Holy Card Heaven

Thursday, January 16, 2014

THE DIVINITY
OF JESUS CHRIST

O God so great,
who has made you so small?..
Love.

What do you ask in return?..
Love.

~St. Bernard

Tuesday, January 14, 2014

Oh, my sweetest Jesus!

Oh, Jesus, my dearest friend!

Oh, my Love!

For You, my God, all for You. Bouasse Lebel

Saturday, January 11, 2014

Friday, January 10, 2014

All good things are come to us with Him:
Joy
Peace
Sweetness
Fervor
Innocence

KISSES OF HIS MOUTH

Jesus kisses your flower...

With that kiss, what longing!

Thursday, January 9, 2014

KISSES OF HIS MOUTH

Jesus kisses your flower... with that kiss, what longing!

Wednesday, January 8, 2014

VIRGIN MOST SWEET
Oh when his eyes
are fixed on You,
speak, mother, for me...
It is not possible
to be rejected
the flower presented by You!

Tuesday, January 7, 2014

My Beloved is Mine
and I am His

Monday, January 6, 2014

Jesus, Son of Virgin Mary

Sunday, January 5, 2014

ROSES OF CHRISTMAS
Our humility, our love, our sweetness are like Christmas roses we spread over the creche of divine Jesus.
Bouasse Jeune Pl. 1012

The Lord is pleased with simple souls.

Be they small or large,
all must be allowed
to learn of Jesus in his crèche.
Bouasse Lebel 1334

Saturday, January 4, 2014

I SLEEP

My Child is dreaming.

Blessed is He!

Friday, January 3, 2014

Mary, Mother of the Savior,
pray for us.

Thursday, January 2, 2014

Gloria in excelsis Deo

Wednesday, January 1, 2014

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year
PEACE
God bless you
Chas Von de Vyvere-Petyl Bruges, Belgium

Tuesday, December 31, 2013

May your soul, like a mystical bee, never abandon the dear little King and may everything within it be for Him. ~ St. Francis de Sales

Sunday, December 29, 2013

Holy Family Day, 2013

WE ADORE
...when widening the gentle loop
in which I look for You confounded...
the three in one hug...
branches remaining forever united!.....

HONEY AND MILK

To us is born a Child

sweeter than honey.

Friday, December 27, 2013

LIKE CHILDREN
To the feast of love that your Mother gives you,
she invites me Lord!
Your little sibling I am, and that Mother so beloved....
is treasure chest of the two!
Let us unite in this Love

Friday, December 20, 2013

MOTHER!
I want to be your lily...

Thursday, December 19, 2013

Wednesday, December 18, 2013

"There is no spot
of sin in you,

O my good friend!"

Letaille

The title of this card celebrates the Immaculate Conception in a way that is so natural and trusting; distilling the theological doctrine to it's essence, the artist delights in the goodness of God who has given to us this perfect friend.

Tuesday, December 17, 2013

IMMACULATA
A reflection of your whiteness,
Mother, I would be.

Monday, December 16, 2013

Immaculata!
Fair as the moon, bright as the sun.

Sunday, December 15, 2013

3rd Sunday in Advent

I sigh after you, Lord, like a deer after the living water. Psalm 41:2

Friday, December 13, 2013

Thursday, December 12, 2013

THIS IS THE QUEEN OF HEAVEN

the moon under her feet
and on her head a crown of 12 stars ~ Rev. 12:1

Bouasse Lebel 585

Wednesday, December 11, 2013

VIRGIN CONCEIVED WITHOUT SIN

Deign to accept that I publish your praises.
Felix

Saturday, December 7, 2013

MARY

WELCOME TO HOLY CARD HEAVEN

One of our favorite holy cards says simply, "Heaven is the home of loving souls." In a way, an album of holy cards is like a little heaven; the truth that inspired the cards greets us anew with each tender image, and we feel at home. Little by little I hope to bring together a collection of this gentle faith art for the delight and comfort of any loving soul who happens by.

Ethereal messengers of God's Love and Light, the small engravings that gather here fly in day by day. Little paper shrines that shelter the sacred, they are gathered here in the hope of sharing their beauty and meaning with another generation. To those who love them, they have much to give; like time spent in a restful garden, they are a feast for the eyes and a feast for the soul.

This gentle art can be used today to enter safely into the inner landscape allowing its imagery to guide the soul. Visual poetry employing symbol and metaphor as carriers of meaning, the path to which they invite us is always one in which God's own Love leads the way.

You can click on an image to enlarge it and see the artist's loving attention to detail. It is especially meaningful to be able to see the faces at a higher resolution. In many of the images, the sweetness of expression is at once joyful and serious, and, for a brief moment, we seem to draw close to the Presence of pure goodness, pure happiness.

The blessing I ask for any who come this way is again taken from a favorite holy card: "May a tender Friendship surround you always, and may all your days be a smile of heaven."
Fr. François Fénelon

Our favorite holy card illustrates the hope we hold as Christians that the door to heaven will be opened to the soul refined by love. It is the refinement of the soul by divine love that the art of the holy cards helps us to contemplate. The card has an engaving of the dove in flight into the mystery of Trinitarian love. The Uncreated Light overlaid by the symbol for the Holy Trinity is at the heart of the card. The writings of the early fathers, as well as those of the the Carmelite saints and Christian mystics throughout the ages - both in the Church in the east and the west - help us to approach the mystery of Trinitarian love not only as the theological underpinning of Christian belief but also as the action of the Spirit of Love in and through which we live and move and have our being.

About the Cards in this Collection

While some are from Italy, Germany, the Netherlands or other parts of Europe, Paris was perhaps the main place of publication. Dates are seldom available but most are from the mid 1800's to the close of that century. The depiction of persons is Eurocentric, but the symbols in the early holy cards are universal and inclusive: the image of the Heart as symbol for the incarnation of divine love, the image of the small bird as a symbol for the human soul eager but fragile and in constant need of God's love and care, the Living Water, the garden enclosed, the door that opens into Light... through visual poetry, the early holy cards continue to speak a language that reaches across the barriers of time and space and can be received by everyone.

Scheduling of the Cards and the Small Albums

Holy Card Heaven enters its seventh year on the first Sunday in Advent, 2015. Day by day the cards will continue to be moved into the new church year depending for their placement on the dates of the movable feasts and seasons. This way no cards need get lost in the distant past, new cards can be added, and we can appreciate the collection a little differently with each passing year.
Small Albums, each with a different topic, will change from month to month and will be linked in the top right column.