William Sutherland's photos with the keyword: Cross

Mamaroneck, NY Note: This is not an image created through photo editing or artificial intelligence. It occurred naturally from different wind currents generated from Hurricane Erin that was offshore from New York on this date. The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of [H]is hands. [Psalm 19:1]

Church of St. Augustine (built 1928), Larchmont, NY l. Crucifix ; r. top Crucifixion Stained Glass Window ; r. bottom Mary Magdalene Stained Glass Window

St. Paul Roman Catholic Church, Rye Brook, NY Abstract of a stained glass window created in 1970 with panes featuring humble prayer, a cross and Ichthys "fish."

Saint Paul Roman Catholic Church, Rye Brook, NY When the time for Pentecost was fulfilled, they were all in one place together. And suddenly there came from the sky a noise like a strong driving wind, and it filled the entire house in which they were. Then there appeared to them tongues as of fire, which parted and came to rest on each one of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit ... [Acts 2:1-4] And as [Jesus] was praying, heaven was opened and the Holy Spirit descended on him... like a dove... [Luke 3:21-22] Descent of the Holy Spirit : The Holy Spirit descends upon Mary and the Apostles on Pentecost Sunday. [Third Glorious Mystery of the Rosary] To Jesus, son of Mary, We... supported him with the [H] oly [S] pirit (Ruh al-Qudus) . [Qu'ran: Al-Baqarah (The Cow) 2:253] …the Spirit of God (Ruach Elohim) was hovering over the face of the water [a] nd God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. [Torah: Bereshit (Genesis) 1:2-3]

Bronx, NY I will forgive their Iniquity – and their sin Remember no more. Peace be upon all From that momentous day he Was raised back to life. Having risen from The dead, he has made us born a new creation. The thorns and the cross Expressions of God’s love Bring life eternal. Note: Haiku verses 1-3 are based on Yirmiyahu/Jeremiah 31:33 [Torah], haiku verses 4-6 are inspired by Maryam 19:33 [Qu’ran] and haiku verses 3-9 are based on 1 Peter 1:3.

Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, Ohio (l.) The Crucifixion , about 1730. Porcelain; ebonized wood cross with gilt-bronze mounts. Du Paquier Porcelain Manufactory (Austria); (r.) Vesperbild (Pietà) , 1515-20. Lindenwood, polychromed and gilded. Master of Rabenden (Upper Bavaria, Germany)

St. Nicholas of Myra Byzantine Catholic Church, White Plains, NY It was encouraging to see Pope Francis demonstrated courage to attend the 2022 Kazakh Interfaith Summit despite objections from the dying minority that cling to the archaic and obsolete “one true religion” view that is antithetical to God's love, limits the power of the resurrection, monopolizes Jesus Christ’s saving grace and has caused so much human grief and suffering through the ages. During this conference, participants referenced the historic “Document on Human Fraternity for World Peace and Living Together” signed by Pope Francis and Sheikh Ahmed Al Tayyeb, the Grand Imam of al-Azhar in Abu Dhabi, UAE (February 2019). During his closing speech, Pope Francis reinforced Point 10 of the summit’s declaration – “We note that pluralism and differences in religion, skin color, gender, race, and language are expressions of the wisdom of God’s will in creation. …any incident of coercion to a particular religion and religious doctrine is unacceptable” [1] – declaring “extremism, radicalism, terrorism and all other forms of violence and wars, whatever their goals, have nothing to do with true religion and must be rejected in the strongest possible term.” He also called on “world leaders to ‘abandon all aggressive and destructive rhetoric which leads to destabilization… and to cease from conflict and bloodshed…” [2] _________ [1] Hannah Brockhaus. Kazakhstan interreligious congress adopts declaration calling religious pluralism ‘God’s will.’ CAN (Catholic News Agency). 21 September 2022. www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/252298/kazakhstan-interreligious-congress-adopts-declaration-calling-religious-pluralism-gods-will [2] Nicole Winfield. Pope criticized over interfaith event. The Journal News. 10 September 2022. 3A.

Mamaroneck, NY Note: This abstract was created using discarded garbage and litter consisting of plastic debris, a rubber spacer ring, red foam heart, broken tiles and lima beans. When I created this work, I intended to break numerous rules, starting with the title Cela , inscribed on one of the broken tiles, which is derived from the French contraction Ce + là , which means “That.” In this case “That” is 1 John 4:8 and 16 – “God is Love.” Accordingly, the heart that represents God’s unconditional, unfailing and unending love based on Psalm 136:26: “Give thanks to God… for His steadfast love endures forever” was converted into a colorless heart because in reality His sacred heart is immaculate and pure and untarnished by even the slightest ill, evil and negativity, the black spacer ring that represents light and eternity maintained its color despite conventional views since black too as does every color, connotes brightness and goodness. The cross represents God’s great sacrifice that broke the chains of death while the widespread red represents God’s passion and love exhibited so clearly when He gave his life for each and every one of us and the power of the Holy Spirit that guides, inspires, purifies and sustains our existence – “And there appeared to them tongues as of fire…” [Acts 2:3] “to purify…” [Titus 2:14] and , based on Psalm 51:10 “create in [each of us] a clean heart." The faint wavy flows symbolize rebirth to eternity based on John 3:5 “Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.” All of us are body (75% of water) and soul! The lima beans represent seeds of faith based on the parable found in Luke 17:5-6: “If you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea’ and it will obey you” while the simplicity proclaims the words of Matthew 11:30 – “ [M] y yoke is easy and M y burden is light.” Finally, the face represents the blissful attainment of eternal life in the presence of God captured by Psalm 16:11: “In Your presence is fullness of joy.”

Brooklyn, NY