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As we see Tommy, by Steve and Nancy*
And
so God looked down upon His poor creation, seeking one to promulgate His
greatest Act of Mercy since His Cross.
He
found St. Faustina.
And
then God said, who shall I use now to ensure the message I have given My
secretary will be received throughout the world?
He
created John Paul the Great.
But
God was still in need.
Who,
He wondered, could He find to portray this great Act of Mercy?
Who
could depict it for Him on canvas, in ink, paper, or paint?
Who
could He, as the God of the Universe, count on to portray His Divine Mercy
in its fullness to a world gone media-mad?
Michelangelo was long gone.
Da
Vinci, too.
Raphael, Titian, and Giotto had received their Heavenly rewards.
God
was perplexed.
He
turned to His Mother — the Mother of Mercy.
What,
He asked Her, was He to do?
“Son,”
She spoke lovingly, “the solution is simple.
“You must give Yourself a Gift.”
“A Gift?”
the King of Mercy replied.
“Yes, Son,”
She responded so wisely, “a special Gift, one that You can call Your own.”
God’s
eyes began to twinkle.
It
was no wonder He loved His Mother so, for He, in His Glory, had no need of a
Gift to Himself. Besides, She had already given Him everything.
But,
He remembered, had He not given His Mother so many Gifts, and does She not
deserve one more?
What,
He asked Her, did She have in mind?
“Christmas is coming,”
She said joyously.
“Why not give Yourself a special Gift on Your
birthday? Why not create a great artist to depict Your Divine Mercy?”
This,
in His Infinite Wisdom, was the moment God was waiting for!
“Mother,”
He said, “I shall not give Myself a Gift, but on this great feast day, I
will give one to You!
“One that You can watch over and guide as You
once did Me.
“One who will need Your helping hand, experience
and Wisdom.
“One who will turn to You to please Me.”
And
so, 1,969 years after His own miraculous Birth, God brought forth on Christmas
Day, in land far away called Scotland, a gentle soul, one Thomas
Christopher Canning.
From
that moment, He also entrusted the young child, as He once did Himself, to His
Mother.
In
Her Wisdom, Mary, by choosing the place of birth, ensured the young Canning was
cared for properly by a Saint who knew children well: Don Bosco.
A
Saint who had a great love for the Holy Face of Jesus.
A
Saint who knew well the Mission of Divine Mercy from the
Blood and Water that gushed forth as a Fountain of Mercy for us so visible today on the Shroud of Turin.
With
this love, St. John Bosco had led many young boys as part of his Salesian order
in venerating the Face and Mercy of Christ on this enigmatic cloth.
Now
he would do so again.
During Tommy’s baptism at the Church that bore the Saint’s namesake, Don Bosco,
at Mary’s instructions, infused a very special grace into the young
bambino. A grace for this child to mature and become as great as the
Italian painters the Saint once knew and admired.
There
were others Mary ensured were at the baptism, too.
Most
notably, St. Faustina, who had cried when she saw the first painting of Jesus in
His Divine Mercy Image, for it did not, as she said, capture
His beauty.
This
time — thought the Secretary of Divine Mercy as she poured out her
special graces to the lad at Baptism — she would shed no tears of
frustration that the Lord’s beauty would not be captured.
She
would give this young artist-to-be a special infusion of heavenly visions to
capture the true Image of the Merciful Christ on future canvases.
As
she poured out her gift, St. Faustina envisioned the time when this child would
rise to the challenge and depict for the world Before the Day of
Judgment!
Overseeing every little detail of this special Gift to Her — this child of art
that She had been given by Her Son on Christmas Day — was the Queen of
Heaven.
Mary
gave little Tommy two special gifts: to understand as he became a man that
this is the Marian Age. “And this child,” She said,
“will help lead My Son’s Church back to the Truth of Divine Art.”
Art
that is pleasing to the King and Queen.
Art
that depicts the Truth of Divine Mercy.
Art
that touches the soul.
Art
that lifts the Spirit.
Art
that tugs the heart.
Art
that wells the eyes with liquid.
Art
that is Sacred.
Art
that is Art.
In
the 3rd Millennium, as Thomas the Christ-bearer Canning continues to grow in
these special graces of his Queen, the Mother of Divine Art has, as
always, done Her job so well.
For
the art of Tommy Canning speaks to us all of God, His Mercy, His Mother, His
Spirit.
Art
that the world desperately needs.
Art
that speaks to the world like the Lord did to Tommy’s namesake, the Apostle
Thomas, echoing the Truth of the Gospel:
“ … be not unbelieving,
but believing!” John 20:27.
Art
that we thank God for; not only because ultimately it is a Gift to Himself and
His Mother, but a Gift to us as well.
A
Gift for us to use with passion; to speak of; to spread; to cherish; to
promulgate Divine Mercy with!
A
Gift that we nurture not just with words that bespeak of Tommy’s talent, but in
prayers that ask God and His Mother to keep Their Inspirations within this
Christmas child’s hands, his heart, his mind, his spirit.
For
it is with this passionate inspiration that Tommy depicts His Savior — the gift
the artist gives back to his Creator. An artistic passion he gives
in return to a God whose Passion and Mercy is beyond comprehension.
The
Passion of Christ.
The
Passion of Art.
Two
passionate Gifts combined in the Divine Mercy Art of Tommy
Canning.
* © 2006
Agnus Dei Presents!
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