WOW! WWII era triptychs for Catholic Masses for the military

Posted on 26 February 2019 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

I saw something amazing at Amy Wellborn’s blog.  She writes about a group during WWII, Citizens Committee for the Army, Navy and Air Force, which commissioned artists to make portable triptychs for use during Catholic Masses.  The idea was to transform a temporary space with sacred art into an even better place for the celebration of Mass.  A group of artists painted these triptychs.  Amy has some photos.

They are astonishing.

For example:

Go look at others over there.  Amazing.

Of course now I am think that I need something like this to flesh out my portable Mass kit with the great altar made by St. Joseph’s Apprentice (aka The Coolest Priest Gift Ever).

JUST TOO COOL: Unboxing my new portable altar – UPDATED!

 

 

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About Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

Fr. Z is the guy who runs this blog. o{]:¬)
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4 Responses to WOW! WWII era triptychs for Catholic Masses for the military

  1. Semper Gumby says:
    26 February 2019 at 5:34 PM

    Those triptychs would look great on the hood of a Jeep or Humvee.

  2. BrerJason says:
    26 February 2019 at 8:05 PM

    WOW indeed! Thank you for sharing this.

  4. Semper Gumby says:
    27 February 2019 at 11:44 AM

    Malta: Good point, and thanks for the link.

    …though, as no doubt you are aware, the culture has changed since the Korean and Vietnam Wars. Today, there are some officers and enlisted in the Armed Forces who were raised and “educated” in secularized or even anti-Christian households and schools/colleges. Some officers and enlisted may have been raised decently, but were then influenced by a bad element in the military (as we all know every institution has a bad element).

    An example: former Army 2nd Lt. Spenser Rapone, an enlisted Army Ranger Afghanistan veteran who later graduated from West Point. He was discharged from the Army for, among other things, wearing Che Guevara shirts with his Army uniform. Rapone is a member of the Democratic Socialists of America.

    https://www.armytimes.com/news/your-army/2018/06/13/whatever-happened-to-that-communist-lieutenant-the-army-wont-say/

    https://washingtontimes.com/news/2018/jun/8/spenser-rapone-communism-will-win-officer-receives/

    An additional element, one of Rapone’s West Point instructors:

    https://americanmilitarynews.com/2017/09/report-west-point-professor-rasheed-hosein-who-mentored-socialist-organizer-army-officer-placed-on-admin-leave/

    An additional element, a problem within military culture:

    https://spectator.org/west-points-commie-cadet-spenser-rapone/

    Sure, perhaps in that last article the author Melissa Mackenzie got a little fired up, but she points to real problems.

    Also, here is a link to tombstone symbols available for VA cemeteries, note symbols such as the Pentacle, Infinity, Awen (Druid), Thor’s Hammer (Odinism), Sandhill Crane (Wisdom and Protection), and now there is a VA tombstone symbol for Atheism.

    https://www.cem.va.gov/cem/hmm/emblems.asp

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