Biblical art in Catholic churches
Author: Lo & Behold
The Wisdom of Solomon is a unique biblical book. It was one of the last books of the Old Testament to be produced and it was the only one written in Greek (about 50 BC). The author was probably a Greek-speaking Jew who lived in Egypt, where there was a large Jewish community at the … Continue reading The Death of God’s Son (Wisdom 2:12-20)
The story of the healing of the blind man Bartimaeus comes to us from St Mark’s gospel (Mark 10:46-52). In Luke’s version he is unnamed (18:35-43) and in St Matthew’s account, he is healed along with another blind beggar. Christ was on his final journey to Jerusalem, where he was to suffer and die. A … Continue reading The Healing of Bartimaeus (Mark 10:46-52)
The story of Christ healing a paralysed man is included in three of the gospels (Matthew 9:1-8; Mark 2:1-12; Luke 5:17-26). Each of the accounts include individual details which enable us to build up a bigger picture of what happened. One day, when Christ was teaching the people at a house in Capernaum (probably St … Continue reading The Healing of the Paralysed Man (Luke 5:17-26)
According to the Church, the death of Christ is revealed throughout the whole Bible. As Pope St John Paul II explained: “There were many messianic texts in the Old Testament which foreshadowed the sufferings of the future Anointed One of God. Among all these, particularly touching is the one which is commonly called the Fourth Song … Continue reading The Suffering Servant (Isaiah 52:13-53:12)
Samuel was a prophet and the last judge to rule over Israel. His story is told in the first book of Samuel. From there we learn that he appointed the first two kings of Israel, Saul and David. Samuel also successfully prayed for victory over Israel’s enemies, the Philistines, and led a spiritual renewal of … Continue reading Samuel judges Israel (1 Samuel 7:3-17)
In his gospel, St Matthew says that the Holy Family fled to Egypt to escape King Herod’s plan to murder the infant Jesus. He wrote that they “remained there until the death of Herod. This was to fulfil what had been spoken by the Lord through the prophet, ‘Out of Egypt I have called my … Continue reading The Stay in Egypt (Hosea 11:1-4)
St Luke’s gospel is the only one to include any details of the childhood of Christ. This is probably because he spoke to the Virgin Mary, who shared her memories of the Child Jesus with him. The main story he tells is of Christ’s disappearance during a family trip to Jerusalem – and of being … Continue reading Christ among the Doctors (Luke 2:41-52)
