Art as Propaganda

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I recently ran across this image of Br. Robert Lentz's Jesus "Lord of the Dance" when doing an internet search. And I find myself three shades of red just looking at this New Age icon of Christ.

I asked a colleague to have a look at this image of Our Lord as portrayed for whatever purpose by Br. Robert Lentz, O.F.M.

Brother Lentz is a Franciscan brother of the Holy Name Province of Franciscans, who proffers icons of various saints and non-saints alike to make a dime. My colleague, like I, was taken aback by this image of Our Lord, a man of faith.

His first reaction was: "Why is he starkers?" My colleague is from Texas. And fairly young, after he took a closer look, he asked, "Is that" pointing to his groin, "supposed to be a loincloth? Or is it just pubic hair?"

To which I responded: "Does it really make a difference? This is some demonic stuff! By the by, I can order you one of these icons either on a coffee mug or a T-shirt, which would you prefer?"

His response was off the charts: "You've got to be joking! What kind of weirdo would want this demented image in any manner?"

All joking aside, my colleague deferred from having his name published in this article lest he be derided as being closed-minded. I doubt that this "icon" gets many hits as a favorite among the Orthodox Christian community.

Now among the New Agers and their ilk, that might be another story! Strangely, Br. Lentz, at 73, is well known as an iconographer and has made a name for himself with these edgy images of Our Lord, the Blessed Mother and the Church's recognized saints.

Additionally, if you review his portfolio of icons, you quickly come across icons for many lesser "saints" like Mahatma Gandhi, a Hindu, and Harvey Milk, a known pederast, and many more.

Earlier this week, Cdl. Blase Cupich of Chicago on the Feast of the Guardian Angels tweeted the great significance of this New Age saint Mahatma Gandhi. Too bad that he did not use Br. Lentz's image of this saint for his tweet. In this new Church being promoted by Cdl. Cupich and ilk, a man does not even need to be a Christian to be proclaimed a Catholic saint by a cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church.

Another example of dubious canonizations and iconography being promoted by the new age Church is Harvey Milk — a gay activist, a known pederast and a marginal man of religion.

In centuries past, iconographers who promoted individuals and causes that were not of God were silenced and their blasphemous artwork destroyed. Today, with Pope Francis as pope, the more out there and inclusive the better.

One of the popular icons proffered by Br. Lentz is "The Dance of Creation."

This icon was purchased recently and installed in the sanctuary of St. Martha's Catholic Church in Morton Grove, Illinois.

Unfortunately, Cdl. Blase Cupich and Bp. Mark Bartosik were photographed back in July of this year under this scary image. It's the image of a naked man coming out of the darkness to embrace the viewer. I am not a prude or anything, but unclothed images of Our Lord I find unsettling and anything but prayerful.

Again, I feel the blush rising up the back of my neck. What is it about these new agers and their sexualization of even images of Our Lord and Blessed Mother. OK, Mary had breasts, but why highlight this?

At this point in time, you may be asking yourself where is this article is going. Why this protracted discussion about bad artwork and such? Well, did you see what was placed in St. Peter's Square just this past Sunday on the Feast of the Archangels?

If you believe all the hype put out there by the Vatican Press Office, this particular artwork was commissioned by Pope Francis shortly after he was elected pope. And the prototype was blessed by the Pope himself on April 26, 2017.

This work of art supposedly promotes the concept that immigrants-in-mass are really "angels" just without their wings. The artist says it is based on Hebrews 13🔢 "And hospitality do not forget; for by some, being unaware of it have entertained angels."

It's a great Scripture passage from Hebrews, based by the author of Hebrews, thinking no doubt of the experience of Abraham who welcomed unawares angels into his tent (Genesis 18:1–15).

But excuse me, Pope Francis and other globalists — New Agers — it is one thing to entertain a stranger for an overnight, or even a long weekend. It is something altogether different to welcome a stranger into your home (state, country, nation) and let them take over.

Any moron with an iota of education can deduce that Sacred Scripture does not substantiate and support "open borders," "mass migrations" and the destabilizations of nations, cultures and peoples.

So, what type of icon do we have with "Angels Unawares"? Just another slick propaganda work of art to promote something other than the practice of the faith of the Roman Catholic Church.

Paradoxically, I feel sort of sad for Thomas P. Schmaltz and this latest work of art. Much of his work I find pleasing to look at and inspiring, unlike Br. Lentz's Icons.

For example, I find his work "Fallen Firefighter Memorial" beautiful and a moving tribute to firefighters that gave their lives to save others. I find it also tragic that "Angels Unawares" in the aftermath of this pontificate and after this current battle in the Church is over will be relegated to the smelter, to be melted down as were similar propaganda works of art after previous wars were won by the righteous.

At this point in time, almost a century later, not many of Adolf Hitler's Arian bronzes that adorned Berlin for the 1936 Olympics remain, despite a lot of hard work by a lot of good artists to epitomize in metal Hitler's Arians.

Truly tragic!

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