Dear Fellow Iconographers:
Blessed Feast of the Archangels, Michael, Raphael and Gabriel!
Pope Francis spoke about this feast day earlier this week: “We must be aware of their invisible presence,” – Pope Francis said – “Let us invoke them in prayer so that in every moment they remind us of the presence of God, and support us in the struggle against evil and guide us safely along the roads of our lives. We entrust to them ourselves, our dear ones, and those we hold in our hearts. Praise be to Jesus Christ.”
Michael is the Patron saint : Against temptations; against powers of evil; artists; bakers; bankers; battle; boatmen; cemeteries; coopers; endangered children; dying; Emergency Medical Technicians; fencing; grocers; hatmakers; holy death; knights; mariners; mountaineers; paramedics; paratroopers; police officers; radiologists; sailors; the sick; security forces; soldiers; against storms at sea; swordsmiths; those in need of protection; Brussels, Belgium; Caltanissett, Sicily; Cornwall, England; Diocese of Pensacola-Tallahassee Florida; England; Germany
His symbols are: Angel with wings; dressed in armour; lance and shield; scales; shown weighing souls; millstone; piercing dragon or devil; banner charged with a dove; symbolic colors orange or gold.
Gabriel is the patron Saint of: Ambassadors; broadcasting; childbirth; clergy; communications; diplomats; messengers; philatelists; postal workers; public relations; radio workers; secular clergy; stamp collectors; telecommunications; and Portugal.
His symbols are: Archangel; sceptre and lily; MR or AM shield; lantern; mirror; olive branch; scroll with words Ave Maria Gratia Plena; Resurrection trumpet; shield; spear; lily; symbolic colors, silver or blue.
Raphael is the Patron Saint of: The Blind; bodily ills; counselors; druggists; eye problems; guardian angels; happy meetings; healers; health inspectors; health technicians; love; lovers; mental illness; nurses; pharmacists; physicians; shepherds; against sickness; therapists; travellers; young people; young people leaving home for the first time.
His symbols are: Staff; wallet and fish; staff and gourd; archangel; young man carrying a staff; young man carrying a fish; walking with Tobias; holding a bottle or flask; symbolic colors, gray or yellow.
In David Clayton’s “Way of Beauty “ Blog this month, he talks about Christian Symbols and whether we need to keep them or find new ones. I think the symbol and it’s significance and meaning to the viewer are what give it it’s power and relevance. When God gives us revelations, often it is in symbolic form. So when we hear from God, and are able to grasp His thoughts on a deeper level with the help of symbols and Icons, we are able to enter more fully into the wisdom of our present circumstances and situations.
Icons are symbols of a world where holiness reins, eternal light shines forth, and the contradictions of this earthly world are resolved in the heavenly world of the Icon. God’s grace, His presence, His love, all flow constantly to those who are willing and able to receive it. …
Just to mention that the large Icons of Saint Kateri Tekakwitha and Isaac Jogues are almost finished. It has been a blessed experience working on them in my summer studio. And I am so happy God has blessed me with a winter studio in Hudson this year! Exciting!
To learn more about Icon classes and retreats that I am giving, please check my website.
Until next month,
May God bless you and keep you in His loving embrace.
Christine Hales
www.newchristianicons.com www.christinehales.com
American Association of Iconographers 