Art • Music • Film • Poetry • Books Art Review Fra Angelico CHRIST CROWNED WITH THORNS Tempera and Gold on Panel circa 1430 John Christman, SSS I don’t like this painting. I don’t care for works of art that stridently emphasize Jesus’ suffering. Whether it’s Matthias Grünewald’s famous crucifixion scene from the Isenheim altarpiece […]
Eucharist & Culture
Eucharist & Culture · January / February 2020
Eucharist & Culture (January/February 2020)
Art • Music • Film • Poetry • Books Art Review THE TIME IS SOON Nicora Gangi Pastel 2016 John Christman, SSS People who have a sacramental worldview often place greater meaning upon everyday objects. They are perhaps less likely to embrace the type of “throwaway culture” that Pope Francis has criticized in his […]
Eucharist & Culture · November / December 2019
Eucharist & Culture (November/December 2019)
Art • Music • Film • Poetry • Books Art Review SAINT JOHN THE BAPTIST Sculpture marble Collection, Église Saint Jean Baptiste New York, New York Bernard Camiré, SSS This statue of Saint John the Baptist, very appropriately, greets worshipers and visitors as they enter the Blessed Sacrament Congregation’s Church of Saint Jean Baptiste […]
Eucharist & Culture · September / October 2019
Eucharist & Culture (September/October 2019)
Art • Music • Film • Poetry • Books Art Review UNTITLED (AFRICAN LAST SUPPER) Unsigned Painting on Cloth Africa (likely Uganda), circa 2011 Collection Congregation of the Blessed Sacrament Province of Saint Ann Gift of Dennis Ruane, SSS John Christman, SSS The Last Supper has been depicted in so many ways through […]
Eucharist & Culture · July / August 2019
Eucharist & Culture (July/August 2019)
Art • Music • Film • Poetry • Books Art Review John Christman, SSS MARK’S SENSES #2 2010, Oil on Canvas (Collection Paul Bechtold Library, Catholic Theological Union, Chicago Illinois) John Christman, SSS At the parish where I currently serve, we have between 80 and 90 funerals a year. So, celebrating a funeral is a […]
Eucharist & Culture · May / June 2019
Eucharist & Culture (May/June 2019)
Art • Music • Film • Poetry • Books Music Review Brandi Carlile BY THE WAY, I FORGIVE YOU Electra, 2018 John Christman, SSS As Catholics it is often pounded into our heads that whatever gifts we have received in life, whether talents, graces, or fortunate circumstances, we are to share with others. If this […]
Eucharist & Culture · March / April 2019
Eucharist & Culture (March/April 2019)
Art • Music • Film • Poetry • Books Art Review THREE CROSSES (1653) CHRIST PRESENTED TO THE PEOPLE (1655) Rembrandt van Rijn John Christman, SSS Often, the more we know about something, the greater we can appreciate it. This seems […]
Eucharist & Culture · January / February 2019
Eucharist & Culture (January/February 2019)
Art • Music • Film • Poetry • Books ART REVIEW THE VISION OF THE SEVEN GOLDEN LAMPSTANDS (2016) SEEK THE TRUE CENTER (2018) Grace Carol Bomer gracecarolbomer.com John Christman, SSS “The incarnation made visible the invisible. God became a man. Spirit and flesh were […]
Eucharist & Culture · November / December 2018
Eucharist & Culture (November/December 2018)
Art • Music • Film • Poetry • Books Art Review MADONNA AND CHILD WITH THE ORIGAMI ANGELS Janet McKenzie, Copyright 2009, www.janetmckenzie.com Collection of Donald Goodrich, Bennington, Vermont John Christman, SSS Not too long ago, a Filipino woman came up to me after Mass and asked me to pray for her and her family. With […]
Eucharist & Culture · September / October 2018
Eucharist & Culture (September/October 2018)
Art • Music • Film • Poetry • Books Art Review POPE FRANCIS: A MAN OF HIS WORD Wim Wenders, 2018 Holy See, United States John Christman, SSS When Pope Francis speaks off-the-cuff, people listen with piqued interest. Some are excited to hear the Pontiff’s candid thoughts; others are nervous. What will he say? […]