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Tree of Souls from Triptych For Rivera Funeral Home by William Hart McNichols

Tree of Souls from Triptych For Rivera Funeral Home by William Hart McNichols

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Saint Andrei Rublev Icons- by Fr. William Hart McNichols

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Tree of Souls (from the Rivera Funeral Home, Taos, New Mexico)
"Why, my soul are you so downcast ? Why so disturbed within me?
..My soul thirsts for the living God, for the living God. When can I go and meet with God?"
Psalm 42
"Therefore let them also who suffer according to the will of God in doing good entrust their souls to Him, as to a faithful Creator."
1 Peter 4
"But now, I shall most gladly spend, and be spent myself, for Your souls; although loving You more, I be loved less."
2 Corinthians 12
Normally we honor the Souls that have passed into God during the Season of the Holy Souls around 15 October to 15 November.
Plato once said "The soul takes flight to the world that is invisible but there arriving she is sure of bliss and forever dwells in paradise."
As with Plato, many mystical souls, especially San Juan de la Cruz, referred to the soul as feminine. And almost every Native American tribe once had a name for their LGBTQ people;
Two Spirit people.
The first book I l ever read on the subject was by Lester Brown, "Two Spirit People" published in 1997, the book description calls it ".
!..the first-ever look at social science
research exploration into the lives of American Indian lesbian women and gay men ... traditionally, American Indian cultures showed great respect and honor for alternative gender styles, since these were believed to be part of the sacred web of life. If the Great Spirit chose to create alternative sexualities or gender roles, who was bold enough to oppose such powers?
…who should deny their calling ? The interpretation of contemporary American Indian religions that gay American Indians retain sacred rights within Indian cultures, and that they can share this gift with others, have implications for therapy, identity formation, social movements, and general human relations..." This Triptych commissioned by Mr Tim Rivera for the Taos Funeral Home was one of the most exciting and joyful experiences I've ever had in my artistic/painting life. He asked that it be non-denominational because the people he served were from every and no religious denomination. Since one of my artistic heroes is Mark Rothko, who could paint spiritual paintings with no figures, simply the fields of color floating like mist or bleeding like gauze bandages, and fill your soul with tremendous joy and sorrow ... I was inspired to come up
with a way to picture the ultimate realities of life and death. I decided to paint 3 Trees. This particular painting of a tree of souls is one of my most favorite works. In my last blog !
wrote about the tree of life, and soon I'll write about the tree of death or winter tree. Because of the future, and present we are all facing, I hear people from everywhere almost frozen with fear. I too share their fear and so, I'm led back to the 7 Gifts of the Holy Spirit, which traditionally are given to us through the Sacrament of Confirmation. And to history which reminds us as human beings we have and are, facing things people have faced through centuries.
For example, the early Roman Martyrs, and Lady Julian of Norwich living through 3 outbreaks of the Black Plague, Aloysius Gonzaga dying of the plague caught - while carrying people into hospital, Anne Frank becoming one of the most enduring faces of the Holocaust, James Baldwin one of the many extraordinary prophets of the emerging civil rights struggle which never ends, Harvey Milk a martyr of the LGBTQ struggle which again, never ends.
Dorothy Day, forever changing the face of the American Roman Catholic Church by siding and literally living with the poorest of the poor.
Alexei Navalny, another martyr in the struggle against an implacable evil oligarchy ... you fill in with the names most dear to you. We also see the brave souls responding to hurricanes, tornadoes, floods, fires and enormous human cruelty. Souls that remind us of our purpose here on earth; women, men, and even children alive with the Holy Spirit.
All these beautiful souls I am symbolically trying to honor with the tree of souls; souls we see every day, souls that give us hope and strength; not only the souls that have died, but the extraordinary living souls ... like You.
Come Holy Spirit, Come,
Fill the hearts of your faithful and Kindle in them the fire of Your love.
Send forth Your Spirit and they shall be Created, and You shall renew the Face of the Earth.
Amen
Fr William Hart McNichols 🕊️January 2025

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Saint Andrei Rublev Icons- by Fr. William Hart McNichols

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