Merry Christmas dear readers! The other day I came upon this image by Richard Campbell, who is is a well known Indigenous artist in Australia, renowned for producing paintings that explore Aboriginal spirituality and its parallels with the Catholic faith. Living half a world away I'd never heard of him but this painting depicting Mary holding the infant Jesus, with the specific locations of Watsons Bay and Broken Bay, under a canopy of Broken Bay's gum trees, electrified me. This is a world I do not know, yet I feel that I'm there in a mystical way.
It is amazing that Campbell is still a Christian given that he was taken from his large and loving family at age nine and was separated for twelve years before being reunited with his parents. In Australia these children are known as the Stolen Generation. As with so many Canadian Indigenous children he endured the horrors of a residential school, yet held fast to the faith he was taught by his mother about Christ's all-embracing love and compassion.
Thank you, Richard Campbell for this painting which includes the "Dream Time" images from the natural world, the gift of Creation. And thank you for your immense courage and Christian witness.
Crucifixon
Resurrection
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