Biblical art in Catholic churches
Category: Arts and Crafts
The Benedictus is the name of a poetic speech given by St Zechariah, the father of St John the Baptist. It’s named after the first word of the poem – ‘Benedictus’ - which is the Latin word for ‘Blessed’. He uttered these words after regaining his faith and the power of speech. Pope St John … Continue reading The Benedictus (Luke 1:67-80)
St Luke was the writer of two of the books included in the New Testament – the Gospel of Luke and the Acts of the Apostles. As such, he is known as St Luke the ‘Evangelist’, which means ‘gospel-writer’. According to the start of his gospel, he had not known Christ personally – he was … Continue reading St Luke the Evangelist (Colossians 4:14)
Three months after they left Egypt, the Israelites arrived at Mount Sinai. This was because God had previously told Moses to return to this holy mountain, accompanied by the people (Exodus 3:1-12). There they set up camp and prepared to meet God. After three days, Moses got them all to gather around the mountain. A dark … Continue reading Moses receives the Law (Exodus 19:1–20:21)
Another of Christ’s famous ‘I am’ sayings, found in St John’s gospel, is where he spoke of himself as ‘the Good Shepherd’. While teaching the people in Jerusalem, he shared with them a parable about a shepherd who protected his sheep. The shepherd, he said, “calls his own sheep by name and leads them out… … Continue reading I am the Good Shepherd (John 10:1-21)
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)
The book of Revelation, otherwise known as the ‘Apocalypse’, is the last book of the Bible. It contains a series of prophetic visions that its writer, named 'John', experienced while exiled on the island of Patmos. He was told by God to write them down for the seven churches of Asia (1:1-9). For a variety … Continue reading The Revelation of St John (Revelation 1:1-20)
The account of Christ walking on water is found in three of the gospels, although only St Matthew’s version tells us about St Peter’s involvement in the miracle. (Matthew 14:22-23; Mark 6:45-52; John 6:15-21) After Christ fed the 5,000, he told the apostles to set sail for the town of Capernaum, on the other side … Continue reading Christ walks on water (Matthew 14:22-33)
