Thomas Merton

Prayer of Thomas Merton

My Lord God, I have no idea where I am going. I do not see the road ahead of me. I cannot know for certain where it will end. Nor do I really know myself, and the fact that I think that I am following your will does not mean that I am actually doing so. But I believe that the desire to please you does in fact please you. And I hope I have that desire in all that I am doing. I hope that I will never do anything apart from that desire. And I know that if I do this you will lead me by the right road though I may know nothing about it. Therefore will I trust you always though I may seem to be lost and in the shadow of death. I will not fear, for you are ever with me, and you will never leave me to face my perils alone.

Cefalu Pantocrator: our summertime icon workshop

It was a lovely week in York Beach last week, when seven iconographers gathered in the home of Barbara Boschert, to pray and write icons based on the ceiling mosaic of the cathedral in Cefalu, Sicily.

Iconographers, from left to right: Maryanne Lindquist, Barbara LaSalle, the Rev. Kit Wang, Karen Gilroy, the Rev. Bette Pollock (working on her crossword puzzle) and our hostess,

Barbara Boschert.

We followed the tradition of tracing the template of the icon onto our boards.

...and worked (and prayed) in artist-grade acrilic guash.

And this Sunday we blessed the icons by praying over them and by having them at the altar during the Holy Eucharist.

Thank you, great iconographers, for a wonderful week. It was an honor to walk this journey with you.

I am the Light

On Tuesday of next week, 6 students will begin writing this icon in a workshop offered by St. George's, the parish I serve. Three of the students have written other icons with me before, and three are new to iconography.



This icon is based on a ceiling mosaic icon from the Cefalu cathedral in Palermo, Italy.








Earlier this year I was led to write this icon in part because I was looking for an image that would be good for new and experienced iconographers alike. Using only the "head and shoulders" of the image keeps the details larger, which will be easier for older hands and older eyes. And the icon itself is compelling. There is a kindness and an awesomeness both in this image of Christ, who reminds us (through the inscription in the Gospel book he is holding) that he is the Light of the world.

Stay tuned, as I hope to include pictures from next week's class, and the student's work.