“Be Still and Know”
“Be still, and know that I am God.
I am exalted among the nations,
I am exalted in the earth!”
I created this tapestry for the 2024 National Eucharistic Revival Sacred Art Exhibition hosted by the Sacred Art Institute at Enders Island. The theme of the exhibition and contest was “Do This in Memory of Me,” an invitation for artists to reflect on the Real Presence in the Eucharist.
This embroidered tapestry aims to draw you into the gaze of Christ that seeks us out in the Eucharist and waits for us in the Adoration Chapel.
When we go to adore our Blessed Lord, though, we are accompanied not only by our fellow chapel-goers, but also all those who have gone before us and are already praising Him unceasingly. The names of many of these saints and angels are embroidered in the background of the tapestry, subtly reminding us that we are never alone in our praises (look closely and you’ll see them!). We can pray for their assistance and guidance to help us along in our journey with Christ. Our heavenly friends will never take the center stage, though—they will always humbly fade into the background so that He remains first and foremost.
I designed and created this tapestry with my dad, and along the way, our father-daughter relationship was beautifully restored and transformed. In trying to capture a glimpse of the Heavenly Father’s love for each of us, Christ illuminated for me the love of my earthly father and drew me into deeper relationship with him. Read more about my reflection on this transformation in a piece I wrote for the Sacred Art Institute (included below).
*This particular piece is not for sale given the inestimable value it holds for my dad and I. That said, I would be thrilled to design a similar tapestry for you—just reach out with your request!
A Father’s Love
—originally written for Ender’s Island Sacred Art Institute—
I’ve always had a bit of a hesitation when it comes to praying to God the Father. I mean, He’s the Father. Jesus the Son, on the other hand, feels more approachable which is why I tend to address Jesus the Son directly in my prayer.
I have realized, however, that part of my hesitation in approaching God the Father stems from my own relationship with my earthly dad. My dad works extremely hard to provide for our family of 6–and while we appreciated his sacrifices greatly when we were growing up–it all came at a cost. It was difficult to build a strong relationship and spend time together with our schedules becoming increasingly complex. Then when I had the opportunity to attend the University of Notre Dame for college, that distance didn’t help.
After finishing my degree, my choice to serve as a Catholic school teacher through the Alliance for Catholic Education sent me to Los Angeles, over 2,500 miles from my home in North Carolina. Now I was even further from my family, and my relationship with my dad was limited to the occasional phone call and small talk about the California weather or events at my school.
As I struggled to feel at home in an unfamiliar city and stay connected with my family, the little Adoration chapel along my work commute became my sanctuary, and Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament was my ever-loyal friend. His Eucharistic gaze is ever beckoning to us as He waits for us to accept His outstretched love. And He offers this love unreservedly and unceasingly to us through this gift of the Eucharist.
Jesus asks us to “Be still and know that I am God!” (Psalm 46:11), and yet, how often is He overlooked in the Eucharist? His immeasurable humility in the little host calls us to likewise little ourselves and rest with our Creator. When we do this, we will also learn to recognize the communion of saints who are praising Him beside us. And yet, as depicted in my tapestry, these heavenly friends also humbly fade into the background as we gaze at Jesus and He gazes at us.
In being inspired to capture this vision of Eucharistic Adoration and Communion through sacred art, I knew I needed the creative expertise of my dad to plan out a piece of this magnitude during my all too short Christmas break. His experience with woodworking and embroidery combined with my own in textile art would be key to the success of this project. After many sketches, pictures, computer glitches, broken needles, phone calls, and deliberations, we finally finished the piece together.
Creating this tapestry with my dad marks more than just a renewal of our personal relationship through art. The tapestry is a beautiful testament to our mutual love for Christ and the Church as well as to Jesus’ burning desire to guide us to communion with His Heavenly Father. I wanted to point others to the Eucharist through my art, and Jesus in turn used my art to point me back to my own father here on earth. His Love renewed us and brought us into deeper communion with each other.
After creating this tapestry, I understand now more than ever my own father’s love for our family. His daily sacrifice to work and provide for us echoes the Calvary sacrifice that we remember every mass. So just as God the Father is always going to be there for me, my father was–and is–also always going to be there for me. A father’s love knows no bounds; I just needed Jesus to illuminate it through the gaze of the Eucharist so that I could see what I always had: a selfless dad who loves me more than I could ever imagine.
And so, Amen.
