Art is colorful, Sacred Art is chlorophyll.Sacred art is to the Cosmos what honey is to a flower.
The Laying hen does Theology, the Broody does Sacred Art.
Open eye--Beauty...closing eye--Essence
open hands--Industry...closing hands--Wealth
open heart--pain...open heart--painful meaning...open heart...meaningful art
If All Truth were a string of pearls Sacred Art would be the clasp that holds it round our neck.
When Theology lays her problems to rest Sacred art dreams the solution.
Sacred Art is to Sacred science what a dream is to the days worry.If Christ is the Sun, and truth is the light, theology is a lens and Sacred art a prism.

We were made for eternity; this life a snapshot of our life in God. This life is real but captured in an appearance; captured in a passage of time which stands still against the backdrop of eternity to which it is present, past and future...all as one. Even at this moment my soul touches the eternity to which it was destined in that my past and future and all the experiences and actions contained in them are embraced in the present person; the "me" that endures. I say me because I am the object to whom eternity happens. God and the saints and all spiritual creation, of which I am a member, are outside of and unbound to time. Even in this world with its necessity to tread through the series of points is, now that Christ came united as one of those points, the present moment of God's eternal indwelling.

To God, all my past and future actions ebb into and flow from my present being. And I am present to Him as one outside of time; united to the life of Christ(which was beyond of time in all its implications) even though time has passed.

There then is one action or, as it were "un-action" which turns the present moment into an eternal NOW and links this passing world with this un-passing eternity. This un-action is the simple yet complete opening of the soul in God's direction: the turning to God, even as He is not understood, and "letting Him". It is the sitting in His Presence(letting this choice to "abide" in His Presence be the only necessary acknowledgement as far as the intellect goes); sitting and opening(clearing) our minds of anything but this desire to be filled.[The clearing of our minds is not so much an active dispelling of thoughts as it is a detaching of any importance upon any physical or mental activity].

As detached, open, and restful souls---we are souls in Paradise. And there we are really present though as blind and unaware of the divine radiance which surrounds us. Much like the blind down here are unaware of the light which illuminates this natural world; a world which they nevertheless enjoy and experience in non-visible ways.

"The kingdom of God is at hand." meaning not that it is almost here or soon to be acquired but that it is here...NOW. And it was Christ who brought it. "I have overcome the world"Jn 16

Where God is--there is Holiness in its fullness. Is it realized? not always and never fully. Unrealized Glory...much like the glory and radiance of Christ, though real, is not perceived in the appearance of the Eucharistic Bread. We are a eucharist. The "appearance of Bread" is the time-boundedness of our earthly existence which still contains the fullness of Christ's unrealized presence.

Christ is present here even among the sinners for, when God comes, He comes undivided. All are in Christ as He said "I shall draw all men to myself" John 12. All creation is drawn into Christ and Christ has bound Himself to the world. He is attached to creation as if nailed hand and foot.

• "Though He had done no evil...the Lord was pleased to crush Him. If He gives His life as an offering for sin He shall see His descendants in a long life and the will of the Lord shall be accomplished through Him."Is 53

God sent Him into the world and, though the world received Him not, it unwittingly forever attached its Saviour to itself."Have you seen Him whom my heart loves?... I took hold of Him and would not let Him go."Song of songs 3

He is nailed to the world not that this should oblige Him to stay, "I have power to lay [my life] down and power to take it up again." but so that we are drawn to where He is going,"I am going to the Father".

• "You will weep and mourn while the world rejoices. You will grieve for a time but your grief will be turned to joy." John 16

Creation has been bound to God as though it has entered into a womb and attached to His very own Nature; distinct yet inseparable as an unborn child is inseparable from its mother. We are bound to Him for"He is the vine and we are the branches." and "The Father is the vine-dresser. He prunes away every barren branch."John 15

Every branch, barren or fruitful, is attached to the vine and through openness to the vine the branch has life.

• "If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked him and he would have given you living water...Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life."John 4

If you thirst, ask Him for water. Our action of openness leads to life in Christ.

• "You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit...fruit that will last. Then the Father will give you whatever you ask in my name. This is my command: Love each other."
• "Live in My love"
• "Remain in My Word"
• "...that in Me you may have peace"

• "...PEACE. NOT AS THE WORLD GIVES..."

The Kingdom of heaven is here. Do we believe this?

What if I were placed under the tree of Life and I saw it laden with beautiful sweet-smelling fruit. And what if I was Adam and had just to reach up and take a bite? Would I have been removed then from the garden and taken up into bliss? Or would I simply have lived a good pleasant time in the garden and after a long earthly stint of peaceful walking with God enter into the beatific vision? Did God not originally intend the Garden to be the Paradise for man so that man in union with his God could till the soil and participate in His creation; show gratitude for his love? And how would I show gratitude? Would it be perhaps by taking the very best of the work of my hands and offering it to God-a sacrifice like Abel's? Sacrifice is giving to God. Would eating of the Tree of Life assure me that I wouldn't get blisters from the plow, stub my toe, or that my arm hairs wouldn't get singed when I put another stick on the fire? Would the immortality of Eden have been an otherworldly existence or would it simply have been the journey through God's plan for my earthly existence until such time that He should deem fit to sweep me up in a fiery chariot like Enoch, Elijah and Our Blessed Mother? Would I not till the garden with the knowledge that I was immortal? Would I be yearning for God to take me up as soon as possible so that I wouldn't have to work? If I were Adam would it cross my mind to ask God if I could share in His own intimate life?

We always seem to think of heaven in terms of our future. We think that this earth is a place we have get out of. But, even Adam(remember--no sin, straight from the hand of God) was put down here with a job to do and a life that was distinct from the eternal bliss of heaven. So, no matter what, we as humans were meant to be here right where we are, walking in the footsteps of Adam some thousands of years later. Be patient, we have it lucky, we get beatific vision in 70 +/- years. Adam lived over 900!!

SO here is the $64000 question: SINCE CHRIST HAS COME HOW IS THIS PRESENT LIFE DIFFERENT FROM EDEN? INDEED COULD IT IN A WAY BE BETTER?

We, of course, yearn for an end to pain and suffering or rather an end to the evils that cause them. But having said that,"I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us."Romans 8:18 Could this be saying that we have, right now, a glory that will on that day be revealed? This is exactly what Christ came to tell us."You have already been made clean by the words which I have spoken to you"(Jn:in the teens somewhere...I'll google it later...ok)

I don't see any good reason why a Christian would wish away his own physical death. Though, unlike Elijah, we may not go out "in style" we still won't have a whole lot to miss, really. All we need to know is that we are really immortal "I tell you the truth, if anyone keeps my word, he will never see death."John 8:51...immortality--check!...and our loved ones won't be long coming(as soon as we are outside of time they'll come by for a visit).

What is the point of "imagining" that we are in Eden now, through the Second Adam's obedience? !!!Because it means that we can live as IMMORTALS!!! Although an immortal would avoid pain and suffering He/She certainly wouldn't feel threatened by it. Does an immortal fret about money? He just quietly works and pays bills knowing that it is the game we play down here. Does an Immortal fear death--all the time--look around. ---WE ARE IMMORTAL---

What does this all amount to? PEACE!!!

PEACE!!! and more PEACE!!!

"Jesus said to her, 'I AM the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?'"John 11

The Sacred arts have certainly not provided a stable income for myself and my family so I have developed an appreciable amount of skill as a custom woodworker.  However the Sacred arts are my main focus now as the economy has recently "adjusted" my income landscape(how is that for a euphemism?).  I have roughly four months to impress everyone and establish a semi-viable presence in the Sacred Arts world.  So keep myself and my family in your prayers and keep checking up on my progress. 

Glad to be a part of the community, 

Manuel aka Sophomorov

 (the -morov is actually 'moron' but the greek "n" is a "v" which allows this 'idiot' to pretend he is russian(though officially I am just an ordinary moron)--thought I might as well come clean early on.) 

 it's been a while juan!!

Just finishing up a labour of love - the web space for the Diocese of St. Catharines ( saintcd.com ). I had the pleasure of creating a media campaign that resulted in this TV Spot below. Please let me know what you think.

[video:http://vimeo.com/31127064 400x225]

One day as I was reading a book on the art of screenwriting, I came across a passage that intrigued me. It was in the section dealing with how to construct characters within a screenplay, and the passage ran something like this: “The quality of a character is revealed through choice. The higher the stakes involved in the choice, the greater the revelation of character.” That idea has remained with me since then, not only as a tool for defining characters in my own screenplays, but also as a tool for living.

            But what does this idea of choice mean, exactly? Well, let’s look at an example. Pretend, for a moment, that your life is a movie, and you are the hero, (or at least a significant character, hopefully) and you are presented with a choice: will you wear a black hat or a white hat? Now, old Western movies aside, as far as choices go this one is fairly insignificant. Why? Because the stakes are insignificant. What do you have to lose or gain by choosing a white or a black hat? So, no matter what you choose, the revelation of your character will be minimal, and the screenwriter of your life will simply put “Wearer of black/white hats” under your list of character traits.

            If we change the scenario, however, we can see a much greater revelation of character. You, along with several other people, are captured by a color-obsessed criminal master-mind named Chroma. (Seriously? Who’s writing this movie, anyway?) He splits the hostages into two separate rooms and offers them a sadistic choice: they can choose either a black hat or a white hat. If you choose a black hat and step through the far exit, you are free to go but someone in the other room will die. If you choose the white hat and step through the exit, you must fight your way through Chroma’s cronies and will probably die, but if you make it he will free the rest of the hostages. (Forgive the contrived nature of the plot.) So, what do you choose? Black or white hat? Then, depending on your choice, the screenwriter of your life can write down something more substantial underneath your character: will it be “hero” or “coward?” Will it be “selfless” or “selfish?”

            So we must see that choice is vitally important in shaping us as people. It is not necessarily our abilities, or our clothes, or the food we eat, or even what we say we would do which really define us as who we are. It is those choices where we have much to lose and nothing to gain by doing the right thing that decides whether or not our names will fall under “Hero” when that Great Writer opens up the Book of Life. “The Kingdom of God is not a matter of eating or drinking, but of justice, peace, and the joy that is given by the Holy Spirit.” (Rom. 14:17) Many people will excuse their actions by saying: “Well, I’m actually a nice person underneath. That’s not who I really am.” Yet I have come to see that it really is our choices that shape us. Every action we perform begins in the soul and thus what we choose does reveal who we are. To quote one of my favorite movies: “It’s not who I am underneath, but what I do that defines me.”

            Our Writer made us as free creatures: He gave us that great power of Choice. Yet what we do with that power is up to us. But, for us, as cinematic as our lives might be, the quality of our characters does not usually come down to one, climactic, defining choice. It is the choices we make every day that shape our souls, and that make us strong enough to make that one ultimate choice when it comes. Aristotle, even though he was not a screenwriter, said it best: “We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not a single act, but a habit.” Choice, then, is not merely a toss-up between arbitrary options. It is the very means by which we define ourselves. So how will you define yourself? Warrior or Weakling? Hero or Villain? 

The choice is yours. 

A prayer for Japan, and Haiti (still suffering greatly)!

There are currently around 800,000 monks and nuns worldwide. These are people who one day decided to give up everything and dedicate themselves to God. But each one came to this decision for very different and personal reasons.

This is the WYD2011 promo video and all I can say is -- you've got to be kidding? How not inspiring! Who is the archdiocese media rep? Get him/her on the phone with me or  MediaCova :-)