Catholic Photo Challenge: Sign of Fidelity

This is my entry to the latest photo challenge from Steve Nelson over at everythingesteban.com. Here is the theme for this challenge:

For this challenge, show us an image that represents
“a sign of fidelity of Christ” and the graces we receive because of that fidelity.

Chloe and her ball (stock Canon lens)

Chloe and her ball (stock Canon lens)

Yup. I’ve chosen a photo of my dog, Chloe. My dog has revealed to me glimpses of the steadfast nature of Christ, who remains with us always (Matthew 28.20).

One particular story comes to my mind from when she was a puppy. I was sick over New Years with an especially nasty stomach bug. I’ll spare the details, but… I was basically in one of two places for a good day or so: bed, or the washroom. Chloe refused to leave my side. If I was in bed, she was there. If I was in the washroom, she waited until I got out. She was (and continues to be!) a sign of the fidelity of Christ in my life: for if a little four-legged furry creature can stay by my side so faithfully, then how much more is Jesus with me in all things?

Be sure to check out the other photos at Steve’s page: everythingesteban.com!

Catholic Photo Challenge: Good Shepherd

This is my entry to the latest photo challenge from Steve Nelson over at everythingesteban.com. Here is the theme for this challenge:

For Catholic Photo Challenge #3 (June 15-30) – show us an image that represents a “Good Shepherd” to you. Be sure to tell us why!

For this entry, I ended up choosing a photo from my ordination (July 13, 2007). It is from the moment of the ordination Mass where the people, kneeling, pray the Litany of the Saints, while the candidate lies prostrate on the floor. Jesus is the Good Shepherd, who calls us to follow him. Yet he also calls his people to be shepherds of one another in different ways. The only way in which we can fruitfully do so is by humbly and continuously placing ourselves before the Good Shepherd. Any time I witness an ordination I am especially reminded of this.

070 Ordination DSCF0072

(I had more hair back then, too.)

Be sure to check out the other photos at Steve’s page: everythingesteban.com!

Catholic Photo Challenge: Seeing God in the Works of Creation

This post is in response to a great idea from Steve Nelson over at EverythingEsteban.com. It’s a twice-per-month Catholic photo challenge where we post a photo of ours that fits into a particular theme.  For the first photo, Steve invites us to post about finding God in creation:

Have you ever looked at pictures of the stars, planets and galaxies and been amazed?  As individuals, we can seem pretty minuscule and insignificant in the grand scheme of things.  It can be very difficult to see what our roles are in the “big picture” of the universe.   Do you sometimes feel an urge to find proof of the existence of God?

One way to see and feel the existence of God is in the natural world around us.

My thoughts immediately go to some of the long exposure, night photos that I’ve taken since moving out to Watson, Saskatchewan.  One of the great things about living in a small town is that light pollution is virtually nonexistent, resulting in some truly stunning views of the night sky.

In this photo I pointed the camera eastward and captured a 30 second exposure. The Lira constellation can be clearly seen near the bottom of the photo (the brightest star in the image — Vega — is at the top of the constellation).

What I find most impressive, however, is the sheer variety of colours in the image. It’s not possible to see all these colours with the naked eye, but the long exposure reveals a tremendous variety of blues, reds, greens, and yellows. Creation is stunning in its beauty, but much like how my camera had to be completely still and have its shutter open for a while, so also we can better see the beauty created by God if we take time in stillness.

Here’s the photo (click on it for the full version):

Long-term exposure of the night sky.

Long-term exposure of the night sky.

Be sure to check out the other photos at Steve’s page: EverythingEsteban.com!