Another Three In One

This wooden altar relief was taken at the Saints Paul and Peter church in Newport. We have the Four Evangelist, Alpha and Omega and the Sacred Heart of Jesus.

I had to use my flash and even though I bounced it off the wall it still made for some unsightly highlights.

Jesus Meets His Blessed Mother

Exhausted, spent, see Jesus onward go,
With feeble step, in anguish faint and slow,
At last His grief-worn Mother He can see
Exclaiming: My Son, my heart is rent for Thee.

Picture taken at St.'s Paul and Peter church in Newport.

St. Nicholas Stained Glass Windows

I've been in and out of so many churches that I sometimes forget where I've been and what I have yet to post. While looking for something else on my hard-drive I came across these pictures of stained glass windows I took while visiting the St. Nicholas Church.



I am not sure who this lovely lady is.



Or this stately gentleman.



There were two large windows this one of the Holy Family and one of the Annunciation. Unfortunately the Annunciation came out blurry.

Baptismal Font (St.'s Paul and Peter Church)

A basin or vase, serving as a receptacle for baptismal water in which the candidate for baptism is immersed, or over which he is washed, in the ceremony of Christian initiation. In the Church's present practice it is ordinarily a decorative stone basin, though metal or wood are used; supported on a pedestal or columns at a convenient height for receiving the water which is poured over the head of the person baptized, a form which marks the term of a development graphically illustrating the history of the mode of conferring baptism.

Text taken from the New Advent Catholic Encyclopedia.

Picture taken at Saint's Paul and Peter church in Newport.

Holy Chalice

Picture taken at St.'s Paul and Peter church in Newport.

Three In One

(Click on Image for a larger view)

This large three frame stained glass window depicting the Annunciation, Nativity and Presentation, can be found in the St. Bernard Church in Burkettesville.

I was not able to shoot this straight on as I wanted to place the light hanging in front of the Nativity in the most unobtrusive location. This really caused for the picture to be skewed. I was able to fairly correct it in PhotoShop.

Saint Francis Xavier

St. Francis Xavier, pictured here flanked by two stations of the cross was canonized in 1622 and proclaimed patron of all foreign missions by Pope Pius X. F. D.

Picture taken at St. Bernard Church in Burkettsville.

Sorrowful Virgin Mary (Saint Bernard)

Pietà is one of the three common artistic representations of a sorrowful Virgin Mary, the other two being Mater Dolorosa (Mother of Sorrows) and Stabat Mater (here stands the mother). The other two representations are most commonly found in paintings, rather than sculpture, although combined forms exist.



The Pietà developed in Germany (where it is called the "Vesperbild") about 1300, reached Italy about 1400, and was especially popular in Central European Andachtsbilder. Many German and Polish 15th century examples in wood greatly emphasise Christ's wounds. The Deposition of Christ and the Lamentation or Pietà form the 13th of the Stations of the Cross, as well as one of Seven Sorrows of the Virgin.

Text from Wikipedia Pieta.

Picture taken at St. Bernard Chruch in Burkettsville.

The Four Evangelists

The four Evangelists (Matthew, Mark, Luke and John) are often depicted as a winged man, an eagle, a winged lion and a winged ox (or calf). They are derived from the priest Ezekiel's prophecy after seeing a vision of four living creatures.



These four winged creatures have been associated with the four Evangelists and depicted in Christian art since the 2nd century. They have also been likened to Jesus' journey on Earth where he was born as a man, was sacrificed as a calf, was reborn as a lion in his resurrection, and soared like an eagle in his Ascension.

• Matthew is represented by the man since his gospel starts with the human ancestry of Jesus.
• Mark begins his gospel with John the Baptist, "the voice of one crying in the wilderness," as would a roaring lion.
• Luke, opening with the vision of the priest, Zachary, is assigned the ox, the beast of sacrifice.
• John is associated with the eagle due to the sublimity of his soaring theological insights regarding the union of God and man in Jesus, the Word made flesh.

Text taken from the Evangelist Cross web site.

Pictures of wooden altar relief carvings taken at St. Remy Church in Russia, Ohio.

Sacred Heart of Jesus (Prayer)

Merciful Jesus,

I consecrate myself today and always,
To your Most Sacred Heart.
Most Sacred Heart of Jesus
I implore that I may ever love You
More and more,

Most Sacred Heart of Jesus
I trust in You!

Most Sacred Heart of Jesus
Have mercy on us!
Sacred Heart of Jesus
I believe in Your love for me,
Jesus, meek and humble of heart,
Make my heart like Your Heart. Amen.

Picture taken at the Immaculate Conception Church in Botkins.