In June of 2023, Fr. Edmund Eduarte, pastor of the Blessed Sacrament Catholic Church in Houston TX, led a group of pilgrims to the Holy Land. Scott and I were blessed to join them on this grace-filled pilgrimage.
So many beautiful and precious memories were gifted to us in the Holy Land but there was one particular memory that stood out. It was at a mass, celebrated by Fr. Edmund, at the Church of the Transfiguration, located atop the majestic Mt. Tabor in northern Israel. It was a stunning gem of a church. The mosaics were incredibly beautiful!
The sound of the wind that blew through the sanctuary from behind the altar felt like the voice of God whispering. It was during the Liturgy of the Eucharist when something miraculous happened and witnessed by all. At the moment when Fr. Edmund lifted the chalice to consecrate the wine into the Lord’s blood, 3 doves flew from behind him and over the chalice. It happened so fast I was not quick enough to capture that moment of their fy by with my camera phone but that moment left an idelible mark in my heart and mind. It felt like the manisfestation of the Holy Trinity.
After the mass ended, Fr. Edmund asked if we saw the birds and he described how it looked like from his vantage point. It was spectacular!
I managed to only capture the moment after the birds flew by. Unsatisfied with just the photo to remember it by, I decided to capture it on canvas sinceI couldn’t get it out of my brain. I used the photo I took as a reference and added what I missed when I snapped the photo… the 3 doves.
Last year at the Eucharistic Congress in Indianapolis, we providentially bumped into Fr. Edmund. I told him that I had a painting to gift to him and hope to deliver it when the time comes. That time came, this past weekend, on May 4th, right after my Come & See exhibit at St. Joseph Catholic Church in Baytown, a half hour north of him, I was able to finally gift him the painting with my husband, Scott, and 3 fellow pilgrim friends, Beth and Sam Vallagomesa and Zoe Krizak, were there to witness it.
When he saw it, he was shocked! He thought the painting I was going to give him was of a saint, not him! Another memorable moment for me – his surprised reaction was my Holy Spirit gift.
Then painting is oil on canvas, 24″x36″ and here is a visual look at the process of painting it along with the photo I took in 2023. I even painted by candlelight when we experiences a power outage during a severe storm. Now I know why the paintings of most of the Old Masters are so dark, candles just do not compare to modern day lighting.
So here it is side by side…
