Thursday, February 10, 2011

Stories to Tell...

  
I have been collecting religious icons for a long time now.
 I was raised Catholic and went to mass every morning
before school.   I loved the look of the old church, the smell of incense burning,
and the mystery of it all...



Celluloid cross on an infants crib.
Protecting the innocent baby from any harm
in the days when children were snatched from this earth
at alarming rates. 





When I started to buy and sell antiques for a living
I was able to go to Europe quite a few times.
It was there that I had access to the many beautiful things
from England, Belgium and France.  They
had an age and patina that was impossible
to resist.

Some I kept...



Old faded beauty

Years and years of gazing upon and
praying to.

Prayers that were answered and some
that were not...



How many fingers were dipped in the Holy Water
that was in this font?

Old worn pewter...
Perhaps it was on a convent wall?
Who knows of the history and story behind these objects.

I spend many a moment still gazing on these objects
and a silent prayer in a singular moment
springs from my lips as I pray like so many before me.

For Peace,  For Comfort,  For Hope...

10 comments:

a.smith said...

I have always felt drawn to the mystery and beauty of the catholic church. Luckily I have inherited many interesting items from my grandmother, who was a nun before she left the convent to have my mother. These pictures are lovely, thank you for sharing them!!

Debra She Who Seeks said...

I like the old statue of St. Francis (?) with baby Jesus.

jeanette from everton terrace said...

Hi Cynthia, I was typing my word verif' and my comment disappeared so I'm not sure if its in line or in blogworld somewhere. Just in case - doing again.
As usual we are drawn to the same things. Suppose my first 6 years at Catholic school did it for me. Plus they used fabulous artists and craftsman building churches and decorating them right? I'm going to an auction this weekend that isn't even advertising jewelry but when I read "old gothic altar pieces" I was in. Will think of you :)

Midwest to Midlands said...

Such a nice post with thought and meaning.

Julie@beingRUBY said...

Lovely Cynthia
I have quite a fascination with religious icons too.. must resurrect the series i had [wow long ago now.. naughty me]

It's funny.. I didn't grow up Catholic nor very religious.. but there is some sense of comfort from all of this.. perhaps just the tradition.. thousands of years of tradition.. I find all religions fascinating.. especially the symbology

Have a great weekend.. ciao xxx Julie

Chris said...

Beautiful Cynthia! I was raised Catholic too...or did I already tell you this? Forgive my forgetfulness! I definitely enjoyed these pieces...they just touch one inside, don't they?

1 Funky Woman said...

These are all so beautiful! I was raised Catholic and went to church every morning also. I so loved the smell of the incense. It brings up so many memories. My mother gave me my first statue of Mary when I was in 8th grade. She had collected them ever since I was a kid. When she died my sister and I divided them between the two of us. They give me such a great feeling when I see them.

Where do you display them, I'd love to see!

Megan

So, you like the car?

La Petite Gallery said...

I grew up Catholic, and i have tried to go back to church. It is so different,
just not the same. I feel as though I were is a strange church. It just doesn't feel right anymore. I say my prayers at home.

Anonymous said...

All your pieces in this post are lovely! Patina...adds an interesting dimension,but I'm approaching the stage of collecting it on myself - a bit worn around the edges. Hope it adds to my appeal!xx

Kath said...

For Peace, For Comfort, For Hope...

Sounds just perfect xx

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