Saint Nicholas

I know why Saint Nicholas chose me. He is known to be wise (I need a wise patron, for sure.), and he performed good works in secret for the poor and oppressed (And I'm sure he wouldn't mind throwing in a few good works for the foolish and accident prone), and he is known as the Patron of Prisoners. There you go. I volunteer in a prison. I belong to a Lay Dominican Chapter inside a prison. Some of my dearest friends are cons and ex-cons. I love this guy!

There are many legends about his many deeds. He is the inspiration for our Santa Claus. Santa Claus is the Americanization of the Dutch for Saint Nicholas. His stories contribute to our stories of Father Christmas, St. Nick, and of course, Santa Claus.

Today I visited the Museum of Russian Icons in Clinton, MA. It is only a few years old. It was founded by Gordon Lankton in 2006, to house his personal collection of icons. I was blessed to meet him, personally, today. He had gathered them from his travels back and forth to Russia, since the 1980's. The Museum houses the largest collection of Russian icons, outside of Russia. What I saw, on this day, was a collection of icons spaning six centuries. Since today is Jan 6th, the Twelfth Day of Christmas, the museum highlighted Saint Nicholas and the Russian Orthodox Christmas. And since Saint Nicholas is my patron saint this year, I felt very blessed to view these beautiful icons.

The icon that I've posted is displayed in the way that Russian Orthodox believers are accustomed to viewing icons--encased in an outer wooden frame or kiot, and covered with an ornately engraved screen or riza, revealing only the face and hands of the saint. This icon features an elaborate, gilded kiot with grape-leaf motif and silver riza. The box was made circa 1800, the body of Saint Nicholas circa 1750, and the doors, circa 1830.

Icons are art created for prayer. You stare at them, and see, and figure out their story. In this way, the icon speaks to you. It's contemplative.