Where God Meets His Bride (2008)  (12x16) oil on panel

      "I will greatly rejoice in the Lord, my soul shall exult in my God; for He has clothed me with the garments of salvation, He has covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decks himself with a garland, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels."

       - Isaiah 61:10

       In October of 2007, my husband and I joined 23 others on a pilgrimage to Rome. Unless you've been there yourself, you cannot comprehend the immensity and majesty of St. Peter's Basilica. In this amazing place, we stopped to take in Bernini's masterpiece, the baldacchino over the altar. It is a magnificent work of bronze which stands 98 feet high. As I was gazing at the beauty of this piece and its surroundings, our priest and guide told us that these baldachins were designed after Jewish wedding canopies because the altar is the place, "Where God Meets His Bride."

       I love that image and it has transformed the way I approach the Lord as I come to the altar.