(click on the pictures to view a better resolution image)
The recent news
coverage of the scandals within the Catholic Church have left many mortified.
This is understandable in response to the heinous actions that were done by men
who were charged with a very important responsibility, and unquestionably
failed to meet that responsibility. As an individual who has recently returned
to the Catholic Faith, I feel it is my own responsibility to share my reasons
for returning to a spiritual path that I believe can offer salvation to the
individual.
It is no secret that
evil is pervasive in the world. It is a massive challenge when we are
confronted with egregious examples of wickedness manifesting in places that
should be sacred, such as religious institutions. In a day and age when
people’s faith is already very weakened, such scandals offer people an excuse
to abandon their faith. I can understand how someone can decide that spiritual
efforts are futile in a world filled with pervasive hatred, corruption, and
contempt. I thought that same thing myself not very long ago. But is that the
right thing to do? I believe it is not. In fact, the greater the evil that
manifests itself, the more important it is to have a defined value structure to
counter it with. Despite all the grievous faults of particular members of the clergy,
there are many saints who epitomize the best teachings of the Church, and
provide examples of how to live a good and fulfilling life, even within severe
circumstances. Their lives and stories are worth looking into, and I would
recommend anyone with an interest to do so.
My purpose in this
blog post is to remind people of the true roots of Christianity and the
Catholic Church. Jesus Christ taught a message of spreading love through faith
and good deeds. Needless to say, there were select members of the clergy who
failed in this sacred mission. That does not give me the right to abandon my
mission to defend the Light, that being truth and goodness, which in my mind
and heart are manifested in Jesus, and defend it against the encroaching
Darkness, that being evil, deceit, corruption, and bitterness. I will be the
first to admit that I am far from perfect, but I am trying in my own way to
bring goodness into this wicked world, where I believe good can ultimately
prevail. To do this, I am sharing some of my recent artwork along with
commentary that I hope any readers will find thought-provoking and uplifting.
Saint Michael the
Archangel banished Satan from Paradise. Satan was originally Lucifer, an
Archangel whose pride and envy of humanity caused him to rebel against God. He
ultimately wanted to make himself God. As a result, he fell from grace. In a
way, the Heavenly Host of Lucifer’s time was the cosmic Church of that epoch.
If corruption can manifest in the highest ranks of the Heavenly beings, then it
should come as no surprise that weak and fragile men can be corrupted as well.
We cannot control what other people do, but we can control ourselves. When
others decide to make themselves God, we should remind ourselves of our
limitations and work diligently to improve ourselves. Evil can manifest itself
in us, too. Our impulses to become resentful and make ourselves God will prompt
us to do evil things. If we evoke the spirit of St. Michael and remain true to
God, we can diminish this evil within us and cast Satan out of our own minds
just as the great Archangel did in Heaven so long ago.
The picture above
is inspired by the Latin prayer “Dies Irae” meaning “The Day of Wrath.” St.
Michael returns in this picture to lead the powers of Heaven against the forces
of Hell. We must choose what side we are on. Will we accept the challenges of
life and be defenders of righteousness, or will we succumb to Satan’s
temptations and fall into sin? This battle is raging in our daily lives. We
will be held accountable for our actions in the end. That’s something worth
thinking about. So I repeat, we will be held accountable for our actions in the
end. It is worthwhile to think of how we are going to act, each and every day.
Be considerate, be kind, be faithful, be true, lest you wake up on the Day of
Wrath to find yourself caught unaware! Please, open your eyes and pay
attention!
St. Hildegard von
Bingen was an interesting individual who had a passionate and potent spirit.
She studied herbs and medicinal uses for plants, and composed music.
Collections of her music compositions are available, and I would recommend
them. She was a visionary and a mystic who had a great sense of spiritual
awareness. She kept the Holy Trinity and the Blessed Mother as the focus of her
prayers and meditations. This picture is inspired by an image based on one of
her visions.
The conversion of
Saul of Tarsus is possibly the greatest sinner-to-saint story out there. He was
a fierce persecutor of Christians in the days following the Crucifixion. On his
way to Damascus, Saul was caught off guard by a blinding light and knocked from
his horse. He saw an image of Jesus Christ, which changed him and caused him to
convert then and there. Saul was blinded, but his sight was soon restored and
he then became Paul, one of the most profound Christian evangelists and
eventually a Saint. This picture was inspired by the song “Man in White” by
Johnny Cash, which describes the story of Saul’s conversion.
This picture is
inspired by the Book of Revelation, the final book of the Bible. The Lamb of
God is a symbol of Christ, and it stands upon a scroll with seven seals. This
represents the mysteries of the Church and offers a symbol of hope to people
who strive to do good. Lambs were a common sacrificial animal in Biblical
times, and therefore Christ is viewed as the Lamb of God because he was
sacrificed so that humanity may be saved. Through the image of the Lamb we are
reminded that our suffering, no matter how severe, is worthwhile if we believe
in the right cause. It requires great courage and fortitude to live a righteous
life. The Saints are revered because they were people who chose to accept the
burden of suffering that life in this fallen world entails, and still strived
to do good to the best of their abilities. They succeeded. We should try to be
like them. Do not let the sins of a few wicked, weak individuals cause you to
lose sight of your own ability, and responsibility, to do right in a wicked world.
To carry on when things are difficult is a very hard thing to do. We face
crises and dangers unlike any we have ever seen before. We put forth our
efforts into careers that require great time and effort but offer relatively
little in return. We try to find peace when others are rude, raucous,
inconsiderate, and sometimes outright hostile. We see crime in the streets and
corruption in offices, and are left to figure it all out. Sometimes
circumstances will create a very frightening monster. Our instinct would be to
run away from it, but we cannot, because it will only catch us anyway. We must
stand and fight the monster. If we try, with all our efforts, and strive to the
very best of our ability, we might be able to defeat the monster before us, or
at least prevent it from devouring our souls. We are called upon to face the
Great Beast, and we will all encounter it eventually. If we are going to face
the greatest evil, we better align ourselves with the greatest good. We must
follow the example of Saint Michael and cast the evil away, in our own souls.
Maybe then we can help bring some light to the world.
Blessed Mother
Mary was asked to accept the Living God into her womb, the perfect and kindest
man the world has ever seen, only to see him tormented and killed. Nevertheless,
her answer was Yes. Christ was called by God to suffer and die on the Cross, he
could have abandoned his mission, but he said Yes. We are called to confront
evil, and live our lives with a righteous purpose in spite of the prevailing
Darkness (the forces of nihilism). What will our answer be? If we say yes, that’s
how we conquer the monsters, each and every day.
Thank you for
taking the time to read my post. If you have a spiritual path of your own,
please keep me in your prayers. To all my Catholic friends out there, now is
not the time to give up. It is up to us to succeed where others have abysmally
failed. I send my prayers out to all of you. I hope healing can come to all who
suffered within the Church and without. These scandals are exceptional to us,
but there are people in certain regions of the world that suffer through these
living nightmares on a regular basis. Keep them in your prayers too. I wish you
all the very best.
