Antonietta...

I discovered the Venerable Antonietta Meo a year or so ago, 

from a website by  Fr. Riccardi, here.
Technically, she's not a canonized saint yet,
and I'll hope you don't mind my referring to her as such.
But if she's not in already heaven, then I fear there's little hope for the rest of us.

From the website: 

"Although she was very young, she showed comprehension and love for redemptive pain that you can't explain if you don't admit the intervention of an extraordinary Grace."

Antonietta lived in Rome in the 1930's with her family.
She developed cancer and had a leg amputated.

The disease ultimately took her life. She died while still very young.  

Antonietta said that for Jesus in the Eucharist, she wanted to be

 "the lamp that burns in front of the tabernacle day and night."

Upon reading about her life,  I loved this little girl immediately. 

I think she shows us that anyone can become a saint. 

So anyway, I made a veil in her honor.

As you can see, the veil's covered in little rosebuds.
Antonietta is like a little rosebud for Jesus.

Below, I'll share some letters by Antonietta and also some paintings and frescos by the early Renaissance artist and architect, Giotto di Bondone (1266-1337)

I thought he'd be a good match for this week's saint, 

because in Giotto I feel we can find something fresh and new for his time. 

There's a truth to these painting not found previously.

He was the first to begin drawing from life after many centuries of artists not doing so.

Antonietta wrote many letters to Jesus, Mary, the Holy Spirit and God the Father.  

I'll share a few, but there are many more to be found at Fr. Riccardi's website.

 The Meeting at the Golden Gate, Arena Chapel (1305)

Dear Virgin Mary I love You so much and tell Jesus to forgive me of the fact that in the church I didn't stand still. Dear Virgin Mary tell Jesus that I love Him so much my dear Virgin Mary I'm glad that today is Your Day my dear Virgin Mary the next time Your Day and Jesus' will come I'll make small sacrifices and tell Jesus to make me die before I commit a mortal sin.
My dear Virgin Mary it's not enough telling You how I love You just one time so I'll repeat that I love You so much really very much and I promise that from now onward I'll always be good. Dear Virgin Mary, lots of greetings and caresses and kisses from Your daughter 

Below, one of Giotto's Crucifixion paintings.

Dear Jesus on the Cross and dear baby Jesus Oh! Jesus!...
You who are very very good and You who see that we commit a lot of sins,
Forgive us, and let us go to Paradise one day.
Oh! Jesus! You who have so suffered for us
But I want to make up for all these sins committed against You.
Oh Jesus!...You who were born in a cave in Bethlehem
And suffered so much in that straw I want to do all I can to make up for all Your pain.
You felt so cold but just an ox and a donkey did all they could to warm You.
Dear Jesus, You who came from the stars to come on this earth to save us and to get back for us the Paradise.
You who suffered all that pain. I want to do my best to make up for all that pain. Dear Jesus many greetings caresses and kisses
From Your dear Antonietta.
Antonietta and Jesus

The Flight into Egypt, (1305)

Dear Jesus Eucharist my heart is bursting with love for You and I'm glad to receive You tomorrow morning in the Holy Communion.
Dear Jesus, tomorrow, when You are in my heart,
imagine my soul like an apple
and in the same way in which seeds
are in an apple imagine a cupboard in my soul,
and as beneath the peel of the seeds there is the white seed,
in the same way put Your Grace,
that is like the white seed,
into the cupboard and let this Grace stay with me forever.
Dear Jesus, I know people always offend You, I want to amend all these offenses, dear Jesus if You were a man like us and if You locked Yourself inside a House You wouldn't hear all the offenses caused to You, in the same way You could come into my heart and stay locked with me and I'll make a lot of sacrifices for You and I'll tell You some sweet words to comfort You. Dear Jesus, tell sweet Virgin Mary that I know tomorrow will be Her day, I'll want to make a lot of sacrifices to comfort Her. Dear Jesus tell God the Father I love Him so much dear Jesus I adore You and I kiss Your feet and Your dear
Antonietta and Jesus
says good-bye to You Dear Jesus You who suffered so much on the Cross first of all teach me how to do my duty so that I can make sacrifices. 

Ognissanti Madonna, (1310)

"I thank thee, O Father, 

Lord of heaven and earth, 

that thou hast hid this things from the wise and prudent, 

and hast revealed them unto babes: even so, Father; for so it seemed good in thy sight"

( Luke 10, 21). 

Mary...

Here we are at Christmas Eve already! What better time to remember Our Lady? This veil was made especially in her honor. It's light blue, for Mary.

It's only right that a mother should be honored on her child's birthday. But how much more so for the Blessed Mother? She's given us so much through her Son.

 There's so many images of Our Lady veiled. I'd like to share just a few with you here.

Below, The Virgin and Child with John the Baptist Sandro Botticelli (1444-1510)

In answer to her prayers to remain hidden, poor and lowly, God was pleased to conceal her from nearly every other human creature in her conception, her birth, her life, her mysteries, her resurrection and assumption.
St. Louis de Montfort, True devotion to Mary

Below, Fra Philippo Lippi,  Madonna and Child with the Angels  (c. 1455)

Her own parents did not really know her; and the angels would often ask one another, "Who can she possibly be?", for God had hidden her from them, or if he did reveal anything to them, it was nothing compared with what he withheld. 

St. Louis de Montfort, True devotion to Mary

Above, one of Giovanni Bellini's many Madonnas (c. 1485). Below, another Madonna by Bellini.

God the Father willed that she should perform no miracle during her life, at least no public one, although he had given her the power to do so. God the Son willed that she should speak very little although he had imparted his wisdom to her.  
St. Louis de Montfort, True devotion to Mary


Below, The Virgin of the Grapes Pierre I. Mignard (1612-1695).

 Even though Mary was his faithful spouse, God the Holy Spirit willed that his apostles and evangelists should say very little about her and then only as much as was necessary to make Jesus known.  
St. Louis de Montfort, True devotion to Mary



The last two veiled ones below, William Bouguereau (1825-1905)

Mary is the supreme masterpiece of Almighty God and he has reserved the knowledge and possession of her for himself. She is the glorious Mother of God the Son who chose to humble and conceal her during her lifetime in order to foster her humility. He called her "Woman" as if she were a stranger, although in his heart he esteemed and loved her above all men and angels. Mary is the sealed fountain and the faithful spouse of the Holy Spirit where only he may enter. She is the sanctuary and resting-place of the Blessed Trinity where God dwells in greater and more divine splendour than anywhere else in the universe, not excluding his dwelling above the cherubim and seraphim. No creature, however pure, may enter there without being specially privileged. 

The Angelus

The Angel of the Lord declared to Mary:
And she conceived of the Holy Spirit.

Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee; blessed art thou among women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of
our death. Amen.

Behold the handmaid of the Lord: Be it done unto me according to Thy word.

Hail Mary . . .

And the Word was made Flesh: And dwelt among us.

Hail Mary . . .


Pray for us, O Holy Mother of God, that we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.

Let us pray:

Pour forth, we beseech Thee, O Lord, Thy grace into our hearts; that we, to whom the incarnation of Christ, Thy Son, was made known by the message of an angel, may by His Passion and Cross be brought to the glory of His Resurrection, through the same Christ Our Lord.

Amen. 

Below, Fra Angelico, Annunciation. (c. 1400-45)

I hope you have a very Merry Christmas and a blessed and happy New Year!

Laura....

 The classic chapel cap is often a veil of choice for little girls, because there's nothing to hang down and distract them. Nothing within the range of visibility to tempt them to pull or fold or twist. I made one with trim that sort of hugs the scalp, so it stays put a little better. Then I put a metal clip in the center and thought I was all set. Problem solved.

But little girls who are old enough to keep quiet during the Mass are often still young enough to begin to fidget incessantly sometime between the Gospel and the sermon. This child often manages to end up looking like she's got a Brillo pad stuck up on top of her head by Communion. Do you know the look I'm talking about?

So, I sewed the clip in towards the back and added a clear plastic comb (you can barely see it here), towards the front.

Here's hoping this will do the trick. I'll keep you posted about that some time after Sunday.

               

Grazie!

Curtsy!

                                                                    

 St. Lawrence. 
(c. 225 –c. 258)

Here's a detail from Bartolomeo Vivarini's (c. 1432 – c. 1499), "Saints Dominic, Augustine, and Lawrence".

St. Lawrence is typically depicted with the Gospel and a gridiron or grill.

Below, Francisco de Zubaran's (1598 –1664) "St. Lawrence". As with most all his paintings, the use of light and dark here signifies a certain level of intensity. The saint is conversing with heaven. The angle of the staff and grill, and the positioning of his hand over the breast combined with the saint's upward gaze all makes for a dramatic presentation.

Here below, "St. Sixtus Ordains St. Lawrence".

 

Lawrence was one of the seven deacons of Rome.

Aren't the blue vestments unusual? 

   The picture above and the next three below are all frescos and painted by
Fra Angelico (c.1395 –1455), who as Vasari put it, was known to be a "simple and most holy man....most gentle and temperate, living chastely, removed from the cares of the world."
(Gardner, Art Through the Ages)

I think one gets a sense of his character here in the quiet lines, and in the stillness and orderliness in these delicately ornamental paintings.

 Lawrence was charged with the responsibility for the material goods of the Church, and the distribution of alms to the poor.

The Church in Rome was under persecution by the Emperor Valerian (253 to 260), and Lawrence knew he would soon be arrested. Lawrence sold all the sacred vessels and the altar's golden candlesticks. He sought out the poor, then he gave them all the money he had.

Now the prefect of Rome was a very greedy man. He sent for Lawrence and said to him,  

'I am told that your priests possess gold candlesticks for your Masses. Furthermore, I'm told that the sacred blood is received in silver cups. Now, your doctrine commands you to, 'render unto Caesar what is his'. Therefore, you must bring me these and anything else of value, for the emperor Valerian desires them. Your God brought no valuables into the world with him, but only words. You must give me the treasures, therefore, and you may keep his words.'

Lawrence replied, 'I will bring you the treasures of the Church. However, I need to take an inventory.' After three days he gathered the orphans and widows, the poor and the elderly. He brought these to the prefect and said, 'These are the treasure of the Church.'


Four days after the pope was put to death, Lawrence and some other Roman clerics suffered martyrdom. Lawrence was tortured in the cruelest of ways. The prefect had a gridiron prepared, the coals beneath it were lit, and Lawrence was placed on it.

It was in the midst of this torture that he cried out:  

'I am already roasted on one side! If thou wouldst have me well cooked, it is time to turn me on the other!'

(Ha! Gah!)

Above, is a painting by Valentin de Boulogne (c. 1591-1632), "The Martyrdom of St. Lawrence". Caravagio had a great influence on this work. This is true catholic Baroque, Counter-Reformation art.

Below, is a sculpture by Gian Lorenzo Bernini (1598 –1680), "The Martyrdom of St. Lawrence." It's an example great technical skill. The artist created fire and smoking hot coals from marble. I'm not sure that's ever been done before or after this piece.

Well, maybe Rodin's (1840 –1917) "Gates of Hell", come to think of it...

Below is a photograph from inside the Papal Basilica of Saint Lawrence outside the Walls, which was built over the saint's tomb.

 

This Byzantine church is one of the seven principal churches in Rome and a destination of many pilgrimages.

O Almighty God, Who didst give unto Blessed Lawrence power

to be more than conqueror in his fiery torment;

grant unto us, we beseech thee,

the power to quench the flames of our sinful lusts.

Through Jesus Christ, we pray. Amen.

                                                                         

    from the 1962 Breviary 

More good stuff on St. Lawrence here.

Grace...

What happens when mantilla models get the giggles?

Why, you end up with too many silly pictures, of course!

The likes of which are illustrated here for you. he model was getting very silly indeed.

I thought I'd share these because they're fun, but too silly for my website.

By the way, the model's got on the Grace veil here in these pics--most of them, anyway. The top one's Antonietta, now that I'm taking a closer look. But I'll save Antonietta for another week... Anyhoo, 

I'm liking the fringe trim on this veil. In fact I'm liking it so much that I'm planning to do another style veil with this trim in the near future. I think the fringe is different--different in a good way.

St. Catherine of Siena (1347-1380) 

was the second youngest of twenty-three children born to the Benincasa family. 

She was a mystic and a very strong and emotionally intense woman. Below is a very Baroque picture of St. Catherine in ecstasy. 

St. Catherine of Siena was involved in the political affairs of her time and influenced the Holy Father's decision to return the papacy from Avignon back to Rome. No small thing for a woman of her day. 

She's often depicted with a mystical crown of thorns as seen above, or, as seen below with lilies, a symbol of virginity. In the Medieval painting below, Catherine has the habit of a Dominican. She was a third order, a lay Dominican. As such, Catherine was dedicated to helping those most in need in her city. Catherine was well renowned in Siena, and had a small following of priests and religious, as well as lay persons. 

Catherine's mystical experiences were recorded in her "dialogues", which are classic literature, still in print and well worth the read.

                   A Prayer of Saint Catherine of Siena to the Precious Blood of Jesus

Precious Blood,

Ocean of Divine Mercy:

Flow upon us!

Precious Blood,

Most pure Offering:

Procure us every Grace!

Precious Blood,

Hope and Refuge of sinners:

Atone for us!

Precious Blood,

Delight of holy souls:

Draw us! Amen.

- Saint Catherine of Siena

Faith...

By faith we understand that the world was framed by the word of God; that from invisible things visible things might be made. Hebrews 11:3.

~Extra long triangle veil with rounded back.
~Made of gold Casa Lace trim.
~Finished off in a soft peach lace trim with gold highlights.
~Measures 28" x 66".

I wanted to make a veil with warm tones to it; something a little different from what you usually see in chapel. 

Of course it can be worn in any season, but somehow I think this veil is especially suitable for Spring and Fall.

This is a generously long veil.

St. Faith was a girl of about 12 years old when she was martyred in France during the persecution under the Emperor Diocletian, sometime early on during the fourth century.

St. Faith, Virgin and Martyr was roasted and beheaded.  In 866, the remains of St. Faith were transferred to Conques.
                                                                          

 Here below is a picture of her golden reliquary. 

                                           Sancta Fides, ora pro nobis.

ACT OF FAITH

O MY GOD, I firmly believe that Thou art one God in Three Divine Persons, Father, Son and Holy Ghost. I believe that Thy Divine Son became Man, and died for our sins, and that He will come to judge the living and the dead. I believe these and all the truths, which the Holy Catholic Church teaches, because Thou hast revealed them, Who canst neither deceive nor be deceived. 

Amen.