary is the "new Eve", entering into the salvation history of her Son, our Redeemer, the King not only of the Jews, but all peoples.

Nativity- Brian Kershisnik

FAITHFUL WOMAN (RUTH)

Naomi with her Two Daughters-in-Law-Chagall

Perhaps no woman is more “immortalized” in the Old Testament than RUTH, a widow and a Moabite who became the daughter-in-law of Rahab. Ruth's story is a beautiful one of loyalty. She is one of the few women in the Bible who have a whole book named after her. Her vow to the mother of her dead husband has become a classic quote, often used in weddings to indicate the bride's and/or groom's intentions of loyalty.

Ruth Gleaning- Chagall

Ruth remains loyal to her mother-in-law Naomi after the death of her husband and in-laws. Naomi decides to return to her home land of Bethlehem alone, however, Ruth insists on staying with her and adopting Naomi’s God as her own. “But Ruth said, "Do not urge me to leave you or turn back from following you; for where you go, I will go, and where you lodge, I will lodge. Your people shall be my people, and your God, my God” (1:16).

We then see Ruth gleaning in the fields of Naomi’s relative Boaz. Boaz out of compassion and obedience to the law allows Ruth to glean but also leaves extra grain for her purposely. Shrewdly, Naomi advised the young woman how to catch her man. Ruth approached Boaz during the night, at the threshing floor. The next morning, Ruth suggested that they marry, reminding Boaz of his obligation to her as her nearest male kin. Boaz promised to do all he could. Ruth's loyalty was rewarded and she became his wife. She had a son called Obed, and Naomi cared for the child, who would grow up to be the grandfather of King David.

Ruth at the Feet of Boaz- Chagall

Ruth's loyalty to Naomi, led to a faith in and loyalty to the God of the Jews. In the tradition of her new mother-in-law, Rahab, Ruth became a part of the lineage of Jesus because of her faith.

Even Ruth, a foreigner from the despised Moabites, could move God's plan towards fulfillment. Its purpose was to demonstrate the kind of love, and faithfulness that God desires for us. It shows the difference between what happens when a nation does not follow in obedience to the covenant of God (Judges), and when God’s people follow in faithfulness within the covenant (Ruth).



Ruth     Thomas Hood (1799–1845)

She stood breast high amid the corn,
Clasped by the golden light of morn,
Like the sweetheart of the sun,
Who many a glowing kiss had won.

On her cheek an autumn flush,
Deeply ripened;—such a blush
In the midst of brown was born,
Like red poppies grown with corn.

Round her eyes her tresses fell,
Which were blackest none could tell,
But long lashes veiled a light,
That had else been all too bright.

Ruth & Boaz- Chagall

And her hat, with shady brim,
Made her tressy forehead dim;—
Thus she stood amid the stooks,
Praising God with sweetest looks:—

Sure, I said, heaven did not mean,
Where I reap thou shouldst but glean,
Lay thy sheaf adown and come,
Share my harvest and my home.

(STOLEN LAMB - BATHSHEBA)

Bathsheba- Paul Cezanne

Another woman mentioned in Jesus' genealogy is only referred to as "Uriah's wife" (Matthew 1:6), emphasizing the fact that BATHSHEBA became King David's wife only after committing adultery with David, who then arranged for her husband to be killed in battle to cover up their shame (2 Samuel 11-12). Again, shame is often assigned to Bathsheba because she was bathing on the roof of her house when her beauty happened to catch the king's eye.

Bathsheba was from David's own tribe and the granddaughter of one of David's closest advisers. She was the mother of Solomon, who succeeded David as king, making her the Queen Mother.
The story is told that David, while walking on the roof of his palace, saw Bathsheba, who was then the wife of Uriah, having a bath. He immediately desired her and later made her pregnant.

In an effort to conceal his sin, David summoned Uriah from the army (with whom he was on campaign) in the hope that Uriah would re-consummate his marriage and think that the child was his. Uriah was unwilling to violate the ancient kingdom rule applying to warriors in active service. Rather than go home to his own bed, he preferred to remain with the palace troops.

After repeated efforts to convince Uriah to have sex with Bathsheba, the king gave the order to his general, Joab, that Uriah should be placed in the front lines of the battle, where it was the most dangerous, and left to the hands of the enemy where he was more likely to die. David had Uriah himself carry the message that ordered his death. At the news of his death, we are told that Bathsheba mourned for Uriah, which makes us wonder what her part in the whole affair really was.

David & Bathsheba- Chagall

David's action was displeasing to the Lord, so He sent David's close friend  Nathan the prophet to reproved him for his actions.The king at once confessed his sin and expressed sincere repentance. Bathsheba's child by David was struck with a severe illness and died a few days after birth, which the king accepted as his punishment.

David made the now widowed Bathsheba his wife. David is clearly the one in control. The difference in status and power would have made it impossible for Bathsheba to resist David's advances. What we learn from this sordid affair is that God can transform situations and bring about newness and hope. David repented of his sin and had a genuine marriage with Bathsheba, resulting in the birth of Solomon, known for his wisdom.

Even where society did not encourage the inclusion of females in genealogies, the faith of these four women of the Old testament  was so strong they burst out of the confines of the socially accepted norm. God is able to take those who appear insignificant and unlikely to succeed and transform them into important witnesses to the power of God! An Advent lesson for us all!

David & Bathsheba- Chagall

FEASTS AND BIRTHDAYS

Immaculate Conception- Peru- 1700s

This week we have in the middle of Advent, two great feasts of the Blessed Virgin Mary, and birthdays for two of us in the monastery.  This first is December 8, the IMMACULATE CONCEPTION of Virgin Mary and Mother Mary Grace's birthday.  While there are many famous paintings of the Immaculate Conception, most notably Murillo's, I have chosen two lesser known works for this day.

Few doctrines of the Catholic Church are as misunderstood as the dogma of the Immaculate Conception of Mary. Many people, including many Catholics, think that it refers to the conception of Christ through the action of the Holy Spirit in the womb of the Blessed Virgin Mary. That event, though, is celebrated at the feast of the Annunciation of the Lord (March 25, nine months before Christmas).


The Immaculate Conception refers to the condition that the Blessed Virgin Mary was free from Original Sin from the very moment of her conception in the womb of her mother, Saint Anne.

Imm. Conception- Cuzco (Peru) School- 1700s

In teaching that Mary was conceived immaculate, the Catholic Church teaches that from the very moment of her conception, the Blessed Virgin Mary was free from all stain of original sin. This simply means that from the beginning, she was in a state of grace, sharing in God's own life, and that she was free from the sinful inclinations which have beset human nature after the fall.
She is patoness of  The United States.


The second great day, December 12,  is my birthday and the feast of OUR LADY OF GUADALUPE, patroness of the Americas.  Here I offer two modern depictions of her, one by my dear santero friend, Br. Arturo Olivas, SFO.

He says of her:
Mary, the Mother of Christ bears many titles, which witness to her enormous appeal as a heavenly advocate for all people. As the Mother of the Redeemer she is especially effective in drawing her Divine Son to those who are in particular need of His love and compassion. Such was the case when she appeared to Juan Diego, an Aztec convert, on Tepeyac Hill near Mexico City in December of 1531.

Arturo Olivas

Stephen Whatley- England

The native people of Mexico were devastated by the Spanish conquest. Hundreds of thousands died in warfare, disease, and slavery. Their culture was shattered and their spirits were leveled by the onslaught of an alien worldview. Mary appeared as an Indian woman on a site formerly dedicated to Tonantzin, the Aztec mother goddess, and spoke to Juan Diego in his native Nahua. She assured her motherly love and concern to the Indian people of the New World and to all people who suffer and are oppressed. As proof of her appearance she left her image on Juan Diego’s tilma or cloak which hangs today in the Basilica of Guadalupe in Mexico City.

Mexican settlers brought devotion to Our Lady of Guadalupe to New Mexico as early as 1598. New Mexican artists called santeros painted her image on pine panels with natural pigments and sealed with pinon sap varnish. She is always shown with her hands clasped in prayer and wearing a rose-colored robe and a blue or green mantle while standing on a crescent moon supported by a cherub and surrounded by a golden mandorla.