Biblical art in Catholic churches
Tag: Mosaic
After being sentenced to death, Christ was ordered to carry his cross to the hill outside Jerusalem where he was to be crucified. At the time, this was standard practice for criminals. Christ probably only carried the heavy cross-beam, rather than the entire cross. The beam would then have been fixed onto an upright stake … Continue reading Christ carries his cross (John 19:16-17)
While he was in his forties, Jacob had a dream about God that changed his life forever. The dream took place while he was on the run from his brother, Esau, who he had cheated out of his birthright. To escape his angry twin, Jacob was sent by his parents to stay with his uncle … Continue reading Jacob’s Ladder (Genesis 28:10-22)
Micah was one of the Twelve Prophets and possibly also a judge. He was active during the reign of three kings of Judah - Jotham, Ahaz and Hezekiah (roughly 757-698 BC). He also lived at the same time as the prophet Isaiah - and even quoted a passage from his book (Isaiah 2:2-4; Micah 4:1-3; … Continue reading The Birth in Bethlehem (Micah 5:1-5)
Ezekiel was one of the Four Major Prophets of Israel. As Pope St John Paul II observed, he was “a witness of one of the most tragic ages the Jewish people lived through: the destruction of the Kingdom of Judaea and its capital, Jerusalem, followed by the bitter exile in Babylon.” Ezekiel was among a … Continue reading The Prophet Ezekiel (Ezekiel 36:24-28)
St Mark, whose full name was ‘John Mark’, was the writer of one of the four gospels. Nevertheless, unless he was the young man who fled from the Garden of Gethsemane (Mark 14:51), he’s not mentioned in any of them. From the other books of the New Testament, however, we learn that his mother’s name … Continue reading St Mark the Evangelist (Acts 12:12-13:15)
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)
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)
St Jude was one of the Twelve Apostles chosen by Christ and is believed to be the author of one of the letters in the New Testament (Luke 1:13-16; Acts 1:14; Jude 1:1). St Jude is also referred to in two of the gospels as ‘Thaddaeus’ (Matthew 10:3; Mark 3:18). This is not in itself … Continue reading St Jude the Apostle (Jude 1:1-2)
On the night he was betrayed, Christ gathered his twelve apostles together for a evening meal that we know as the ‘Last Supper’. This meal was a celebration of the Jewish Passover, but it was also much more than that. St Luke tells us that once the group was gathered in the upper room of … Continue reading The Last Supper (Luke 22:7-38)
