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Black Madonnas Matter
27 Jul
3

Black Madonnas Matter

Art, Current Events, Madonna, Mary, Spirituality, Travel 6 Comments

Last updated: September 9, 2023 We are certainly living in some difficult and, for some of us, dangerous times – facing weather disasters caused by climate change, racial violence, economic catastrophe, and a mismanaged viral pandemic. The recent protests, in support of Black Lives Matter, against structural racism and anti-African American violence have erupted across the pages of newspapers, television screens, and social media.  I didn’t go to any of the protests, but I do stand with the nonviolent protesters who are demanding racial justice. It’s been a little over two months since the protests were sparked by the excruciating […]

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Gift from the Sea
07 May
0

Gift from the Sea

Abstract Art, Acrylic Monoprints, Art, balance, History, Quotes, Travel, Women No Comments

Last updated: August 10, 2023 American author and pioneering aviator, Anne Spencer Morrow Lindbergh (1906-2001) was born in Englewood, New Jersey.  Her father, Dwight Morrow, served in public office as US Ambassador to Mexico and later as a US Senator.  Anne’s mother, Elizabeth Reeve Cutter Morrow, was active in promoting education for women and served as acting president at Smith College (her alma mater) in 1939-1940.  Anne also attended Smith College, graduating in 1928 with a Bachelor of Arts degree. During her college years, Anne met aviation pioneer Charles Lindbergh, and they were married at her parents’ home on May […]

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Assumption of Hairy Mary
01 May
7

Assumption of Hairy Mary

Art, Mary Magdalene, Saints, Women 6 Comments

Last updated: October 21, 2024 As I mentioned in a previous blog post, I have been collecting art images of Mary Magdalene for a long time.  It all began years ago when I was looking on the internet for a few images to use in my Mary Magdalene feast day celebrations.  It was interesting to see how she was almost always clothed in accordance with the upscale fashion of the times and the location of the artist.  In the Middle Ages, it was common to simplify the art to appeal to and educate viewers, many of whom did not know […]

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Life in Quarantine
03 Apr
0

Life in Quarantine

Abstract Art, Art, Climate Change, Current Events, Music, Spirituality 10 Comments

Last updated: May 21, 2024 It’s remarkable how the coronavirus crisis that first appeared in January has quickly become a worldwide pandemic that has caused much of the world to go into varying amounts of – whatever you want to call it – a shutdown, a quarantine, a shelter-in-place, a lockdown, an isolation?  I know that there are different nuances to these terms, but mostly it just means staying at home and going stir crazy.  Still, I’m grateful that I have safe shelter, I’m not at risk for losing my job, and I have plenty to eat.  For me, it’s […]

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Auld Lang Syne
27 Dec
0

Auld Lang Syne

History, Holidays, Music 2 Comments

Last updated: August 10, 2023 Every year on New Year’s Eve, most Americans (at least those of us who don’t go to sleep early) sing Auld Lang Syne just after the champagne is popped and the clock strikes midnight. But – go ahead and fess up, do you actually know all the words? Like most everyone, I didn’t, so I decided to find out and let you know too, so that you can impress your sweetie on NYE…. I also checked up on the history of this tune – since the new year is almost upon us and mostly because […]

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O Antiphons 2019
17 Dec
0

O Antiphons 2019

Art, balance, History, Music, Prayer, Spirituality 6 Comments

Last updated: July 28, 2025 Advent is one of my favorite times of year, and it is the beginning of the church liturgical calendar. There is something about the idea of waiting in that sacred, pregnant pause of Advent that helps keep me in balance, during one of the busiest times of year. I love turning out all the lights except for those on my Christmas tree, lighting the advent wreath, and reading the O Antiphons every night before Christmas, beginning on December 17. If you are like me and have been running around like crazy trying to get everything […]

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Sally Ride
12 Jul
0

Sally Ride – First American Woman in Low Earth Orbit

History, NASA, Women 2 Comments

Sally Ride (1951-2012) became the first American woman in space when she flew as a mission specialist on STS-7 in 1983.  She flew a second mission on the Space Shuttle Challenger on STS-41G in 1984.  Ride also participated on the boards of both the Challenger and Columbia investigations. Throughout her life, she was a shining beacon of accomplishment and possibility to little girls everywhere. Sally Ride grew up in Los Angeles and graduated from Stanford University in 1973 with bachelor’s degrees in both Physics and English.  She continued her studies in Physics, and graduated from Stanford with a PhD in […]

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Acrylic monoprint, copyright © Julie Henkener, made to go with "Pentecost 2019" blog post.
09 Jun
0

Flames of the Spirit – Pentecost 2019

Abstract Art, Acrylic Monoprints, Art, Spirituality 4 Comments

Last updated: May 13, 2024 Today is Pentecost Sunday, which is the day that we celebrate the gift of the Holy Spirit.  It coincides with the Jewish celebration of Shavuot (the Feast of Weeks) that was originally a harvest festival, but also commemorates the gift of the ten commandments to Moses at Mount Sinai. The word Pentecost is derived from the Greek word πεντηκοστή, romanized as pentēkostē, that translates into English as “fiftieth day.”  The Feast of Weeks lines up as 50 days after the Passover for Jews, and Pentecost is 50 days after Easter Sunday for Christians.  Some Catholics pray […]

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"Fiat Lux," painting by Hans Hoffman, 1963, Museum of Fine Arts Houston. Used for Easter 2019 blog post by Julie Henkener.
27 May
0

Looking for Resurrection at the MFA – Easter 2019

Art, Spirituality No Comments

Happy Easter!! Ok, ok I know Easter was a number of weeks ago now, but life is busy and good, and it is sometimes hard to find the time to write. And by the way, it’s totally fine to still say “Happy Easter,” since the liturgical calendar has the Easter season lasting right up until the celebration of Pentecost, which is still 2 weeks away. After my Holy Saturday post on despair, I feel like I cannot go forward now to any other topic before I praise life and resurrection! Anything less would be unbalanced and I do believe there […]

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Graph of CO2 emissions shows accelerating trend since 1950, posted on the NASA climate change website.
20 Apr
0

Rising to Weep

Climate Change, Current Events, NASA, Spirituality No Comments

As Earth Day approaches on Monday, I find myself battling again with despair about climate change and what feels like a large increase recently in the number of extreme weather events that it is causing.  Today we are faced with an increasing number of cyclones, wild fires, hurricanes, extreme rainfall and flooding, tsunamis, earthquakes, tornadoes, desertification and probably a few others that don’t come as readily to mind.  According to weather.com, there were 39 weather disasters world-wide in 2018 that caused more than 1 billion dollars of damage each, which is crazy high.  The idea that global warming is not […]

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Do What You Have the Power to Do. Acrylic monoprint, copyright © Julie Henkener, made to go with quote by Helen Bruch Pearson.
26 Jan
0

Do What You Have the Power to Do

Abstract Art, Acrylic Monoprints, Art, Book Reviews, Quotes, Spirituality, Women 2 Comments

It’s no secret that I actively search out books that explore the historical and biblical importance of women and particularly those stories that describe their active participation in building the Reign of God.  In many cases, women in the Bible have been marginalized, located at a distance from the central actions described in biblical narratives so that you sometimes need to read between the lines. And in the New Testament, women are often hidden from view, relegated to servile, behind-the-scenes roles that supported Jesus and other leaders in early Christianity.  On the other hand, we also have stories of significant […]

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"Starlight" Acrylic monoprint, copyright © Julie Henkener, made to go with blog post on Epiphany 2019.
06 Jan
0

Happy Epiphany 2019

Abstract Art, Acrylic Monoprints, Art, Spirituality 2 Comments

Last updated:  November 29, 2023 Happy Epiphany 2019!  Epiphany is the January 6th feast day that is held on the twelfth day of Christmas and that marks the end of the Christmas liturgical season.  This is the feast day where we celebrate the adoration of Jesus by the Magi, who are also called the Three Wise Men or the Three Kings.  These sojourners traveled to Bethlehem from the Far East, following a star and bringing gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh, in order to give homage to the baby Jesus, the newborn “King of the Jews.” This is my epiphany […]

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Photograph of Mathilda Beasley or step daugher-in-law Josephine Beasley. From the Georgia Historical Society Collection of Photographs.
03 Jan
0

Mother Mathilda Taylor Beasley

History, Women No Comments

  Mathilda Taylor Beasley educated slaves prior to the Civil War, although it was not legal to do at the time.  She also became a Franciscan nun who founded the first religious community for African-American women in Georgia and she opened an orphanage in Savannah in the late nineteenth century.  She was named a Georgia Woman of Achievement in 2004 by Georgia Women of Achievement, a private, non-profit organization headquartered in Atlanta.  In 2005, Mathilda Beasley was also named as a Georgia Heritage Celebration Honoree by the Georgia Historical Society. This photograph demonstrates some of the difficulties involved in doing […]

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"The Virgin with Child," attributed to Gerard David, circa 1520, Prado Museum, Madrid, Spain.
18 Oct
0

Our Lady of the Most Holy Rosary

Art, Book Reviews, History, Madonna, Prayer, Spirituality 2 Comments

Many religious traditions include beads as a part of their prayers and rituals because they help keep track, in an automatic way, of how many repetitions of prayers have been said.  Islamic prayer beads, called misbaha, tasbih, or sibha, usually have 99 beads, corresponding to the number of Names of God in Arabic with 2 smaller beads in between each set of 33.  The prayers recited include the Subhan Allah (Glory be to God,) the Al-hamdu lilah (Praise be to God) and the Allahu Akbar (God is the greatest.)  Members of the Sikh faith use 108 mala beads when reciting […]

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Acrylic monoprint, copyright © Julie Henkener, made to go with blog post on quote by Therese of Lisieux.
30 Sep
0

Thérèse of Lisieux

Abstract Art, Acrylic Monoprints, Art, Quotes, Saints, Spirituality, Women 1 Comment

Happy October 1 – Feast Day of Thérèse of Lisieux! Thérèse of Lisieux (1873-1897) was a French Discalced Carmelite nun, who is sometimes referred to as “the little flower.” She entered the Carmelite monastery in Lisieux at the age of 15 and cultivated a spirituality of littleness.  This humility can be seen in her prayers, poems and spiritual writings that together comprise a spiritual approach often called “the little way.”  She was beatified in 1923, canonized in 1925 and proclaimed a Doctor of the Church by Pope John Paul II in 1997. Thérèse of Lisieux was born Marie Francoise-Thérèse Martin […]

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Mary of Egypt
21 Sep
2

Mary of Egypt

Art, Saints, Spirituality, Women No Comments

As I mentioned in my July 22, 2018 blog post on Mary Magdalene’s feast day this year, I have been collecting pins of MM art images on my Pinterest account.  It all began many years ago around 2003, when I started looking on the internet for a few images of Mary Magdalene to use in her feast day celebrations.  Now of course, there has been an explosion in the availability of art images online, and my board of MM images has already grown to over 500 pins.  In any case, in this collection process, I started finding unusual images of […]

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"Mary of Madgala," painting by Jusepe de Ribera, 1641, Prado Museum, Madrid, Spain.
22 Jul
1

Mary Magdalene Feast Day 2018

Art, Book Reviews, History, Mary Magdalene, Saints, Spirituality, Travel, Women No Comments

Last updated: August 5, 2024 Happy July 22 – Feast Day of Mary Magdalene!  Unfortunately, the timing was bad this year for hosting the MM feast day ritual at my house.  I am heading off to Santa Fe soon for a long weekend with my family to celebrate my sister Lori’s fiftieth birthday.  So this feast day I just thought I would offer a few comments regarding some resources related to MM that you may be interested in. Andy and I recently returned from a trip to Spain, and the last place we visited before coming home was the Prado […]

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Acrylic monoprint, copyright © Julie Henkener, made to go with blog post on quote by Julian of Norwich All Shall be Well
29 Jun
0

Julian of Norwich – All Shall Be Well

Abstract Art, Acrylic Monoprints, Quotes, Spirituality, Women No Comments

Julian of Norwich (circa 1342-1416) was an English anchoress, a mystic and theologian. She authored the first book written in English by a woman, based on visions she had received when she was very ill and near death. She lived in a two-room anchorite cell, attached to the Church of St. Julian in Norwich, the second largest city in England at the time.  She had a window overlooking the church altar so that she could participate in Mass and receive communion.  In addition, she counseled visitors who came to visit her, including Margery Kempe, a contemporary pilgrim laywoman who wrote […]

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Village Vanguard - photo by Carl Mikoy, CC BY 2.0 flickr.com April 23, 2010
06 May
0

New York Jazz Clubs

Music, New York, Travel No Comments

:: Guest blog post by Andy Hong :: If you don’t know Andy’s favorite thing to do in NYC, you really don’t know Andy. Everybody wants to come to New York, head up to Broadway, and go see some “based on the animated movie” musical.  We do love seeing Broadway shows and getting discount tickets at South Street.  Still, you can spend $300 per person to see “The Lion King” in its fifteenth casting….or…..you can spend $100 per person to see the greatest musical talent on the planet with inspired performances from performers that are close enough that you can […]

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Acrylic monoprint, copyright © Julie Henkener, made to go with Earth Day 2018 blog post with quote by Susan Griffin.
22 Apr
0

Earth Day – 22 April 2018

Abstract Art, Acrylic Monoprints, Climate Change, Current Events, History, Quotes, Spirituality, Women 1 Comment

Earth Day was established in 1970 by Gaylord Nelson, US Senator from Wisconsin, who conceived the idea to hold a nationwide teach-in, in order to call attention to the need for environmental protection. This was partly in response to the massive oil spill in Santa Barbara, California that occurred in January 1969.  Also in 1969, the Cuyahoga River in north-eastern Ohio that feeds into Lake Erie became famous for being so grossly contaminated that it “caught fire.” At that time in history, cars used leaded gasoline, industrial air pollution regulations had not yet been legislated, and the ocean shorelines, lakes, […]

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Acrylic monoprint, copyright © Julie Henkener, made to go with blog post on Anne Bradstreet (1612-1672) first poet in America to be published.
14 Apr
0

Anne Bradstreet

Abstract Art, Acrylic Monoprints, Art, History, Quotes, Spirituality, Women 1 Comment

Anne Bradstreet (1612-1672,) born in Northampton, England to Thomas Dudley and Dorothy Yorka, was arguably the first writer in colonial America to be published.  Anne wrote from the perspective of a Puritan woman who was both educated and devoted to seeking meaning within her religious heritage.  In addition to her many household responsibilities, she wrote poetry, much of it focused on the details of a seventeenth century American woman’s life, her struggles in the new land, and her Puritan faith. As a child in England, Anne was very well educated.  She received tutoring in history, natural science, literature, and several […]

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World Day of Prayer 2018
25 Feb
0

World Day of Prayer 2018

Climate Change, History, Prayer, Spirituality, Women No Comments

The celebration of the World Day of Prayer (WDP) originated in the 19th century, as women from the US and Canada began developing various means to support the participation of women in missionary activities, both at home and worldwide. As early as 1861, women began founding women’s boards to encourage the engagement of women in prayer and leadership within their mission organizations.  Presbyterian women in the US, led by Mary Ellen Fairchild James in Brooklyn, called for a day of prayer in 1887, and a Baptist day of prayer for foreign missions was initiated in 1891.  A committee of delegates […]

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Photograph by Abdillah Wicaksono CC BY 2.0 flickr.com June 9, 2012. Used for Julie Henkener blog post January 2018 New Beginnings.
16 Jan
0

New Beginnings

Spirituality 3 Comments

I usually love writing the Christmas letter I send out with the holiday cards every year.  It gives me a chance to look back on where I moved or didn’t move in the last year and it also affords me the opportunity to look forward to beginning again.  Honestly, this past year has been difficult, tumultuous and full of challenges on many levels. Sadly, Andy’s dad passed away, as well as our beautiful dog Sarah. And Andy dislocated his shoulder while we were white water rafting during our trip to Costa Rica, which eventually led to his neck surgery (which […]

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Houston Quilt Festival 2014
04 Jan
0

Houston Quilt Festival 2014

Art, NASA, Spirituality, Women 5 Comments

The fortieth anniversary of the Houston Quilt Festival was held in November 2014 and I made a point to go – in fact it felt more like a pilgrimage than anything else.  I signed up to volunteer at the NASA booth, which was expected to be busy, because astronaut Karen Nyberg was going to be speaking at the show that afternoon.  I asked my friend and mentor Gail to go with me; she immediately agreed and even reserved a government vehicle for us, which I really appreciated.  In this way, I had someone to keep me company in the car […]

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Image of people singing to request Soul Cakes on Halloween. Wikimedia Commons - public domain.
04 Nov
0

Soul Cakes

Food, History, Holidays, Music No Comments

Last updated October 23, 2025 Souling History I’m a few days late, but I wanted to share with you a piece of what I have learned this year about the origin of Halloween and the tradition of something called soul cakes.  Soul cakes, sometimes referred to as souls, are the precursor to Halloween trick or treating that dates to medieval England and Ireland.  Before the Christian era began, Druidic rites included the building of bonfires to banish the evil spirits thought to be lurking in the shadows. All Hallows Eve (Hallowe’en), known at the time as Samhain, was the festival […]

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Acrylic monoprint, copyright © Julie Henkener, made to go with quote by Catherine of Siena.
28 Oct
1

Catherine of Siena – On Perseverance

Abstract Art, Acrylic Monoprints, Art, Quotes, Saints, Spirituality, Women No Comments

Last updated: April 29, 2024 Catherine of Siena (1347-1380) was born Caterina di Giacomo di Benincasa to a family of dye merchants in Siena, Italy. She began having mystical experiences in her childhood and decided at age 7 to dedicate her life to God.  She did not go to school as a child, but she listened carefully at Mass and she learned about the lives of saints from her orphaned cousin Tommaso della Fonte, who was living with her family while he was studying to be a priest. Encouraged by Tommaso, as an adolescent, she defied her parents by cutting […]

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Acrylic monoprint, copyright © Julie Henkener, made to go with quote by Amma Theodora (fourth century.)
15 Oct
1

Amma Theodora

Abstract Art, Acrylic Monoprints, Art, Quotes, Spirituality, Women No Comments

Last updated: December 8, 2023 The Desert Mothers were women, known as ammas or “spiritual mothers,” who lived in the desert as Christian ascetics in the fourth and fifth centuries CE. Ammas were women who had achieved a spiritual maturity and wisdom that they developed during their withdrawal from mainstream society.  These women gathered together in monastic communities, but there were also some who lived as hermits.  For these early Christian women, one appeal of living in the desert was the freedom they could experience there that was not available to them in the usual female domains of the culture.  […]

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Acrylic monoprint, copyright © Julie Henkener, made to go with blog post called A Woman in Exodus
09 Oct
0

A Woman in Exodus

Abstract Art, Acrylic Monoprints, Art, Old Testament, Spirituality, Travel, Women No Comments

In January 2006, I was fortunate enough to be able to travel to Egypt on vacation.  As part of the trip, our transportation included a bus trip across the desert and – in case you are wondering what the desert of the Exodus looks like – well this is it.  It is austere, but still exhibits its own kind of desert beauty.  We also visited St. Catherine’s Monastery, which is considered the historic site of the burning bush at the foot of Mt. Sinai.  In addition to a photo of St. Catherine’s, here is a closeup of a bush that […]

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Pennsylvania governor William Sproul signs 19th amendment that gave US women the right to vote
27 Aug
0

Women’s Equality Day 2017

History, Women No Comments

In 1971, Congress designated August 26 as Women’s Equality Day to commemorate the anniversary of the signature of the 19th amendment to the constitution in 1920.  This is a photo of Pennsylvania Governor William Sproul ratifying the constitutional amendment to guarantee suffrage for all women who are citizens of the United States.  The Women’s Suffrage Movement stretched from the first Women’s Convention that was held at Seneca Falls NY in 1848 to the final ratification of the amendment in 1920.  This effort took a whole 72 years of protests and marches and letter writing and picketing and cajoling and rallies […]

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Acrylic monoprint, copyright © Julie Henkener, made to go with quote by Sor Juana Ines de la Cruz (1648-1695)
22 Jul
0

Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz

Abstract Art, Acrylic Monoprints, Art, History, Quotes, Women 2 Comments

Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz (1648-1695) is regarded as one of the most prominent authors of Spanish literature and the foremost Baroque poet in seventeenth-century colonial Mexico (New Spain.)  She was born in San Miguel Nepantla, the illegitimate daughter of Spanish Captain Pedro Manuel de Asbaje and a criolla (mixed race) woman, Isabel Ramírez.  She learned to read at a young age, devouring her maternal grandfather’s books and showing signs of being an exceptionally intelligent child.  At the age of 12, Sor Juana was sent to Mexico City, where she became a lady-in-waiting at the court of the Viceroy […]

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Most Popular Posts

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  • Prayer Against Envy and Jealousy 494 views
  • Resurrection Art Iconography 166 views
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  • Prayer for the Universe 43 views
  • Three Models of Lectio Divina 38 views
  • Acrylic monoprint, copyright © Julie Henkener, made to go with quote by Amma Theodora (fourth century.) Amma Theodora 36 views
  • Mary of Egypt 34 views
  • Liminal Threshold Process 30 views
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  All text and original artwork copyright © Julie Henkener 2026.