Work in Progress: Father Price and the Shipwreck of the Rebecca Clyde, 1876

More work on this illustration of Father Price’s experience of the shipwreck of the Rebecca Clyde in 1876. After his vision of the Blessed Mother and finding a board to hoist himself onto, the biographies reference a metal ring, presumably intended for rigging, that Freddie Price and his fellow survivor clung to in the midst of the gale. In re-reading the 3 versions of the story that I have, as well as the news story and history of the shipwreck, I don’t think I had appreciated before now how terrifying this must have been. This was the deep sea in a hurricane. Imagine the movie “the Perfect Storm” if you’ve seen it. The ring became their axis mundi, their tether to life in the violence of the hurricane. I’ve often thought of prayers, particularly the Rosary and the Divine Office, along with spontaneous intercession and petition, as tethers in the storm of life. “Lord, save us or we perish.” Even in the fury and confusion of the moment, these tethers diffuse peace, order, patience, endurance, and hope into the chaos of life. Cling to your tether. #tarheelapostle #thetarheelapostle #drawingexistedfirst #drawforever #thomasfrederickprice #maryknoll #theartistsway #thewarofart