globalworship

[globalworship]

Crucifixion in War (Ukraine icon)

Crucifixion in War Olya Kravchenko, Ukraine, 2022

«Crucifixion in War» 2022 /15x20 cm.; board, gesso, silvering, gilding, tempera/. Private collection. https://olyakravchenko.art/en/portfolio-en/iconography/

At the bottom we see Ukrainian houses and buldings on fire with smoke rising, being bombed by Russia. The suffering of Christ is present within the midst of the sin, the evil, and the destruction.

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Olya was born in 1985 in Lviv, Ukraine. Read more about her at https://iconart-gallery.com/en/artists/olga-kravchenko/

Follow Olya’s art (icons, gifts, jewelry) at https://www.facebook.com/olya.kravchenko.art

She blogs at https://kravchenkoart.blogspot.com/

Her website, where you can place orders for purchase, is https://olyakravchenko.art/en/ https://iconart-gallery.com/en/catalogue/#!/Olya-Kravchenko/c/53902174

[globalworship]

Christmas in the Air Raid Shelter (Ukraine icon)

For Christmas 2024, with Russia still deploying cruise missiles and suicide drones against Ukraine, Ukrainian iconographer Olya Kravchenko constructed a three-dimensional painting that shows the Holy Family huddled in the basement of an apartment complex, hiding out from air raids. A large, bright star hovers overhead, showing the three magi to the spot where Jesus lies.

Olya Kravchenko (Ukrainian, 1985–),  Christmas in the Air Raid Shelter, 2024. Plywood, tempera, and gilding, 67 × 40 × 25 cm.

This piece can be seen through January 26 at the eighty-fourth annual Krippenausstellung (Nativity Scene) exhibition at RELiGIO: Westfälisches Museum für religiöse Kultur (Westphalian Museum of Religious Culture) in Telgte, Germany, whose theme is “Heller Stern” (Bright Star).

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Thanks to my friend Victoria Emily Jones, who wrote all of the above text and posted it on her blog at https://artandtheology.org/2025/01/04/epiphany-roundup-12-ways-to-celebrate-ted-nash-we-three-kings-more/

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Here's a related Nativity icon by the same artist:

Posted on Olya's FB page at https://www.facebook.com/olya.kravchenko.9/posts/pfbid02YBgXZHJuu7Ace6SeKQD66Gj4cfk3MhJi6ArQCpiqtcbLL3kxTAAYMoFbiX7qcTwZl

That FB post also has these other Christmas handicrafts which she was selling:

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Ornaments to hang:

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Follow Olya's art (icons, gifts, jewelry) at https://www.facebook.com/olya.kravchenko.art

She blogs at https://kravchenkoart.blogspot.com/

Her website, where you can place orders for purchase, is https://olyakravchenko.art/en/

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Here are more of her Christmas icons from her website:

1 Annunciation, 2019

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2 Holy Family, 2017

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3 Christmas, 2023

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4 The Virgin and Child, 2024

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5 The Virgin and Child, 2016

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6 Anunciation, 2018

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7 The Virgin and Child, 2018

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8 Holy Family, 2018

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9 Annunciation, 2020

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10 The Virgin and Child, 2013

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Artist statement:

My name is Olya Kravchenko and I’m an artist and I create things out of love and compassion. My paintings are meant to inspire, invoke the pleasure of contemplation, and encourage self-reflection.

Throughout the years, I worked at restoration workshops, where I fell in love with the warmth and color of ancient Ukrainian iconography techniques and continue to develop and express these techniques and technology in all of my pieces...

Read more at https://olyakravchenko.art/en/about-me-artist-statement/

[globalworship]

'Wartime Christmas' poem + song

'Wartime Christmas' by Alfred Joyce Kilmer (1886 – 1918)

Led by a star, a golden star, The youngest star, an olden star, Here the kings and the shepherds are, Akneeling on the ground. What did they come to the inn to see? God in the Highest, and this is He, A baby asleep on His mother’s knee And with her kisses crowned.

Now is the earth a dreary place, A troubled place, a weary place. Peace has hidden her lovely face And turned in tears away. Yet the sun, through the war-cloud, sees Babies asleep on their mother’s knees. While there are love and home—and these— There shall be Christmas Day.

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Kilmer once wrote, "At present, I am a poet trying to be a soldier." All the ugliness he witnessed on the battlefields of the First World War never shook his faith in God or his belief in the beauty and goodness of life.

Kilmer was killed fighting in France in 1918.

Kilmer's poetry often reflects a deep sense of faith, love of nature, and an unwavering belief in the divine. As a devout Catholic, his work is imbued with spiritual themes, combining simplicity with profound emotional resonance. Kilmer’s life was tragically cut short during World War I, where he served as a soldier and was killed in action at the age of 31.

His wartime experiences deeply influenced his later poetry, as seen in works like "Wartime Christmas," which grapple with the coexistence of faith and suffering. Today, Kilmer’s legacy endures as a poet who captured both the beauty and complexity of life, faith, and humanity in his verses.

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In this song video from qed'bop, the poem is paired with an evocative melody.

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Analysis of the poem from the Youtube page above:

"Wartime Christmas" by Joyce Kilmer is a poignant reflection on the enduring hope of Christmas amid the devastation of war. The poem juxtaposes the serenity of the Nativity with the sorrow of a world in conflict. The first stanza portrays the humble adoration of kings and shepherds, kneeling before a baby crowned with his mother’s kisses. With lines like “God in the Highest, and this is He,” Kilmer captures the profound simplicity of faith, emphasizing the sacredness of the moment despite worldly strife.

In the second stanza, the tone shifts to the contemporary realities of war, describing the earth as “a dreary place” where peace has “turned in tears away.” Yet Kilmer offers solace in the unbroken image of babies asleep on their mothers’ knees, symbols of innocence and hope. The poem asserts that as long as love and home exist, the essence of Christmas will endure, transcending even the darkest times.

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You can buy the poem printed as a large poster at https://www.amazon.com/Posterazzi-Wartime-Christmas-Poster-Kilmer/dp/B07GXBS2J1

[globalworship]

'Most High' (Burmese song by Susanna Min)

Susanna Min is a composer and worship leader who sings in Burmese. She is based in Singapore and has an international worship ministry. She released this song a few days ago. Burmese lyrics and English translation are below the video.

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Burmese lyrics and English auto-translation:

"အမြင့်ဆုံးသောဘုရား" သန့်ရှင်း မျက်မှောက်တော်ထဲ အမြဲတမ်း ရှိချင်တယ် သခင့်မျက်နှ��တော် ဖူးတွေ့ ကိုးကွယ်မယ် ကိုယ်တော့်ရဲ့ ဘုန်းတော်ထဲ အမြဲတမ်း နေချင်တယ် သခင်နှစ်သက်သော ယဇ်ကို ပူဇော်မယ်

"Most High" I want to be in your holy presence I want to see your face I want to worship I want to live in your glory I want to offer sacrifices pleasing to you

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ဘုန်းကြီးခြင်းအားလုံး တန်ခိုးကြီးခြင်းအားလုံး ဂုဏ်ပြုချီးမြှောက်ခြင်းအားလုံး ထိုက်တန်သူ

All glory All power All honor Worthy

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ဘုန်းကြီးခြင်းအားလုံး တန်ခိုးကြီးခြင်းအားလုံး ဂုဏ်ပြုချီးမြှောက်ခြင်းအားလုံး ခံထိုက်သူ

All glory All power All honor Worthy of all praise

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အမြင့်ဆုံးသောဘုရား ဘုန်းကြီးပါစေ သန့်ရှင်းသောဘုရား လူတိုင်းချီးမွမ်းစေ ကောင်းကင်ဗိုလ်ခြေများ ဒူးထောက် ခစား ချီးမွမ်းသံများ လေထုထဲပြည့်စေ

Glory be to the Most High Let all praise the Holy One Let the hosts of heaven bow their heads Let the sounds of praise fill the air

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မေတ္တာတော်နှင့် ပြည့်စုံသူ သစ္စာတော် ကြီးမြတ်လေသူ ဂရုဏာပလ္လင်ထက် အမြဲတမ်း စိုးစံသူ

Full of love Great in faithfulness Evermore enthroned above the throne of mercy

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She has been releasinng albums and DVDs since 2014, and has posted about 250 videos. https://www.facebook.com/susannaminofficial

[globalworship]

Beyond Disaster (Survivor’s Booklet for Trauma Healing)

Beyond Disaster is a guide for spiritual first aid for people who have survived natural or human-caused disasters. It can be distributed any time following a disaster but is most beneficial once the initial shock has passed.

The booklet offers (1) strategies to help people cope in the short term, (2) guidance on what to expect during the process of recovery, and (3) resources to begin a journey toward emotional and spiritual healing. Based on the globally proven model of the Trauma Healing Institute, this booklet integrates best practices in mental health into a biblical framework.

The 72-page full PDF booklet with more graphics is available in many languages. There's also a shorter booklet with less graphics and less pages available in fewer languages. And there are versions for youth and children as well. And a version tailored for refugees.

Languages available for the full PDF booklet:

Arabic Bahasa Bengali Chinese (Simplified) English German Indonesian Italian Japanese Korean Polish Chinese (Traditional) Russian Slovene Spanish Turkish Ukrainian

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[globalworship]

“Japanese Christ, the Pearl of Great Price” icon

Robert Lentz is a Franciscan friar whose innovative icons are known throughout the world. He is also committed to the indigenization of Byzantine iconography in the various cultures embraced by the Church.

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ARTWORK NARRATIVE:

When missionaries first arrived in Japan in the 16th century, they presented Christian theology with European trappings. They also encouraged Japanese converts to abandon their native culture and adopt Western ways. As a result, Japanese authorities suspected that the converts were foreign agents and unleashed a brutal persecution, driving any converts who survived into hiding.

While Christianity returned to Japan under new laws of religious freedom in the 1870’s, it has always remained the faith of a tiny minority. The novelist Shusaku Endo became a Catholic as a child. In the second half of the 20th century, he wrote a series of novels, struggling to reconcile this religion from Europe with his Japanese identity.

He once described Catholicism as a symphony rather than a solo. He said that it could only be a true religion if it found room for a Japanese contribution. His major novels, Silence and The Samurai, are major efforts to discover that Japanese contribution.

This icon uses Japanese symbols for compassion and enlightenment to describe the person of Jesus Christ. Jesus sits on a glorious lotus blossom, in the posture of a bodhisattva, just as in ancient Greek icons he is depicted in the robes of a philosopher like Plato or Aristotle. As the Greek artists made no effort to depict Jesus as a Palestinian Jew, but made him one of their own, so he is depicted here as a Japanese man. As they freely gave him attributes of Greek gods and Roman emperors, without fear of adding him to the pantheon of another religion, here Buddhist attributes surround Jesus, with no intention of making him Buddhist.

The inscription on the left side of the icon reads “Jesus Christ.” That on the right reads “The Pearl of Great Price.” Jesus and his Gospel are the pearl of great price for all of humanity. Just as we translate the words of the Gospel into other languages, so we must find ways to describe Jesus, the Word himself, with symbols that make sense to non-Europeans.

Buy the icon as prints or cards at https://trinitystores.com/collections/japanese-christ-the-pearl-of-great-price-rlpgp which is the source of the information above.

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Artist bio:

Robert Lentz is a Franciscan friar whose innovative icons are known throughout the world. He is a member of Holy Name Province, and is stationed in Silver Spring, Maryland at Holy Name College. Besides painting many hours each day, he teaches apprentices, writes, and conducts workshops on art and spirituality throughout the United States. Brother Robert is active in promoting dialog between Muslims and Christians. He is also committed to the indigenization of Byzantine iconography in the various cultures embraced by the Church.

Brother Robert was born in rural Colorado in 1946. His grandparents emigrated from tsarist Russia in the early 1900’s. He studied Byzantine iconography by apprenticing himself to a master painter from the school of Photios Kontoglou in a Greek Orthodox monastery founded from Mount Athos.

His icons reflect his experiences among the poor in this country and in the Third World, as well as his Franciscan and Russian roots. They are filled with bright colors and often depict contemporary subjects. While always striving to remain true to the essence of Byzantine iconography, he adapts traditional conventions in order to minister better to the emerging Church. His icons remain transcendent expressions of the ancient Christian Tradition, and they invite us into communion with God and the saints.

Text above is from this webpage, where you can browse dozens of his icons: https://trinitystores.com/collections/br-robert-lentz-ofm

[globalworship]

Rab Wakhna/Behold the Lord, Pakistani Christmas song

The ‘Agape Sisters’ Jane & Jul are popular award-winning Christian singers in Pakistan: Jane Sharoon (born 2008) & Jul Sharoon (born 2009) https://www.facebook.com/agapesisters.pakistan/

With their family and ministry team, they have released hundreds of songs in the last six years, including one or more Christmas songs every year.

This is one of several Christmas song sthey released in December 2024. It has the usual story elements you expect like angels, sheherds and Magi. It also references Moes, Eden, and other biblical themes.

The basic thought is "Since the beginning, everyone desires to behold the Lord."

Jane and Jul are dressed in red in this video. English subtitles are on the screen.

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With the help of their parents (who are pastors) and the Christian music industry in Pakistan, the Agape Sisters have produced 200+ music videos and have about a third of a million subscribers to their Youtube channel. They are very prolific and very popular. Some of their music videos have over 30 million views. https://www.facebook.com/agapesisters.pakistan

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Here are some photos from the making of the music video, from their FB page:

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Everyone involved with the making of the music video:

[globalworship]

'[God is] My Support' (Hindi song)

This inspiring track is rooted in the theme: "Behold, God is my helper; the Lord is the upholder of my life" (Psalm 54:4), reminding us of God’s unwavering support and love in every moment of life.

English subtitles appear on the bottom of the screen, along with the Hindi lyrics.

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Credits: Vocals : Rozar Pujar Guitarist : Ajay Newar Writer : Ajay Newar / Rozar Pujar

You can purchase the download at https://ajaynewar1993.bandcamp.com/track/mera-sahara https://www.facebook.com/AjayNewar180

Ajay Newar is based in Bengaluru, India. I really enjoyed my own stay in that city some years ago.

[globalworship]

“Holy Epiphany” Magi art

“Holy Epiphany” by Lewis Williams, OFS.

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ARTWORK NARRATIVE:

While oftentimes conflicting lore muddles the story of the Magi, those bearing gifts for the Christ child in this icon are Caspar of Tarsus, Melchior of Arabia and Balthasar of Saba. Weary from desert travel, the Magi humbly offer their gifts. Caspar is young, European and offers gold. Gold finances the Holy Family's coming flight to Egypt and also symbolizes Christ's immortality and purity. For his generosity, Caspar receives the gifts of charity and spiritual wealth. Melchior is middle-aged, Persian and offers myrrh. Myrrh is a fragrant gum, which the ancient Israelites believed to strengthen children. This symbol of Christ's mortality was blended with wine and offered to him on the cross, and also mixed with aloes to wrap his body for the tomb. Melchior receives the gifts of humility and truth. Balthasar is elderly, Ethiopian and offers frankincense. Frankincense is a resin used in incense for worship and also symbolizes prayer and sacrifice. Balthasar receives the gift of Faith. And Christ, humbling himself to become man, offers us the greatest gift of all, the light that forever burns in the darkness. https://trinitystores.com/collections/holy-epiphany-lwepi

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Lewis Williams, OFS, a student of master iconographer Br. Robert Lentz, OFM since 1999, feels blessed by the calling that has led him to ‘write’ icons. Art has been a lifelong interest for Lewis, obtaining a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from Northern Arizona University in 1983, and a Masters of Fine Arts degree in painting from Utah State University in 1991. Years spent in search of ways to integrate his interest in history, faith and art found fruition in a workshop with noted iconographer Peter Pearson. Another workshop with Br. Lentz eventually led to his being accepted as his student, and launched him into his new vocation

See dozens of his pieces at https://trinitystores.com/collections/lewis-williams-ofs

[globalworship]

A Blessing for the New Year (from an Irish poet)

"Beannacht: A Blessing for the New Year" by Irish poet and philosopher John O'Donohue.

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Shortly before his death in 2008, the late Irish poet John O'Donohue recited his poem, meaning blessing, during an interview with Krista Tippett. We've woven his close friends' photographs of him in his Celtic landscapes with this reading.

[globalworship]

PRAYER TO THE THREE KINGS by Evelyn Waugh

Like me, you were late in coming. The shepherds were here long before, even the cattle. They had joined the chorus of angels before you were started.

For you the primordial discipline of the heavens had to be relaxed and a new defiant light set to blaze amid the disconcerted stars.

How laboriously you came, taking sights and calculating, where the shepherds had run barefoot. How odd you looked on the road, attended by what outlandish liveries, and laden with such preposterous gifts.

You came at length to the first stage of your pilgrimage and the great star stood still above you. What did you do? You stopped to call on King Herod. Deadly exchange of compliments in which there began that un-ended war of mobs and magistrates against the innocent.

Yet you came, and were not turned away. You too found room before the manger. Your gifts were not needed, but they were accepted and put carefully by, for they were brought with love.

In that new order of charity that had just come to life, there was room for you, too. You were not lower in the eyes of the holy family than the ox or the ass.

You are our special patrons, and patrons of all latecomers, of all who have a tedious journey to make to the truth, of all who are confused with knowledge and speculation, of all who through politeness make themselves partners in guilt, of all who stand in danger by reason of their talents.

May we, too, before and at the end find kneeling-space in the straw.

For His sake Who did not reject your curious gifts, pray always for all the learned, the oblique, and the delicate.

Let them not be quite forgotten at the Throne of God when the simple come into their kingdom. Amen

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Arthur Evelyn St. John Waugh was an English writer of novels, biographies, and travel books; he was also a prolific journalist (1903-1966). He is recognised as one of the great prose stylists of the English language in the 20th century. Waugh grew up in an Anglican household, left Christianity, and finally converted to Catholicism in 1930 after his first marriage failed. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evelyn_Waugh

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[globalworship]

Sometimes the myrrh is leaking (Epiphany poem)

Sometimes the myrrh is leaking and other complaints ... by Rev. Maren C. Tirabassi

Sometimes the myrrh is leaking.

Sometimes the camels need stones pried out of their hooves, and they bite, because it hurts first when things get better.

Stars are usually most clearly visible in the very deepest night, so, if someone you love is in the lostness, remember – they may be taking it 'one night at a time.'

There will be a day we ask directions from the wrong people. Also our gifts won't seem to shine as much as we thought when they were in our camel bags, but someone needs the gold anyway for the getaway donkey.

Most of all some consequences we leave behind us may be terrible,

and yet we find a new way to travel, tell the good story we know to everyone we meet, and pray for everyone's journey in the night,

because that's what Epiphany means.

Published online at https://giftsinopenhands.wordpress.com/2025/01/06/sometimes-the-myrrh-is-leaking-and-other-complaints-wisdom/

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Rev. Maren C. Tirabassi is a United Church of Christ pastor who serves churches in New Hampshire and Massachusetts. She is the author of 20 books and a former poet laureate of Portsmouth, NH.

She blogs at ‘Gifts in Open Hands’ https://giftsinopenhands.wordpress.com/

Follow Maren’s writings at https://www.facebook.com/maren.tirabassi

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(window in St Joseph Roman Catholic Church by Susan Pratt Smith)

[globalworship]

Adoration of the Magi, Daniel Mitsui art

I’m a big fan of art by Daniel Mitsui. Connecting several cultures himself, much of his artwork also brings together multicultural elements. 

Here is his spectacular piece, "Adoration of the Magi." His descrption of the artistic elements and symbolism, I find fascinating. They are reposted below the art.

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Adoration of the Magi Medium: Drawing, color ink on calfskin vellum Dimensions: 7 1/2" × 11" Year: 2012

Daneil writes,

This drawing is formatted as a recto page in an illuminated manuscript. The central image depicting the Adoration of the Magi is based on an early 16th century panel painting by the Master of the Monogram AH.

I depicted the Magi according to their description by the Venerable Bede: Melchior is elderly, with long hair and a white beard; Caspar is young, beardless and ruddy; and Balthazar is middle-aged, dark-skinned and bearded. The Magi thus represent all of humanity coming to adore the Holy Infant, as they comprise the three ages of man, the descendants of the three sons of Noah, and the three continents known to medieval Christians. A small scene of the Circumcision of Christ appears in the background.

The ornament in the border includes sea shells and floral patterns based on millefleur tapestries. Vines weave through the outer border, outlining a series of roundels and quatrefoils. Two roundels show Old Testament prefigurements from the Speculum Humane Salvationis: three heroes bringing water to David from the Well of Bethlehem and the Queen of Sheba before Solomon’s Throne. In the bas-de-page is a world map.

You can buy giclée prints of this piece at Daniel's website: https://www.danielmitsui.com/00_pages/adoration_magi.html

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See 12 more of his art pieces related to the Christmas story in my previous blog post at https://globalworship.tumblr.com/post/189576649370/christmas-story-art-by-daniel-mitsui

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Artist Daniel Mitsui was born in Georgia, USA, in 1982, and raised in Illinois. His meticulously detailed ink drawings, made entirely by hand on paper or calfskin vellum, are held in collections worldwide. Since his baptism in 2004, most of his artwork has been religious in subject. http://www.danielmitsui.com/

An excellent interview with Daniel is at https://www.catholicgentleman.net/2016/05/art-gods-sake-interview-artist-daniel-mitsui/

[globalworship]

In Praise of Savitribai Phule, Early India Feminist

Savitribai Phule (3 January 1831 – 10 March 1897) was an Indian teacher, social reformer, and poet who was the first female teacher in India. Along with her husband, Jyotiba Phule, in Maharashtra, she played a vital role in improving women's rights in India. She is considered to be the pioneer of India's feminist movement.

A Dalit, she strived to abolish discrimination and unfair treatment of people based on caste and gender. She and her husband were pioneers of women's education in India.

She got her initial teacher's training at an institution run by an American missionary.

She endured much persecution and resistance from the local community with conservative views. When she was teaching, Savitribai often travelled to her school carrying an extra sari because she would be assailed by her conservative opposition with stones, dung, and verbal abuse.

Together with her husband, she taught children from different castes and opened a total of 18 schools.

She was also an anti-infanticide activist. She opened a women's shelter called the Home for the Prevention of Infanticide, where Brahmin widows could safely deliver their children and leave them there to be adopted if they so desired. She also campaigned against child marriage and was an advocate of widow remarriage [instead of burning alive].

She died after carrying a boy sick with bubonic plague to the hospital, and she also became infected.

She also published books of poetry but I've not found any English translations. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Savitribai_Phule

She is one of my biggest heroes.

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A painting in the Madhubani style by Delhi-based artist Malvika Raj, titled ‘Mai’, celebrating the life of Savitribai Phule. Photo: Malvika Raj

This painting was used as the cover for ‘Savitribai Phule and I’ - a semi-historical fictional book aimed at young adults. https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/52802731-savitribai-phule-and-i

[globalworship]

Magi Travel in the Time of King Herod

"The Epiphany text begins with these words: 'In the time of King Herod.' Most of history has been 'in the time of King Herod.' And if not the time of Herod, then the time of Pharaoh, the time of Nebuchadnezzar, the time of Caesar, the time of Nero, all the way into modern times—the time of Hitler and Mussolini, of Franco and Salazar, of Pinochet and Putin. It’s true that most of history has been lived in the time of tyrant kings. But the gospel also tells us that since the birth of Jesus, heaven has been invading the time of tyrant kings." - Rev. Brian Zahnd

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Journey of the Magi, by James Tissot, circa 1894

[globalworship]

Mandir/Temple - Hindi song

I really like this lovely Hindi song released in October 2024. Rubina, the singer, does really well with putting Indian vocal ornamentation on a fusion style song. I've featured some other songs with her beautiful singing in previous blog posts.

No instrumentalists are listed, so probably all the instruments are digital.

Hindi lyrics and English translation are below the video.

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written/ composed: Naresh Chetry https://www.facebook.com/drake.largo.7 Singer: Rubina bk https://www.facebook.com/RubinaBKRubu

Produced through: Kadosh House https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100072388391882&mibextid=JRoKGi

The recording was made in Siliguri, a city in the state of West Bengal, India, located in the foothills of the Himalayas.

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Note on the theme of the song:

The greatest blessing and the most precious gift that mankind has received is that God has made mankind His temple. There is no greater blessing than this. It is the highest blessing for mankind that the Creator God lives in our hearts, and we are His temple—how wonderful that is!

इंसान को सबसे बड़ी आशीष और सबसे अनमोल तोहफा यह मिला है कि प्रभु ने इंसान को अपना मंदिर बनाया। इससे बड़ी कोई आशीष नहीं है। यह इंसान के लिए सबसे ऊँचा अंग्रह है कि सृष्टिकर्ता परमेश्वर हमारे दिल में वास करते हैं, और हम उनके मंदिर हैं — यह कितना अद्भुत है!

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Lyrics and English translation:

इतना रहम तूने मुझ पर कर दिया प्रभु, मेरे शरीर को मंदिर बनाया, मन को बनाया घर। In English- You have shown me so much mercy, O Lord, You made my body a temple, And made my heart a home.

मालिक है तू स्वर्ग का, यह जहां भी तेरा है, फिर भी यीशु ने मेरे मन को अपना बसेरा बनाया है। (2) In English -You are the Lord of heaven, And this world is also Yours, Yet, Jesus chose my heart To make it His dwelling place.(2)

मैं मंदिर हूँ तेरा, तू ही राज करे सदा। (इस मंदिर में तेरी उपासना हो सदैव, सर्वदा।)(2) In English- I am Your temple, May You reign forever. (In this temple, may Your worship continue always, forever.) (2)

Music …

दिल को मेरे तूने आसन बनाया, मेरे लिए इससे बढ़कर है क्या ! यह सारी दुनिया तुझसे जुड़ी है, और तू मेरे दिलमे बसा। In English- You made my heart Your throne, What could be greater for me than this? This entire world is connected to You, And You dwell within me.

आशीषित हैं हम, ऐ यीशु मसीह, इस दिल में तू रहता है। In English- We are blessed, O Jesus Christ, For You live in this heart.

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The Hindi word “mandir"refers to a temple, Hindu, Christian, or otherwise. I have seen a mandir with contextualized Christian visual elements designed by my friend Jyoti Sahi.

A different Christian artist made another song that features the word "mandir." See it in my previous blog post at https://globalworship.tumblr.com/post/766892681167355905/main-mandir-hoon-terai-am-your-temple-hindi

[globalworship]

Ukraine Icon of the Baptism of Christ, for Epiphany

The Feast of the Epiphany is an ancient holiday that originally combined several events that expressed the revealing of the divinity of Christ: the Adoration of the Magi, the Baptism of Christ, and the Miracle at Cana of Galilee.

The main emphasis of the holiday in the modern Byzantine tradition is that God appears to the world for the first time as the Trinity, at Christ's Baptism, and Christ enters bodily into the most common substance on earth and in the human body - water. The consecration of water is the renewal of creation through the bodily entry of God Himself into it. -- Father Vasyl Rudeyko, Ukrainian Catholic University

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This biblical scene is portrayed in this recent icon by Uliana Krekhovets in Lviv, Ukraine.

John the Baptist appears on the left, the angel of the Lord on the right, and the Holy Spirit (dove) above the head of Christ, who is holding a symbolic light.

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In this 3-minute video, Father Vasyl Rudeyko discusses the teaching summarized above. At the 2:20 mark, we see the icon being created step by step.

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Born in 1987 in Lviv, Ukraine. Ulyana Krekhovets is an artist, icon painter, designer, art manager, coordinator of art projects of the development department of the Ukrainian Catholic University (UCU), teacher of the Icon Painting School “Radruzh” of the UCU. She graduated from the Lviv National Academy of Arts with a degree in “Design” (2011) and the “Radruzh” Icon Painting School at the Ukrainian Catholic University (2013).

Follow her art at https://www.facebook.com/ulyana.krekhovets and https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100065587385574

See more of her icons at https://iconart-gallery.com/en/catalogue/#!/Uliana-Krekhovets/c/103970474