WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE

I doubt not then but innocence shall make false accusation blush, and tyranny tremble at patience.

Beauty: The Embroidery Page at Watts & Co. and The Royal School of Needlework

-
Watts & Co. London
After watching a couple of episodes of one of those reality TV shows, in those idle moments into which one momentarily descends after a long and taxing day, a show about gold hunters in Western Australia, this blogger found himself inspired by the delight of those who, though motivated by materialistic concerns and fixated on finding gold, thrill at the discovery of their sought after prize.

One can and should admire people who work very, very hard to succeed at their chosen profession. Obviously, however, an appreciation of effort and achievement does not mean one should redefine avarice as a virtue.

Pursuing A Truer Gold

One can find a host of beautiful liturgical gems and the people who produce them if one grabs some text and, entering said text into a search engine, sifts through the dirt of the web, the vast pile of sand and grit in which treasures can be buried and lost.

Those who seek a truer gold, a gold that points beyond itself to the One Who possesses truth, goodness and beauty to an infinite degree - that is, God - would do well to embrace the passion of the gold prospector and apply that passion to the discovery and promotion of the transcendentals.

This blogger thrilled at the discovery of the Royal School of Needlework (RSN) identified at the Watts & Co embroidery sub-site. As stated at the Watts & Co site, many of the seamstresses employed at Watts & Co are trained at the RSN.


It is highly satisfying to see a younger generation of artists taking up needle and thread and practicing a craft that provides a feast for the senses and anchors the mind to beauty.


Works of beauty purify the visual sense and through sight the mind.

Watts & Co. London
A blurb from the RSN site:
The Royal School of Needlework is the international centre of excellence for the art of hand embroidery and offers a range of courses for beginners through to advanced. Founded in 1872, the RSN is steeped in history with unrivalled expertise in the techniques of hand embroidery. We are based at the magnificent Hampton Court Palace in south west London. In addition, we teach across the UK in Exeter, Bristol, Rugby, Durham and Glasgow, and internationally in Ireland, North America and Japan. The Royal School of Needlework also offers Embroidery Services at its Studio in Hampton Court Palace creating beautiful bespoke commissions for the future as well as restoring historical textiles and bringing heirlooms back to life.

Comments

Post a Comment

Your comments will be appreciated and posted if 1) they are on topic and 2) preserve decorum.

Stand by your word.

Popular Posts

A Bishop Missing The Obvious Signs Obviously?

-
Image
Air Martin It seems that God’s signs are going unnoticed by those whom the lay faithful rely on for guidance. What signs, you ask? Let’s give credit to writers who are capturing what should by now be the most obvious sign—or collection of signs—of God speaking to His people, His Church. Brian Williams @LiturgyGuy Yesterday Charlotte ordained 10 men to the priesthood, a record high in the diocese’s 54 year history. Interestingly, 8 of the 10 ordained came from parishes directly impacted by Bishop Martin’s restrictions against the TLM and/or altar rail ban. Meanwhile, two of the mega parishes in Charlotte, both of which fit the liturgical style +Martin favors—including one with over 12,000 registered families—haven’t produced a priestly vocation since well before COVID. Will this vocations boom continue in the coming years under Bishop Martin? Also interesting to note that one of the twelve ordained this past week by the FSSP also grew up here in Charlotte serving at St. Ann’s TLM. Bisho...
Read more

Slaughter Not The Sacred Liturgy

-
Image
Screenshot | Charlotte Ordinations | CM Author Sarah Cain writes at Crisis Magazine about the naughty and knotty situation in the Diocese of Charlotte. Inspired by a recent ordination Mass, the author captures the flavour of the event as well as offering a wider perspective. Avoiding the Blackpill Temptation by Sarah Cain crisismagazine.com/opinion/avoiding-the-blackpill-temptation ... Ours is a diocese that has been the subject of an abundance of articles over the past couple of years, ever since the newly-appointed Bishop Michael Martin instituted controversial changes. The music at this weekend’s Ordination Mass was grossly inappropriate. Even that phrasing is somehow an understatement(.) (T)he bishop held up the Host weakly with one hand, as he is now known for doing. It’s a posture that is difficult to understand as anything other than indifference. Thus, the projection of such casualness is a source of pain for many faithful Catholics. A woman in a red choir robe sat in the s...
Read more

Rorschach Test For Catholics

-
Image
Walter Joseph Kovacs (Rorschach) by CohenAW "Do you see what I see? Why don't you see what I see?! I want you to see what I see!" Test #1 What a diocesan Catholic sees: "Liturgical dance." Quod sodalis FSSPX videt: "Blasphemia!" What a charismatic Catholic sees: "Gift of tongues." Test #2 What a diocesan Catholic sees: "Sign of Peace." Quod sodalis FSSPX videt: "Abusus liturgicus!" What a charismatic Catholic sees: "Baptism by fire." Test #3 What a diocesan Catholic sees: "Synodality." Quod sodalis FSSPX videt: "Haeresis!" What a charismatic Catholic sees: "Spirit of Vatican II." Test #4 What a diocesan Catholic sees: "Spectacle!" Quod sodalis FSSPX videt: "Caelum in terra!" What a charismatic Catholic sees: "Um... uh... zabbababaha quaamaaaa feraae auteaaam." Test #5 What a diocesan Catholic sees: "Lay presider." Quod sodalis FSSPX videt: ...
Read more

Ordinariate in the Middle: the Ordinary Form Mass, Divine Worship, and the Extraordinary Form

-
Image
Adapted from a post published in 2018 - edited and expanded  JULY 2023 [ 15 minute read ] Many Catholics are confused. Why? How? Catholics are distracted by liturgical infighting and, consequently, are suffering a confusion of identity. The devil knows that the Mass is the source and summit of the Christian life (LG 11 totius vitae christianae fontem et culmen ). Attack the Mass - or undermine human beings' understanding of what the Mass is and should be - and you divide and conquer, sow confusion, and rob people of their dignity and identity. How might we ease the confusion, promote faith, hope and love, and thwart the devil's assaults? We must be allied to Jesus Christ. We meet Jesus in the Eucharistic Liturgy. Divine Worship, the venerable English Mass of the Personal Ordinariates, offers an authentic via media or middle way past the infighting and confusion, and moves man toward communion with God. Divine Worship affirms all that is good and true and beautiful that is also...
Read more

Divine Worship of The English Patrimony: Icon of True Worship

-
Image
The beauty of Catholic ritual action in the Mass is theological before it is aesthetic. Its gestures, postures, and ordered movements arise from—and reveal—the Church’s participation in the Paschal Mystery . The liturgy is not a human construction but the self‑manifestation of Christ the High Priest acting through His Body. Thus, ritual action becomes a sacramental epiphany of divine life. At the foundation lies the Church’s conviction that the Incarnate Word sanctifies not only the soul but the body. Because Christ redeemed human nature in its fullness, the body becomes capable of expressing supernatural realities. This is why the faithful stand to hear the Gospel, kneel in adoration, strike the breast in repentance, and trace the Sign of the Cross over themselves. These are not symbolic flourishes but anthropological-sacramental acts: the body becomes the instrument through which the believer enters the mystery. Ritual action thus forms the Christian according to the logic of the In...
Read more

Divine Worship: What the World Needs Now

-
Image
The Holy Eucharist, the Sacrament of Sacraments, is celebrated in many distinct and beautiful ways.  Catholics are familiar with the Ordinary Form (Novus Ordo). Fewer are familiar with the 1962 Latin Mass (Missa Antiquior). Our eastern Catholic brethren offer the Divine Liturgy (Byzantine, Ukrainian Greek), the Raza (Chaldean), the Holy Qurbono (Maronite, Syro-Malankara), the Holy Qurbāna (Syro-Malabar), the Badarak (Armenian), and more. In the personal ordinariates created by the apostolic constitution Anglicanorum Coetibus , the Mass is known as Divine Worship. The names we give to the sacred Liturgy say something about the nature of the Eucharist, our orientation to God, and the Church's mission. Of course, we also know the Liturgy as the Eucharist (εὐχαριστία), meaning 'thanksgiving'. 'Mass', a nickname of sorts derived from the Latin word for dismissal in the Mass—'ite missa est' (Go, it is the dismissal. Go, you are sent.)—refers to the mission of the ...
Read more

POPE LEO XIV Magnifica Humanitas

Even in the darkest nights, the Lord raises up men and women who refuse to give up, who persevere in doing good, who protect the vulnerable and open pathways to reconciliation. The memory of the saints, righteous people and the oft-forgotten peacemakers, show us that grace does not magically eliminate conflict, but instead it inspires active resistance to evil and an astonishing creativity in doing good” (paragraph 211).

THOMAS SOWELL

Ours may become the first civilization destroyed, not by the power of our enemies, but by the ignorance of our teachers and the dangerous nonsense they are teaching our children. In an age of artificial intelligence, they are creating artificial stupidity.

MARTIN LUTHER KING JR

The ultimate tragedy is not the oppression and cruelty by the bad people but the silence over that by the good people.

PSALM 6

Depart from me, all you workers of evil; for the Lord has heard the sound of my weeping. The Lord has heard my supplication; the Lord accepts my prayer. All my enemies shall be ashamed and sorely troubled; they shall turn back, and be put to shame in a moment.

WORDS TO THE WHYS

An idle wight abideth in sloth, and doth chastise all who seek to render aid.

JACOB ANSCOMB

Judge not, saith the Lord. Wherefore do these knaves of malice and guile cast their cruelty upon others, fearing not the fires of perdition?