This morning I took to looking around the internet for images of masculine saints.
It kind of goes with the territory in Priesthood (I’d imagine,) as many images of male saints can kind of stylized, or even efete.
That led to some interesting blogs.
Prophetic Vision of Saint John of Kronstadt
Di Meliora, which has some beautiful pictures up.
And it led to a slew of women’s rights blogs, condemning the role of religion in putting women down, denying women their rights, and generally being ignorant. A prominent theme there is the speech given by Jimmy Carter on Religion as an Agent of Women’s Oppression. ::rolling eyes::
But I did find a few, before prayer beckoned me away.
For instance this picture of St. John of Kronstadt. A masculine image from another time, perhaps a more simple time, if the turn of the 18th-19th century could be called that.
For the record, I don’t consider that the Catholic Faith oppresses women. I often hear from women that they want to be Priests, but I have the feeling that if they were Priests, they’d quickly realize the Grass is Greener syndrome is, as usual, not all it’s cracked up to be.
Anyway, all of this also showed up the below photo of Mads Mikkelson, from the film Valhalla Rising. As far as I know he’s not a saint, and he’s not portraying one on film. But he is a current image of masculinity.
And all of this was spurred in the first place because I’m hitting the gym and the diet again, and wanted fit and holy role models for inspiration. (It’s not spurred in the least by the fact that I’m a complete internet nerd. Not in the least!)
Masculine imagery, like feminine imagery, changes through time in societies. Perhaps you need to hit the gym or do some diet correction today too?
Splash, out.