SHE'LL BE COMING AROUND THE MOUNTAIN WHEN SHE COMES!

About a year ago, when I brought home the magnificent icon of St. Sebastian, written by Mother Iliana of the Christ the Bridegroom Byzantine Monastery, asked if I had another saint that I wanted because people were asking about commissions and there would be a waiting list.  (There is a waiting list now measured in years.)  I asked for St. Joan of Arc because I was ordained on her feast day and my class took her as our patron.

I received a phone call about a week ago that said that St. Joan was ready and that I could come pick her up!  Fr. Anthony and I, feeling a little housebound, jumped on the chance for a road trip to Burton, Ohio where the Monastery is.  

When we got there, the sisters were not quite ready to greet us so we went to visit the shrine which was technically closed (and VERY muddy) which made it nicer for us to pray.

The monastery is under quarantine by order of their bishop so we couldn't go in so Mother Iliana brought Joan out to us.  

 Here is just a glimpse of St. Joan.  I don't want to completely reveal her until her feast day.

But let me say this - this is a phenomenally gorgeous icon!  Well done!  I love it and am looking forward to praying with it!  It is the same size as our St. Sebastian icon which stands at the front doors of the church currently to remind to pray through the intercession of St. Sebastian who is the saint to invoke against the spread of contagious diseases.

GUEST BLOGGER: I CON SEE YOU

Today's guest blogger is 13 year old David Beatty of St. Sebastian who gave this presentation when we unveiled the new icon of St. Sebastian written by Sr. Iliana of Christ the Bridegroom Monastery, in Burton, OH, to help us celebrate our 90th anniversary:

The Creation and Spirituality of Icons

The Panel

The panel is traditionally of wood. Plywood or MDF (medium density fibre board) is often used as cheaper options, especially for large panels, but the longevity of these as a support is unknown. We know that icons on wood have survived many centuries but MDF and plywood are inventions of the twentieth century so only time will tell. The board is sized with an animal based glue and allowed to dry.

The Ground

This is made of gesso, which is the Italian word for gypsum, or calcium sulphate. The gesso is made by mixing the gypsum, or whiting powder, in an animal based glue such as rabbit skin glue or gelatin. Several coats of gesso are then applied with a brush and allowed to dry between coats. Usually at least 8 coats of gesso are needed to make a good ground.
The ground is then smoothed with an abrasive paper or scraper. The resulting surface is white and smooth and is the only suitable surface for painting in egg tempera.

The Drawing

A line drawing is made of the icon to be painted and this is transferred to the gessoed panel by coating the back of the drawing with a powder pigment and tracing with a suitable instrument. The drawing is then brushed over with ink to make it more stable for painting.

The Gilding

Usually the haloes and (if required) the background are then gilded. This may be oil gilded (using transfer gold) or water gilded using layers of bole (a type of red clay) and gold leaf. In either case real gold is used. Water gilding allows tooling (embossing) of the gold and finishing with olipha. If oil gilding is used then the icon may be finished with shellac or a proprietary varnish.

The Painting

The icon is painted with pure powdered pigments, mainly earth colours, which are mixed (tempered) with egg yolk. The dark colours are painted first and then the lighter colours are added. Any very small gold details are then added. Finally the face and hands are painted – this brings the whole icon to life.

Finishing

The icon is then allowed to dry for a few weeks and is then be coated with a varnish for protection. The varnish is usually olipha, which is a mixture of refined linseed oil and stand oil.

An icon can be viewed as just a piece of art or it can be viewed as a spiritual work of grace created for the glory of God. The simple creation of an icon is not complete without constant prayer during the creation and finishing of an icon. It’s not just art and it should be viewed as such; a symbol of love for our lord.

Icons have had a place in Christian worship as early as we can establish. In the broader sense, icons may be found in basic wall paintings, graffiti of crosses and symbols on ancient tombs, to magnificent frescos, icons and stained glass windows in churches and cathedrals.

“In the beginning was the Word,” wrote St John. “He is the image [ikon in Greek] of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation,” wrote St. Paul. We meet him still in both word and image. Icons may be beautiful, but they do not exist just to add a little color or a special atmosphere to the rooms they happen to be in. They’re there to help us pray. An icon that isn’t being used in prayer is like a musical instrument not being played or a cookbook that never gives birth to a meal.

Praying before an Icon is just the same as praying before anything else like a crucifix or an altar. Although with the icon the preferred position of prayer is known as the Orant. This is to expose your body in heart mind and soul to the spirituality of the icon.

No icon is ever prayed the same way. As the icon is created different prayers are used specific to what the icon is an image of. The wood base is used to symbolize the cross and crucifixion of our Lord, the simple earthly colors display the pain and plainness during the time he was dead, and the gold symbolizes his glorious resurrection.

No less than the written

word, an icon is an instrument for the transmission of Christian tradition and faith. Through sacred imagery, the Holy Spirit speaks to the believer, revealing truths that may not be evident to those using only the tools of reason. And this is one of the most important aspects of the spirituality of icons, that they teach us that dogma, which is the revealed knowledge of God, is first and foremost beautiful. The icon gives us the sight of the saints, and reveals Christian dogma, such as the Trinity and the Incarnation, as being extremely beautiful.

The ecumenical council of 787 AD stated that the Icon was equal with Scripture, since it instructs with shape and colour in the same way as Scripture with words. Thus, icons do not simply attempt to instruct us about the life of Christ or the saints depicted, but they instruct us in the Theology of the Church. And the eyes, posture, colour and gesture come together to point to Theological truths.

The spirituality of icons also results from the fact that the icon is silent. No mouths are open, nor are there any other physical details which suggest sound. But the silence is not empty. St Ignatius, bishop of Antioch, made the comment: “He who possesses in truth the word of Jesus, can hear even its silence.”

The above was prepared for St. Sebastian Parish by Mr. David Beatty, age 13, for the dedication of the 90th anniversary St. Sebastian icon.

THEOLOGY ON TAP, AKRON: OH WHAT A NIGHT

Less than 48 hours ago I looked out my window and saw THIS:

Today I look out my window and see THIS:

It's a beautiful world isn't it?

That is why I've not been blogging.  It is not good to get sand in your computer.

Anyway, I got back just in time for my day away from the parish.  (See how that works?)  But it was still a busy day around the office.  It was Theology on Tap Akron Day and Mother Theodora was coming to speak.  So before hand (they were coming all this way after all) I decided to have the nuns from Christ the Bridegroom Monastery over for dinner along with some priests and seminarians.  It began with the social hour: 

Then we moved in to the dinning room where Marcy and her outstanding crew made us a delightful dinner.  Terri even made cookies with the parish seal on them - and she made the table cloth - and the arranged the flowers.  It was awesome because if I had taken care of it, we would have ordered pizza.

In the above picture to the far right is Sara Lynn who was just accepted as a postulant!  Congratulations!  Please keep her in your prayers.

Below is Mother Gabriella practicing a song a tap number that she was about to perform.

Okay, I was COMPLETELY kidding about that.

Here is most of the gang that was here yesterday.

Then we moved on over to the church where they sang Byzantine Vespers for us.  The parish and community was invited to join us.  It was beautiful.

Then we jumped into our cars and drove out to the Winking Lizard in Peninsula for Theology on Tap, Akron!

There were a lot of priests and seminarians there.  Thanks for coming out guys.

The reason that I really like THIS picture . . .

Is because it reminds me of THIS picture.

Mother gave a great talk to a packed house.

Fortunately we had a little more room this time because the restaurant moved us to a larger room!

I hope you are able to join next time on March 8th when Fr. Marty Miller will be speaking.  Also, on February 20th, I will be speaking at Theology on the Rocks at D'Agnese's on White Pond for those of you who are adults but not necessarily with the adjective "young" before it.

Thank you to Eric Eirmann, Rocco, our MC, and everybody who helped make it a great night.  

Thanks also to Visitation Parish for sponsoring the evening.

Thanks to St. Joseph Parish, Cuyahoga Falls for letting us borrow their sound system.

ToT Akron is a ministry of St. Sebastian Parish.  If you are interested in sponsoring a night, please contact me!

LAST MINUTE THINGS

I'm not going to be able to post for a couple of days (at least I think) but there was a couple of things I wanted you to catch if you didn't already:

Wednesday, February 8th, Mother Theodora will be speaking at Theology on Tap Akron at the Winking Lizard in Peninsula.  Doors open at 7:00PM.  ToT Akron.

Just before that, 5 or 6 of the nuns from Christ the Bridegroom Monastery will be at St. Sebastian to pray Byzantine Vespers (or Evening Prayer) at 5:45 and YOU are invited!  Please come and join in prayer as they chant the prayers for and with us.  For those who are interested, there will be time then to jump into our cars and head out to Peninsula for Mother's talk.

The Akron Beacon Journal ran a great article on the front of the Lifestyle section last week about ToT Akron.  If you missed it or want to see more pictures go HERE.

Theology on the Rocks kicks off in February.  It is for adults with no prefaces (such as young or old.) It will be on Monday, February 20th at D'Agnese's on White Pond, Akron.  Doors open at 7PM.  Cost is $10.  Fr Valencheck will be the first speaker.

STILL LOOKING - STILL PROCRASTINATING

Today Christmas trees and wreaths are being placed around the church.

Today I continue my writhing over my Christmas homilies.

*sigh*

Yesterday I was blessed to visit with the good sisters at the Christ the Bridegroom Monastery in Burton, Ohio.  Sitting in the kitchen while they busied about their duties I asked them if they had any ideas for Christmas homilies.  Here are some:

“You know, Mary didn’t have time to get the manger ready, but the manger would have to greet the Christ Child just the same.  Even though we are so busy and may feel unprepared, we must greet him with what we have.”

 “Mary didn’t have time to ‘nest.’”  (I think I get what that means.)  “Invite her and the Holy Family to nest in your heart, to find rest, comfort, and time to ‘be’ in your heart.”

I’m not sure I’m the best one to talk about nesting though.

“God gives us this longing as a gift a Christmas.  We try to fill it with all kinds of things and when all of the commotion and distractions cease, we may feel a bit of a let down if we have not filled they cradle sized space in our hearts with the Christ child.”

Pretty good stuff guys.  I’ll let it marinate a little while longer while I avoid writing again by posting your ideas.

THANKS!

ROAD TRIP

So yesterday I wrote to you that I was going to be away from the parish most of the day with two of the seminarians who are staying at and working for the parish over the summer to go to Christ the Bridegroom Monastery to visit the sisters there and check on the progress of the St. Sebastian icon.  It is over in Burton, Ohio surrounded by an Amish community.  We passed a couple of buggies on our way.

We had lunch and chatted and then Sister Iliana FINALLY asked, "So, do you want to see the icon?"  It was killing me being polite while the anticipation built.  So we made our way to the icon room and got our first glance of St. Sebastian.

It is marvelous.  Better than I hoped.  But it isn't done yet.  She has to wait several months before putting on the last coats.  Everything needs to dry.  She was concerned about a delivery date but I assured her that we actually don't NEED it until 2018, the 90th anniversary of the parish.

On a whim she painted the background blue which turns out to be fortuitous.  The church building of St. Sebastian is largely blue in the interior due to the first pastor's devotion to the Blessed Virgin.  So that just turned out cool.

Across the street is a shrine dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary.  You can go visit it yourself.  A number of people visited it while we were there praying and looking around.  The first thing that you come across is this church.  It doesn't look like much from the outside but the inside is pretty cool and conducive to prayer.

Then you take a long walk back to the outdoor shrine.  

This is the main shrine on the property but there are many more minor shrines such as to Fatima and Lourdes.  Some of it is in disrepair but the community seems to slowly restoring it to what it once was.

Then there are these bells.  I need them.  I promised not to make too much noise but I had to ring them at least once and Sister was kind enough to let us have at it.