Nothing to blog about…
Except Saints.
March 10 is the feast of St. John Ogilvie, Scottish victim of the horrendous English protestant carnage. Ooooooo! They were a wicked lot - actually employing priest-hunters. (Did I ever mention I have a sculpted head of Elizabeth I on my fireplace chimney - it is out doors of course - and I hanged her there in retribution for all those hanged, drawn and quartered during her reign. I’ll post a photo one day.)
Then there is the 40 Holy Martyrs of Sebaste…supposedly the Roman Church took them off the calendar in the late 1960’s - tell that to the Orthodox. In fact, go here for the Orthodox Kontakion and martyrology. Forty naked soldiers on an ice covered lake, with hot baths on shore inviting them to apostatize.
And then today everyone forgot to mention St. Catherine of Bologna, whose feast is March 9th, and she is the patron of artists no less. This Madonna and Child is her work. (Don Marco! You’re slipping!)
St. Catherine of Bologna was a Poor Clare nun, and wonderful mystic, in addition to artist. I’m not sure she would be happy with how they display her incorrupt body however. It’s kinda creepy.
An artist I know, Pat Benincasa, seemed to be so impressed with the pose, she did a painting of the saint - not at all creepy. (Pat’s work is rather intriguing - click on her name to enter her gallery and see what she does - she has a beautiful image of Bl. John XXIII, and I like her St. Bernadette very much.)
Nothing else to blog about tonight.