My first discovery of today’s Saint, John Damascene (675/676-749) came when I was pondering the claims of the Catholic Church in my Protestant days. I learned that he took a leading role in opposing the command of Byzantine Emperor Leo III that churches should destroy all images and icons. This dreadful notion came about through the growing influence of Islam with its rejection of images. I was fascinated to learn about what came to be known as the Iconoclastic controversy because of the fact that it was repeated in Britain in the Reformation era, when the Protestants conducted a similar systematic campaign against images. Each year, as I work on the dispatch of Christmas cards, I am reminded of the beauties of Catholic art. We in Carmel are particularly blessed with pictures of Teresa of Avila. You just have to google her name and there they are. Of course they do not have the accuracy of photographs, but painters try to portray the spirit of those they are representing, and in the age of photography perhaps we have lost sight of that.
Intercessions:
Marie – cancer
Bernard – cancer, and wife Angela
Rosemarie – multiple afflictions
Siena and Elara – infants with severe medical issues
Agnes – acute health problems
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