Caption: Images and facts of Jim Quillen displayed at Alcatraz. “Before man are life and death, good and evil" (Sirach 15:17). These words reminded me of the “artwork” displayed at Alcatraz. The artwork displayed towards the end of the prison tour is not exactly in the style of the great Renaissance or Baroque period. Rather, it is the artwork of God in the life of prisoner Jim Quillen. The display at Alcatraz explains that, due to his difficult childhood, Jim Quillen became

Icon of Bishop Lambert created by Cecilia Lawrence for LHC-LA. Our congregation, the Lovers of the Holy Cross of Los Angeles, commissioned Cecilia Lawrence to create an icon of our founder, Bishop Pierre Lambert de la Motte, a 17th-century French Bishop.  To break with the patronage system, which had bound missionaries to a particular country, the Holy See sent him as the first Apostolic Vicar to the Far East to evangelize.  The crucifix, which he holds in one hand, and the b

The second reading for the Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time , 1 Corinthians 1:26-31 , reminds me of a reflection given by Erin Obrien on The Chair of Hope . I came across the chair and her reflection as I strolled through the Spanish Village Art Center at San Diego’s Balboa Park. In her reflection, she explains that the “battered chair was abandoned”. After seeing it for some days, she decided “to pour love and attention into the chair.” As I read her words, I thought about ho

Luca Giordano, Painting, 1690 Matthew 4:12-23 always reminds me of the moment I felt called to religious life. As the song, "Pescador de Hombres" , or, "Lord, You Have Come" , by Fr. Cesareo Gabarain, played during communion, I remember looking up at the Crucifix and feeling called by Christ Crucified to follow Him. Although I was only ten years old when I felt the call, I did not understand what that would mean for my parents, my family, or me. Years later, in speaking to my

Artist: Sr. Yen Van Nguyen, LHC-LA Each person is like a chapel filled with stained glass windows. It is most beautiful when sunlight pierces through the glass. One cannot fully see the beauty of the windows or the chapel unless one enters inside; from the outside, there is only a partial glimpse at certain times of the day. Likewise, the soul of each person can be fully seen and appreciated only by God and by the individual themselves. No one can completely grasp the beauty