The practice of goodness is accompanied by spontaneous spiritual joy and moral beauty. Likewise, truth carries with it the joy and splendor of spiritual beauty. Truth is beautiful in itself. Truth in words, the rational expression of the knowledge of created and uncreated reality, is necessary to man, who is endowed with intellect. But truth can also find other complementary forms of human expression, above all when it is a matter of evoking what is beyond words: the depths of the human heart, the exaltations of the soul, the mystery of God. Even before revealing himself to man in words of truth, God reveals himself to him through the universal language of creation, the work of his Word, of his wisdom: the order and harmony of the cosmos - which both the child and the scientist discover - "from the greatness and beauty of created things comes a corresponding perception of their Creator," "for the author of beauty created them."289
Created "in the image of God,"293 man also expresses the truth of his relationship with God the Creator by the beauty of his artistic works. Indeed, art is a distinctively human form of expression; beyond the search for the necessities of life which is common to all living creatures, art is a freely given superabundance of the human being's inner riches. Arising from talent given by the Creator and from man's own effort, art is a form of practical wisdom, uniting knowledge and skill,294 to give form to the truth of reality in a language accessible to sight or hearing. To the extent that it is inspired by truth and love of beings, art bears a certain likeness to God's activity in what he has created. Like any other human activity, art is not an absolute end in itself, but is ordered to and ennobled by the ultimate end of man.295
Sacred art is true and beautiful when its form corresponds to its particular vocation: evoking and glorifying, in faith and adoration, the transcendent mystery of God - the surpassing invisible beauty of truth and love visible in Christ, who "reflects the glory of God and bears the very stamp of his nature," in whom "the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily."296 This spiritual beauty of God is reflected in the most holy Virgin Mother of God, the angels, and saints. Genuine sacred art draws man to adoration, to prayer, and to the love of God, Creator and Savior, the Holy One and Sanctifier.
Throughout the years, I have been fortunate to see truth, beauty and sacred art in my Catholic faith journey. Below you can see some examples of the photos I've taken along the way.
Communication is a means of expressing the missionary vocation of the entire Church. Social Media is one way to experience this call to discover the beauty of faith and encountering Christ. Below are a few examples I've created.
The Sunday cycle is divided into three years, labeled A, B, and C. In Year A, we read mostly from the Gospel of Matthew. In Year B, we read the Gospel of Mark and chapter 6 of the Gospel of John. In Year C, we read the Gospel of Luke. The Gospel of John is read during the Easter season in all three years.
I've always had a passion for creating things. Flying drones is no exception. While I continue to grow in knowledge and experience, below are a few examples of some work I created for parishes around the U.S.
St. Maximilian Kolbe Church
St. Max is a Roman Catholic Church in the Archdiocese of Cincinnati, serving Liberty Township, West Chester, OH
Maximilian Maria Kolbe (1894–1941) was a Polish Catholic priest and Conventual Franciscan friar who volunteered to die in place of a man named Franciszek Gajowniczek in the German death camp of Auschwitz, located in German-occupied Poland during World War II.
Holy Ghost Catholic Church
Holy Ghost is a Roman Catholic Church in the Archdiocese of Allentown, serving Bethlehem, PA.
Holy Ghost Church was originally established as a German ethnic parish. In 1885, in order to meet the needs of a growing German immigrant population on the South Side of the Lehigh River, permission was granted to build a new church in South Bethlehem.
Incarnation of Our Lord
Incarnation is a Roman Catholic Church in the Archdiocese of Allentown, serving Bethlehem, PA
Slovak immigrants came to south Bethlehem in search of jobs in local industries. Believing there was a need for a Slovak church, Monsignor William Heinen of Mauch Chunk purchased land from Lehigh University in 1891 and opened the Church of Saints Cyril and Methodius. The Monsignor sold off parcels of the remaining land to parishioners, creating a Slovak community on the Southside.
Guardian Angels
Guardian Angels is a Roman Catholic Church in the Archdiocese of Detroit, serving Clawson, MI
In January of 1920, the Archdiocese of Detroit designated Clawson as a mission of a parish which was later to become known as Holy Name Parish in Birmingham. Mass was initially celebrated in the, now demolished, old Clawson Theatre on Fourteen Mile Road.
WYD 2016 was the 15th World Youth Day, an international event organized by the Catholic Church and focused on faith and youth that took place from 26 to 31 July 2016 in Kraków, Poland. It was the third World Youth Day held in Central Europe.
