luciaofsyracuse

[luciaofsyracuse]

Arnold Böcklin (Swiss, 1827-1901) - St. Anthony Preaching to the Fish (1892)

[luciaofsyracuse]

Cat resting on a cross of Orthodox church in Perast, Montenegro.

[luciaofsyracuse]

Adolphe la Lyre: Saint Cecilia and Saint Valerian, 1895

[luciaofsyracuse]

today in church one of the priests referred to trans people as "those who are growing into the gender they were called to be" and i'm kind of enjoying the idea of like....divinely ordained top surgery

[luciaofsyracuse]

I was driving up to a friend’s for the weekend on Friday and nearly broke down in tears because I saw a billboard on the side of a southern highway. It had the same yellow background with red text that those awful, ubiquitous “Jesus Saves!” billboards have. I nearly missed it.

It said:

“Rejoice! God loves trans kids!”

[luciaofsyracuse]

mama

[luciaofsyracuse]

I can’t stop thinking about Elijah sitting underneath the juniper tree & asking God to die.  God sent an angel who says, “This journey is too much for you.” & that he must eat. Elijah does, then he rests.  He wakes up still feeling hopeless, & the angel repeats himself.  

It took Elijah longer than he wanted to get better.  Sometimes we want to move but we can’t.  Sometimes the journey is too much.  It is not a sin to understand your limitations.  Start there, get stronger, then get up.

[luciaofsyracuse]

[luciaofsyracuse]

The Raising of Lazarus (1630) by Rembrandt

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You all know that I have a very fraught relationship with Catholicism, but after the extreme conservatism of John Paul II and Benedict XVI, I can't help feeling that Francis turned the Catholic Church in a somewhat better direction. TradCaths hated him, and that's a compliment in my eyes. Rest in peace.

And now... A conclave. Which for those of us who studied historical conclaves is always an interesting time.

[luciaofsyracuse]

The Vision of St. Hubert

Gouache and gold watercolor on paper, XII 2023

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(On Genesis 32:22–32)

In the entire section which follows one must bear in mind that the ancients did not consider a name as simply sound and smoke. On the contrary, for them the name was closely linked with its bearer in such a way that the name contained something of the character of the one who bore it. Thus, in giving his name, Jacob at the same time had to reveal his whole nature. The name Jacob (at least for the narrative) actually designates its bearer as a cheat. Now he is given a new name by the unknown antagonist, a name of honor, in which God will recognize and accept him.

[…]

Jacob is now clear about the divinity of his assailant, and his question about his name now illuminates his human situation and his intentions almost more harshly than did his request for a blessing. There stirs in him the most elemental force that can stir in a man when he encounters the divinity. Ancient man in particular knew himself to be surrounded by divine powers which determined his life, to be sure, but from whom he could not by his own power free himself. If a numen, however, became visible, tangible in his own sphere of life, then the most basic question was about its name, i.e., its nature and its intent. In such a case the numen was to be held fast, for if one knew its name, one could summon it, one could obligate it (by sacrifice, for example), one could even arbitrarily manipulate it, i.e., conjure with the divine power of this name. Thus, embedded in this most urgent of all human questions, this question about the name, is all man’s need, all his boldness before God. One must perceive here especially the longing for God, and our narrative shows that there is no need which can smother this ancient human thirst to find God and to bind him to oneself.

— Gerhard von Rad, Genesis

[luciaofsyracuse]

-The Holy Family with St. Elizabeth-

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jesus no

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"The Penitent Magdalene" ~ by Francesco Lupicini

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bible says after we're resurrected not a single hair on our heads will be lost. rip to women who spent a fortune on laser hair removal. god does not care and hairy mother mary will be gluing that shit back on w tender loving care one by one

[luciaofsyracuse]

anne lamott, bird by bird