Eucharistic art contest inspires magnificent interpretations of Christ’s sacrificial love

Above: Rachel Moore’s watercolor pencil and acrylic painting, entitled “Good Morning, Jesus!” was among the finalists in the Year of the Eucharist and St. Joseph Art Contest. Moore, a student in Notre Dame Seminary’s pastoral leadership program, explained the inspiration behind her piece: “This is the happy face of a pastor who finally gets to share Christ in the Eucharist with his parishioners. During the early days of the initial lockdown, Easter 2020 seemed like it would be a strange and uncertain time for faithful Catholics who were suddenly unable to gather for worship during what should be the most hopeful and joyful season of them all. The small (in numbers) but faithful parishioners of Sacred Heart of Jesus Parish in Norco hungered for the Real Presence, so on Divine Mercy Sunday 2020, Father Edmund Akordor organized an impromptu eucharistic procession throughout the streets of Norco and Montz, where parishioners, mindful of keeping social distance, would kneel on their front porches to adore the Eucharist and receive a ‘drive-by’ blessing. It was a joyful procession more celebratory than a Mardi Gras parade! ‘Good Morning, Jesus!’ is a favorite Easter hymn of Sacred Heart parishioners. It’s a song of praise that reminds us that just as sure as the sun rises in the morning, Christ is risen and is here to be the Light, even during a pandemic!” (Photo by Beth Donze, Clarion Herald)

By BETH DONZE
Clarion Herald

Sarah Bachemin’s acrylic painting – “Behold, the Lamb of God” – offers a breathtaking, “split-screen” interpretation of the Eucharist.

The left half of the painting’s dominant figure depicts St. Joseph, dressed in a simple beige garment and lifting up his smiling baby, Jesus.

The other half of the same figure shows a priest garbed in his distinctive green chasuble. Like St. Joseph, the priest also is busy “lifting up Jesus” – but in the form of the consecrated bread and wine.

Bachemin’s stunning take on Real Presence, which cleverly expresses the priest’s and St. Joseph’s shared role of presenting Christ to the world, is one of 26 works of eucharistic art singled out in a contest mounted in honor of the Archdiocese of New Orleans’ ongoing “Year of the Eucharist and St. Joseph.”

Art contest coordinator Chris O’Neill, director of the archdiocesan Office of Marriage and Family Life, said he was moved by the “tremendous” response and sheer variety of entries from area artists of all ages to create artworks inspired by the love Christ pours out to us through the Eucharist.

“I think seeing them together as a gallery will be an artwork in itself,” said O’Neill of the selected pieces, whose styles range from realistic to abstract and call on media such as acrylic, watercolor, pencil and digital art.

 “There were pictures that had intense color and detail and imagery, all in one, and then there were others that were very simple and elegant and that had a lot of white space,” O’Neill said.

Pets, pandemic on minds of young artists

Eleven finalists were culled from 50 entries in the contest’s “Open” Division” for adults age 18 and older and artists as young as 15 who had the permission of their parents (the complete list of finalists is listed at the bottom of this story).

The contest’s “Youth Division” drew an additional 263 submissions, from which 15 pieces were selected from five grade divisions: K-1, 2-3, 4-6, 7-9 and 10-12.

“In the youth division, there were a lot of pictures of people’s pets,” O’Neill said, smiling. “They were asked to think about how God’s love was being revealed to them, and they (evidently) were being drawn to their pets and the consolation their pets had given them during COVID.”

The pandemic also inspired Matthew Yi’s winning acrylic, entitled “COVID-Free Campus with Christ,” in which God’s hands, hovering above a school building, ward off the virus’ spike proteins. Matthew, a kindergarten- through first-grade division finalist, wanted to express that he was “not afraid, because I know (God) is with us in this and keeps us safe and healthy.”

To create “His Mercy Revealed,” fourth- through sixth-grade division finalist Katherine Amick used colored pencil to draw a monstrance with blue and red rays coming out of the Eucharist to symbolize “the water and blood which flowed from (Jesus) upon his death.”

A more monochromatic take on the Eucharist was executed by seventh- through ninth-grade division finalist Jaycie Celino, who named her pencil-and-ink drawing of two arms reaching out to touch “Out of the Darkness.”

“(Jesus) shows me a way out of the dark that I sometimes have to live through,” Jaycie said. “I see him as a savior who reaches his hand out and pulls me out of the darkness. I hope that this piece can inspire others to look to Jesus when they are in a dark place in life. I know that sometimes it is difficult to see Jesus and that we sometimes end up looking for him but without any luck. However, we always must keep looking, because he is never too far away from us.”

Bursting with symbolism

The works of the older artists also showcased the breadth of inspiration and talent.

Claire Duhe used Carnival beads, gemstones and glitter to make her New Orleans-inspired mosaic of the Blessed Sacrament entitled “O res mirabilis!” (“O wondrous gift indeed!”) – a line from St. Thomas Aquinas’ eucharistic hymn, “Panis angelicus.”

In her watercolor entitled “The Eucharist: The True Presence of Jesus Christ,” artist Diane St. Germain decided to take viewers on a journey from the bottom to the top of her canvas, beginning with Christ’s birth in a stable, to his crucifixion, to the resurrection. St. Germain superimposed the chronological scenes from Christ’s life against a chalice and a broken, consecrated host, the latter placed atop Jesus’ cross.

“It is broken, there, to represent Christ’s body broken as his love offering for us to the Father for our hope of eternal life,” St. Germain explained, adding her hope that the painting would remind Catholics that the Eucharist offered to us at every Mass is “the very same Jesus Christ who was born in a manger, crucified and rose from the dead.”

“As our eyes move to the top of the painting, the image of the open gates to eternal life are placed to confirm our hope in the promise by Christ (of eternal life),” she said.

Provided a needed creative outlet

O’Neill said the mission of the contest was not to name “winners” but to give artists of all ages and abilities an opportunity to exercise their creativity while reflecting on their Catholic faith – something many were hungry to do during the pandemic.

“The artists were grateful for the invitation, and they appreciated the prompt,” O’Neill said. “It took courage for them to throw their hat in the ring. My overall sense is just gratitude. Whether someone got selected (as a finalist) or not, I am grateful to all of those artists for doing their work, developing their skills and making an attempt to put those skills to work for the glory of God.”

The 26 works of eucharistic-themed art will travel to various venues around the archdiocese in the coming months. For updates, visit www.nolacatholicyoe.com. Artists from the Open Division will have the option to have their works auctioned at the end of the year, with a portion of the proceeds benefiting a Catholic non-profit of the artist’s choosing and the remainder going to the artist to support his or her continued work. (visit https://nolacatholic.org/photoalbums/yoeartcontestselections to view a photo gallery of the Open Division winners). The contest was conceived and coordinated by the Year of the Eucharist Committee.

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The 11 “Open Division” finalists are:

• “Take My Heart,” by Nicholas Aperwhite

• “Behold, the Lamb of God,” by Sarah Bachemin

• “Behold,” by Kelly Bourgeois

• “O res mirabilis!” by Claire Duhe

• “The Eucharist,” by Amelie Guthrie

• “Sacred Heart,” by Casey Langteau

• “My Soul Shall Be Healed,” by Jamie Lee

• “Diamond Eucharist,” by Mai Vinh

• “Good Morning, Jesus!” by Rachel Moore

• “The Eucharist: The True Presence of Jesus Christ,” by Diane St. Germain

• “I am Catholic,” by Anasthasia Tan

 The 15 “Youth Division” finalists, by grade division, are:
 
• Grades K-1: “Beautiful Monstrance for Jesus,” by Paisley Roberts; “COVID-Free Campus with Christ,” by Matthew Yi

• Grades 2-3: “The Colors of Life,” by Lily Bauer; “Agnus Dei,” by Brooke Crochet; “Heaven is in Our Hearts,” by Lottie Holloway

• Grades 4-6: “His Mercy Revealed,” by Katherine Amick; “Seitai no iesu,” by Keira Bachemin; “All Creatures Great and Small, the Lord God Made Them All,” by Marilyn Pressley; “Eucharistic Lily,” by Ann Sprehe

• Grades 7-9: “Blood and Water,” by Lily Tran; “Exaltation,” by Mary Barwick; “Out of the Darkness,” by Jaycie Celino

• Grades 10-12: “Vibrant Sacrifice,” by Kelly Nguyen; “Receiving Eucharist,” by Quyen Nguyen; “The Eucharist,” by Mae Louise Stock-Bordnick