Behold, the Dwelling of God is with Men

Behold, the Dwelling of God is with Men
© Cecilia Lawrence
November 8th 2016
11 x 14 inches
Ink and watercolor

"For I know that my Redeemer lives,
and that He will at last stand forth upon the dust,
and from my flesh I shall see God;
Whom I myself shall see:
my own eyes, not another's, shall behold Him,
my inmost being is consumed with longing."
~ Job 19:25-27

I made this for my brother as a sort of "surrogate" ordination gift in lieu of the fact that I had not finished the triptych I had planned on making for him as a proper ordination gift. Instead, I decided to try and make him something smaller and simpler in time for his ordination which...did not happen. (Shocker there.) I just finished it today after weeks of struggling to make much headway on it, and so I'm happy I can now upload it.

The composition and style is based largely on the International Gothic style, especially as made famous by the beautiful Très Riches Heures du Duc de Berry. I also got some inspiration from this page of the Hours of Mary of Burgundy and used the interiors of Sainte Chapelle and Saint-Séverin as references for the apse of the church in my illumination. I chose to depict my brother celebrating Mass, particularly at the moment of the Consecration where the bread and wine become the real Flesh and Blood of Jesus Christ. I depicted my brother facing the altar because I wanted to emphasize the mystical action of the priest as being in Persona Christi (in the Person of Christ), as it is Christ Himself (through the person of the priest) who offers Himself to the Father for the salvation of the human race. So the priest (my brother) is himself anonymous, as his priestly ministry is taken up into the High Priesthood of Jesus Christ Himself. To quote the Catechism of the Catholic Church: "It is Christ himself, the eternal high priest of the New Covenant who, acting through the ministry of the priests, offers the Eucharistic sacrifice. And it is the same Christ, really present under the species of bread and wine, who is the offering of the Eucharistic sacrifice" (CCC 1410). The documents of Vatican II, speaking about the nature of the Mass, state: "At the Last Supper, on the night he was betrayed, our Savior instituted the Eucharistic Sacrifice of his Body and Blood. He did this in order to perpetuate the sacrifice of the cross throughout the centuries until he should come again, and so to entrust to his beloved spouse, the Church, a memorial of his death and resurrection: a sacrament of love, a sign of unity, a bond of charity, a paschal banquet in which Christ is consumed, the mind is filled with grace, and a pledge of future glory is given to us" (Sacrosanctum Concilium 47). The Mass, however, is not merely a memorial service or a commemoration It is a re-presentation of the sacrifice of Calvary. "On the cross Christ really shed his blood and was really slain...The Mass is the renewal and perpetuation of the sacrifice of the cross in the sense that it offers [Jesus] anew to God . . . and thus commemorates the sacrifice of the cross, reenacts it symbolically and mystically, and applies the fruits of Christ’s death upon the cross to individual human souls. All the efficacy of the Mass is derived, therefore, from the sacrifice of Calvary" (The Faith of Millions by John A. O'Brien, 306). 

This illustration, then, is heavily layered with a number of symbols and theological truths. Since the Holy Trinity is the central mystery of Christian faith and life (as it is the mystery of God in Himself) and it is for the worship of God that the Mass is offered, God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit occupy the center of the composition. God the Father is shown supporting the cross of His Son while the Holy Spirit hovers above the head of Christ, signifying the Love (Which is the Holy Spirit) between God the Father and God the Son. The Holy Trinity is framed by wheeling seraphim and cherubim depicted in red and gold. The Holy Virgin Mary and St. John the Apostle shown below the Cross of Christ evoke the historical event of the Crucifixion by their presence, as well as show how the Mass is the mystical re-presentation of this very same event. Their presence, along with that of the angels below, also represents the presence of the hosts of heaven and the communion of saints at every Mass. The priest is dressed in vestments of red which is the liturgical color worn for the celebration of Good Friday and the feasts of martyrs who shed their blood for the sake of Christ. The color red further signifies the identification of the priest with Jesus, as he too, is a victim offering up his life in service to Christ and the Gospel. The angels on either side of the priest are dressed as deacons in red dalmatics. The word "deacon" comes from the Greek "diákonos" which means "minister", "servant" or "messenger" which is appropriate for angels, as this very word comes from angelos which means "messenger." The angels hold thuribles full of incense as symbols of worship and prayer, as a reference to Revelations 8:14: "And the smoke of the incense rose with the prayers of the saints from the hand of the angel before God." The priest holds the Eucharistic Host aloft, identifying the Eucharist with the Body of Jesus Christ crucified, which is sacrificed for the redemption of humanity: "And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself" (John 12:32). This all takes places in the church interior, which is a place sanctified by the presence of God. The jamb figures in the pillars on either side depict my brother's patron saints St. Peter the Apostle and St. Anthony of Padua, respectively. The church itself is depicted in blue and gold, which are colors symbolic of Heaven. The church is God's house on earth, His "dwelling among men." "This is none other than the house of God and the Gate of Heaven" (Genesis 28:17). 

The Latin phrase at the bottom "Ecce Tabernaculum Dei cum Hominibus" means "Behold, the Dwelling of God is with men." It comes from Revelations 21:3 which says:

"And I heard a great voice from the throne saying,
“Behold, the dwelling of God is with men.
He will dwell with them, and they shall be his people,
and God himself will be with them and be their God."

The quote from Revelations and Job were both Scriptural passages that my brother selected for his priestly ordination card, so I decided to use them here to remind him of his ordination.