I will take up the Chalice of Salvation

I will take up the Chalice of Salvation
© Cecilia Lawrence
April 29th, 2017
Ink and Watercolor
About 21½ Hours
11 x 14 inches

"How can I repay the LORD
for all his goodness to me?
The cup of salvation I will raise;
I will call on the name of the LORD.

My vows to the LORD I will fulfill
before all his people.
How precious in the eyes of the LORD
is the death of his faithful.

Your servant, LORD, your servant am I,
the son of your handmaid;
you have loosened my bonds.
A thanksgiving sacrifice I make;
I will call on the name of the LORD.

My vows to the LORD I will fulfill
before all his people,
in the courts of the house of the LORD,
in your midst, O Jerusalem."
~ Psalm 116: 12-19

This is another commission I finished for a deacon for his ordination holy card to celebrate his ordination to the priesthood. He liked my piece Behold the Dwelling of God is with Men that I made for my brother, and requested something similar for his ordination card. According to his specifications, I've depicted him in the chasuble he'll wear for his first Mass (for the Solemnity of Pentecost) lifting up the chalice of the Precious Blood at the moment of the Consecration. The altar is based on the high altar of St. Mary's in Remen, Iowa. It was built in a neo-Gothic style, including the statues of Saints Paul and Peter flanking the tabernacle. He also asked me to include a number of saints very near and dear to his heart, so in the border I've also depicted St. John the Apostle (top left corner), St. Peter the Apostle (top right corner), St. Ignatius of Loyola (on the left), St. Benedict of Nursia (on the right), St. Cecilia (bottom left), and St. Andrew the Apostle (bottom right). In the top center I've depicted the Sacred Heart of Jesus (with the rays of Divine Mercy issuing forth) and on the bottom center I've depicted the Immaculate Heart of Mary. The little figure in the Gothic "Q" initial is Our Lady of Luxembourg (Consolatrix Afflictorum). The Latin text (in the translation from the Douay-Rheims) means:

"What shall I render to the Lord, for all the things he hath rendered unto me?
I will take the chalice of salvation; and I will call upon the name of the Lord." (Psalm 115:12-13)