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Views from the Choir Loft

St. Eulalia by John William Waterhouse

Gwyneth Holston · January 6, 2014


GWYN_St. Eulalia St. Eulalia by John William Waterhouse (1885)


NE WAY OF getting through the hated chore of scraping ice and snow off your car is to think of Saint Eulalia. She was an early Christian martyr from Spain. At the age of 12, the emperor Maximian tried to force her to worship false idols. Rather than submit, she spat in his face and kicked over the idols, cakes and incense. She was then stripped, torn with hooks, and burnt. According to tradition, a dove flew out of her mouth as she died, symbolic of her soul flying to heaven. God then commanded snow to fall in order to provide her with suitable raiment.

A painting by John William Waterhouse commemorates the moment just after her death. Her white skin still glows with a fading warmth against the white snow. Both Roman soldiers avert their gaze, but bystanders have fallen upon their knees in recognition of the saint. A young boy points out a white dove to us, the viewers.

Waterhouse was daring in his composition. The center of the painting is almost entirely empty. Or is it? I would argue that the focal point of this painting is the snow itself. The color of her robe cannot be accidental. Indeed, it immediately brings to mind the words from Isaias 1:18, “…if your sins be as scarlet, they shall be made as white as snow.” Her heroic example can inspire us to act with a holy impudence whether we battle heresy or winter ennui.

Opinions by blog authors do not necessarily represent the views of Corpus Christi Watershed.

Filed Under: Articles Last Updated: January 1, 2020

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Gwyneth Holston

About Gwyneth Holston

Gwyneth Holston is a sacred artist who works to provide and promote good quality Catholic art. Her website is gwynethholston.com. Read more.

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Quick Thoughts

19 January 2021 • Confusion over feasts

For several months, we have discussed the complicated history of the various Christmas feasts: the Baptism of the Lord, the feast of the Holy Family, the Epiphany, and so forth. During a discussion, someone questioned my assertion that in some places Christmas had been part of the Epiphany. As time went on, of course, the Epiphany came to represent only three “manifestations” (Magi, Cana, Baptism), but this is not something rigid. For example, if you look at this “Capital E” from the feast of the Epiphany circa 1350AD, you can see it portrays not three mysteries but four—including PHAGIPHANIA when Our Lord fed the 5,000. In any event, anyone who wants proof the Epiphany used to include Christmas can read this passage from Dom Prosper Guéranger.

—Jeff Ostrowski
6 January 2021 • Anglicans on Plainsong

A book published by Anglicans in 1965 has this to say about Abbat Pothier’s Editio Vaticana, the musical edition reproduced by books such as the LIBER USUALIS (Solesmes Abbey): “No performing edition of the music of the Eucharistic Psalmody can afford to ignore the evidence of the current official edition of the Latin Graduale, which is no mere reproduction of a local or partial tradition, but a CENTO resulting from an extended study and comparison of a host of manuscripts gathered from many places. Thus the musical text of the Graduale possesses a measure of authority which cannot lightly be disregarded.” They are absolutely correct.

—Jeff Ostrowski
2 January 2021 • Temptation

When I see idiotic statements made on the internet, I go nuts. When I see heretics promoted by people who should know better, I get angry. Learning to ignore such items is difficult—very difficult. I try to remember the words of Fr. Valentine Young: “Do what God places in front of you each day.” When I am honest, I don’t believe God wants me to dwell on errors and idiocy; there’s nothing I can do about that. During 2021, I will strive to do a better job following the advice of Fr. Valentine.

—Jeff Ostrowski

Random Quote

“We know that originally the offertories of the repertoire included a series of verses, just like the introit and the communion, but generally more ornate. Many of these are musical compositions of great beauty. They quickly fell into disuse, and we find them only in the most ancient manuscripts. The only remaining trace of this older arrangement in our present-day liturgy is that of the offertory of the Requiem Mass.”

— Dom Joseph Gajard (1956)

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