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St. Faustina

Apostle of Mercy

As you know by now, before i prepare to paint a Saint, I pray with them and ask, “how would you like to be portrayed?” The only thing that Faustina wanted was to be on her knees under His merciful Rays. She wanted to have a look of peace on her face, submitting herself to these rays, this shower of mercy.

I painted St. Faustina rather quickly but she was quite particular about the depths and importance of the Rays, because of this, the Rays took me over 2 1/2 weeks to finish. They are layer upon layer of color and medium. Finally, Faustina was pleased and the icon was completed. (side note… watching the movie Love and Mercy, i was shocked to see how Faustina instructed artist Eugene Kazimierowski, in the same manner she hounded, i mean inspired me! i cried like a baby in the theater at the confirmation of her guidance. ) In my frustration I complained, “why have you been so hard?!” Her reply was “do you think mercy is easy?” I knew interiorly that she was asking me to be merciful with myself. And I thought of the crucifix.

Jesus died for me in His mercy. Being merciful with myself is really embracing His merciful love in humility.

It takes humility to be forgiving, a lot of humility. When we can forgive ourselves, we are acknowledging that we are a sinner and nothing more, and that we need God.

Someone asked me once the difference between mercy and grace…the crucifix, that is mercy! I finished this icon of St. Faustina on Our Lady of Mercy feast day, Sept. 24… I just can’t make this stuff up! It’s just too good!

He who knows how to forgive prepares for himself many graces from God. As often as I look upon the cross, so often will I forgive with all my heart – St. Faustina

This picture was sent to me by a sweet young lady who took my Saint Faustina icon to The National Shrine of Divine Mercy to be blessed! Wow, oh wow! Felt like i was with her in spirit, and was so happy she shared this with me. xo

February’s Saint of the Month

Saint Bakhita!

St. Josephine Bakhita was born in Sudan, Africa, in 1869 and lived a humble and happy life with her family until at age 7 when she was kidnapped and sold as a slave. Poor Bakhita suffered very harsh treatment as a slave and for the next 12 years she would be bought, sold and given away over a dozen times. She spent so much time in captivity that she forgot her original name. The name “Bakhita,” which means “fortunate,” was given to her in sarcasm by the people who kidnapped her.

As a slave, her experiences varied from fair treatment to cruel. One of her masters left 114 scars on her body and another master beat her so badly for breaking a vase, she almost died. Finally in 1883, Bakhita was sold to Callisto Legnani, Italian consul in Khartoum, Sudan and was treated with more kindness. Although she was not free, she was still a slave. Two years later, Callisto took Josephine to Italy and gave her to his friend and was made a babysitter to Mimmina Michieli, whom she accompanied to Venice’s Institute of the Catechumens, run by the Canossian Sisters. While Mimmina was being instructed, Josephine felt drawn to the Catholic Church. As a little girl, she would look up at the moon and stars and knew that someone had created them and that she wanted to know this master. She was baptized and confirmed in 1890, taking the name Josephine. Josephine was finally happy to address God as “Master” and carry out everything that she believed to be God’s will for her. When the Michieli’s returned from Africa and wanted to take Mimmina and Josephine back with them, the future saint refused to go. The Michieli’s didn’t want to give up Bakhita so they took her to court to try and force her back to being their slave . During the court case, the Canossian Sisters and the Church intervened on Josephine’s behalf and the judge concluded that since slavery was illegal in Italy, she had actually been free since 1885. For the first time in her life, Josephine was free and could choose what to do with her life. She chose to remain with the Canossian Sisters.

At the age of forty-one, Josephine felt God calling her to become one of the sisters. The Canossian Sisters accepted her into their community. For twenty-five years, Sister Josephine carried out humble services in the convent. She cooked, sewed, took care of the chapel and answered the door. Her health had suffered because of all the tortures she had endured as a slave, so she was given the role as porteress ( just like St Martin de Porres and Blessed Solanus Casey!). She had a lot to do with all the local children who named her “la nostra madre moretta” which means “Our little brown mother.” During World War I, Sister Josephine helped to care for the wounded. She became known for her kindness and goodness. She was a source of comfort and encouragement to everyone who came to her in need. A young student once asked Bakhita: “What would you do, if you were to meet your captors?” Without hesitation she responded: “If I were to meet those who kidnapped me, and even those who tortured me, I would kneel and kiss their hands. For, if these things had not happened, I would not have been a Christian and a religious today”

In her later years, she began to suffer physical pain and was forced to use a wheelchair. But she always remained cheerful. If anyone asked her how she was, she would reply, “As the master desires.” On the evening of February 8, 1947, Josephine spoke her last words, “Our Lady, Our Lady!” She then died. Her body lay on display for three days afterwards. She was canonized on October 1, 2000, by Pope John Paul II and St. Bakhita’s body lays incorrupt today. Bakhita’s story is fascinating particularly because of the story of her slavery and how God was with her every step of the way, writing something beautiful from the sad chapters of her early years as a child. Unfortunately, there is still childhood slavery in the world today. St Bakhita is venerated as a modern day African Saint and is the Patron Saint of Human Trafficking and the country of Sudan.

Beautiful Saint Bakhita…pray for us!

December’s Saint of the Month

Our Lady of Guadalupe!

On Dec. 12, the Catholic Church celebrates the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe, Patroness of the Americas, marking the day when, in 1531, the Blessed Mother appeared in Mexico to a 57-year old peasant named Juan Diego. According to the earliest reliable account of the story, Juan Diego was walking near Tepayac Hill (called Mexico City today) when he encountered a beautiful woman surrounded by a ball of light as bright as the sun. Speaking in his native tongue, the beautiful lady identified herself: “My dear little son, I love you. I desire you to know who I am. I am the ever-virgin Mary, Mother of the true God who gives life and maintains its existence. He created all things. He is in all places. He is Lord of Heaven and Earth. I desire a church in this place where your people may experience my compassion. All those who sincerely ask my help in their work and in their sorrows will know my Mother’s Heart in this place. Here I will see their tears; I will console them and they will be at peace. So run now to Tenochtitlan and tell the Bishop all that you have seen and heard.”

In trying to convince the archbishop of what he had seen, Juan Diego eventually was asked for a sign to prove what he had seen. Upon returning to Mary and sharing this with her, Mary said “My little son, am I not your Mother? Do not fear. The Bishop shall have his sign. Come back to this place tomorrow. Only peace, my little son.” Unfortunately, Juan was not able to return to the hill the next day. His uncle had become mortally ill and Juan stayed with him to care for him. After two days, with his uncle near death, Juan left his side to find a priest. Juan had to pass Tepayac Hill to get to the priest. As he was passing, he found Mary waiting for him. She spoke: “Do not be distressed, my littlest son. Am I not here with you who am your Mother? Are you not under my shadow and protection? Your uncle will not die at this time. There is no reason for you to engage a priest, for his health is restored at this moment. He is quite well. Go to the top of the hill and cut the flowers that are growing there. Bring them then to me.” While it was freezing on the hillside, Juan obeyed Mary’s instructions and went to the top of the hill where he found a full bloom of Castilian roses which were neither in season nor native to the region. Removing his tilma, a poncho-like cape made of cactus fiber, he cut the roses and carried them back to Mary. She rearranged the roses and told him: “My little son, this is the sign I am sending to the Bishop. Tell him that with this sign I request his greatest efforts to complete the church I desire in this place. Show these flowers to no one else but the Bishop. You are my trusted ambassador. This time the Bishop will believe all you tell him.” At the palace, Juan once again came before the bishop and several of his advisors. He told the bishop his story and opened the tilma letting the flowers fall out. But it wasn’t the beautiful roses that caused the bishop and his advisors to fall to their knees; for there, on the tilma, was a picture of the Blessed Virgin Mary precisely as Juan had described her. The next day, after showing the Tilma at the Cathedral, Juan took the bishop to the spot where he first met Mary. He then returned to his village where he met his uncle who was completely cured. His uncle told him he had met a young woman, surrounded by a soft light, who told him that she had just sent his nephew to Tenochtitlan with a picture of herself. She told his uncle:”Call me and call my image Santa Maria de Guadalupe”.

Within six years of this apparition, six million Aztecs had converted to Catholicism! The tilma shows Mary as the God-bearer – she is pregnant with her Divine Son. Since the time the tilma was first impressed with a picture of the Mother of God, it has been subject to a variety of environmental hazards including smoke from fires and candles, water from floods and torrential downpours and, in 1921, a bomb which was planted by anti-clerical forces on an altar under it. There was also a cast-iron cross next to the tilma and when the bomb exploded, the cross was twisted out of shape, the marble altar rail was heavily damaged and the tilma was…untouched!

In 1977, the tilma was examined using infrared photography and digital enhancement techniques. Unlike any painting, the tilma shows no sketching or any sign of outline drawn to permit an artist to produce a painting. Further, the very method used to create the image is still unknown. The image is inexplicable in its longevity and method of production. It can be seen today in a large cathedral built to house up to ten thousand worshipers. It is, by far, the most popular religious pilgrimage site in the Western Hemisphere.

Our Lady of Guadalupe, St Juan Diego…pray for us!