Work in Progress: Father Price and Bishop Leo Haid

More work on this illustration of a scene from Father Price’s life. He’s here pictured with Bishop Leo Haid of Belmont Abbey. #drawingexistedfirst #drawforever #theartistsway #thewarofart #fatherthomasfrederickprice #thetarheelapostle #maryknoll #tarheelapostle #leohaid #bishopleohaid #belmontabbey 

Complete: Father Price, The Tarheel Apostle, at prayer.

I am very happy with this portrait of Father Price. In the midst of all his vigorous tasks and plans, he always managed to find time to “go away by [himself]” for prayer. He would often be caught in his room, after a cheerful “come in” to a knock at the door, scrambling up from his knees where he had been in prayer late at night. The greatest saints, who did marvelous works of God, who dreamed and dared most, spent at least as much time in prayer as at work. “From his rising in the morning until his retiring at night, Father Price's life seemed to be one of uninterrupted union with God. Even in his busiest hours he lived in an atmosphere of heaven, and whenever the opportunity offered he would be on his knees before the little shrine of Our Lady in his room, or in the chapel before the Blessed Sacrament. In his absent-mindedness he forgot things,. but never the presence of God. He always found time for spiritual reading and recollection, and this without neglecting the demands of an intensely active apostolate. In all seasons, the late hours of the night and the early dawn found him wrapped in prayer. At Maryknoll the sacristan often found in the chapel the stump of a candle that had been burned during the night; yet at the first sound of the bell Father Price would rise again for morning prayer and meditation... While he talked, or listened, or walked, or rode, his rosary was present, twined about his fingers during conversation, or slipping between them as he told the decades. A man of prayer, he found real companionship and genuine spiritual pleasure in the mere feel of his rosary. He must have said it a dozen times a day. If a visitor opened the door of his room too quickly after the cheery, Come in! he was likely to surprise Father Price scrambling from his knees before the little shrine, rosary in hand, and looking embarrassed at being caught...”

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 

Work in Progress: Father Price at Prayer

More work on this portrait of Father Price at prayer.

“Father Price was intensely active about the country, gathering the people together in farmhouses where he taught Christian doctrine, fortifying the faith of believers and correcting the misapprehensions of non-believers. No one was ever neglected. If a farmer was too busy to come to instructions, the priest would follow him out into the fields, walking up and down plow furrows, or standing by as rows of tobacco or corn were chopped down. Whatever leisure the missioner might have would be devoted to the sick, the afflicted, the aged, and no distance was too great for him to carry the consolation of God's word to the very poor.”

This passage reminds me of Bishop Ned Schlesinger. When I knew him as Father Ned and he was ministering in Newton Grove, an old haunt of Father Price’s, I was able to accompany him once or twice as he went out to check on his lambs who had not been to mass recently. I walked out into a field with him and watched him wave down a farmer on a plow and scold him in Father Ned’s kind and quiet way, that he was missed at church, and wanted there. The spirit of the Tarheel Apostle is alive and well in priests like Father (Bishop) Ned.

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

Working on another illustration of Father Price’s experience of the shipwreck of The Rebecca Clyde during hurricane Felipe in 1876. It is said that when he was able to locate with the Blessed Mother’s help a large “board” to hoist himself upon, another passenger sought refuge with him, and came out of the furious waves spluttering and cursing. Freddie Price immediately chastised the man and reminded him that he should be using what energy he had to give thanks to God for his life. It occurs to me that I am the man in the story, full of cursing and ugliness, raised to a better way by the contemplation of a saint. 

Work in Progress: Father Price, The Tarheel Apostle, at prayer

I was able to get a good start on this new drawing of Father Price. Unfortunately Fr Price was very resistant to being photographed and did not want attention drawn to himself, so I was amazed when I found this image of him praying the divine office on a country road. This captures so much of his spirit. Very excited about this one.

In his biographies, whenever his love for the Old North State is referenced, it is always by recalling the serene pine forests of our home. And of course, for his home of Wilmington, a second home to me from my younger years, is almost completely dominated by these tall and whispering sentinels. It is fitting therefore that pines oversee the Tarheel Apostle’s prayers in this portrait. 

 #drawingexistedfirst #thetarheelapostle #fatherthomasfrederickprice #maryknoll #divineoffice #breviary #liturgyofthehours 

Father Price and the Shipwreck of the Rebecca Clyde in 1876

I had to come to a stopping point because the iPad was at 5% but feeling great about the potential for these illustrations of Father Price’s life. I played around with some blurring too here. At about 16 years of age Father Price was leaving for college seminary in Baltimore on board a steamer, the Rebecca Clyde, from his hometown of Wilmington, NC. Unbeknownst to all onboard, Hurricane Felipe was headed their way. The hurricane caught the vessel off of Ocracoke Inlet and tore it to pieces. Young Freddie Price was praying in his cabin so long that no life preservers were available when he got to the deck. He clung to the rail and then to the mast with other passengers, until the ship finally broke apart and flung him into the sea. Freddie never learned to swim, and was sinking. He cried out “save me Lord or I perish!” After Father Price’s death, a Bishop and former classmate of the Tarheel Apostle shared that he had been able to hear the story directly from Freddie while they were both in seminary at Saint Charles: "Keeping his head as best he could, with all his physical strength, above the furious waters, he cried again, ‘Lord Jesus, save me or I perish.' Like a flash the sky seemed to open, and out of a speck of blue came the clearest vision, as clear as he saw the howling waves about him, Mary, the Mother of Christ, appeared before his eyes. Upon her face was a smile, and, gently stretching forth her hand she pointed to a great floating plank, which had been washed overboard from the sinking ship. Strengthened superhumanly by the perfect confidence of safety, he gained the plank, pulled himself upon it, threw himself face forward upon it and grasping a great ring on its upper surface, he swung, now up, now down, in the great waves about him, feeling nothing and now and then of the vision, which would always remain indelibly imprinted on his soul. He began the Litany of the Blessed Virgin, and as he said, 'In my joy I almost sang

it.' "  #fatherprice #thetarheelapostle #drawingexistedfirst #maryknoll #starofthesea 

Current Project: Father Thomas Frederick Price, The Tarheel Apostle

It’s been a long time since I have posted, and I hope to remedy that. Much of my work of the past several years is available for review on my instagram dmyers1977 for those who are interested.

I am spending my Lent this year re-familiarizing myself with The Tarheel Apostle, Father Thomas Frederick Price, the first native-borne North Carolinian to be ordained a Catholic priest, and co-founder of the first Catholic foreign missionary society, Maryknoll. God willing, he will one day be recognized as a saint. In any case, his story yields inspiration and edification with every reading. 

This is the rough draft of the first of what I hope will be many illustrations of scenes from the life of Father Price. I’m making these to go with some reflections on the virtues of the Tarheel Apostle. This illustration is from a reported exchange between Bishop Leo Haid and Father Price. The reflection is on the reckless generosity of Father Price. He came to Raleigh to found a school for Catholic missionaries, but immediately found that Raleigh had many children living in the streets. He is said to have told a fellow priest “I will have an orphanage.” He repeated that refrain to every pragmatic objection raised by his fellow priest. Bishop Haid is said to have often asked Fr Price where he would find the funds for his various ambitious projects, and Father Price’s reply was always the same. He trusted that if it was the work of God it could not fail. From this aspect of his character, I am reminded that there are good things we are called to say yes to on impulse, with reckless generosity, because they are good, without overmuch concern for the practical means by which they will be carried out over time. I am pursuing this work because I have always wanted other NC Catholics to know more about Fr Price, and whether he is eventually canonized a Saint or not, his story is worth knowing and gaining from. The story of a good person, a heroic person, encourages those who read it to “go and do likewise.” #drawingexistedfirst #thetarheelapostle #fatherthomasfrederickprice #maryknoll 

MY 5TH PORTRAIT OF FATHER THOMAS FREDERICK PRICE, THE TARHEEL APOSTLE

This portrait of Father Thomas Frederick Price, "The Tarheel Apostle," is my 5th portrait of this servant of God. The photo I rendered this from was shared with me by Father Michael Walsh, MM, who is involved in efforts to have him recognized as a Saint in the Catholic Church. The photo was the last known photo taken of Father Price, and was for a travel document he needed during his missionary work in China.

Father Price's cause for Beatification and Canonization is now underway in its "Diocesan" stage here in the Diocese of Raleigh. North Carolina is where Father Price grew up, was ordained, and where he spent the first stages of his remarkable priestly life. If Father Price's achievements were limited to his time in his home state, they would be sufficient to mark him as a Priest of singular, heroic virtue. He was a dynamo of charitable and apostolic work, and deeply loved the people of North Carolina, Catholic and non-Catholics alike. It was his love for his home and her people that so charmed the men and women of the Old North State. I believe that his work here, especially his evangelical spirit and his charity, should be more widely known by the people of our Diocese, and I hope that his cause will achieve this if nothing else. His life still inspires and speaks to the missionary nature of the Church in North Carolina. Indeed, I believe that his labors here testify to his Sainthood, just as his later achievements would on a global scale.

Here is a Saintly Priest worth knowing and befriending. I hope that you will consider ordering his biography, "The Tarheel Apostle" which is available in reprint from Amazon. If you are from the State of North Carolina, or if you have spent any time here, you will be charmed by the familiar places and history recounted in its pages. You will especially be charmed by the simplicity of this man, who had little regard for his clothes, his appearance, or the limitations that keep most people from achieving great things. He loved all, especially those who misunderstood and persecuted him, and he patiently, persistently, and irresistibly convinced them of his goodness, and also of the love he carried for the people of North Carolina. My prayer is that all of us will come to know him better as his cause proceeds here in our local Church.

FATHER THOMAS FREDERICK PRICE AND "THE STAR OF THE SEA" : Another Story from the Life of the Tarheel Apostle

This drawing is the latest in my ongoing project honoring the life and work of Father Thomas Frederick Price, North Carolina's first native born Priest, whose cause for sainthood is ongoing. The drawing illustrates an event that occurred when young "Freddie" Price was on his way to begin Minor Seminary studies in Baltimore. The drawing, while not historically accurate with regards to the type of vessel involved, hopefully captures the essence of Father Price's experience in some small way. Price travelled aboard the Rebecca Clyde, a steam ship, in the fall of 1876. The ship wrecked in high winds and treacherous waters just off of Ocracoke Inlet. You can read a great article about the wreck, in which Price's name is mentioned along with other survivors, at this site for the New York Times.

By a miracle, Fred (who could not swim) was saved. Later he confided to a friend that the Virgin had appeared to him, helping to ensure his rescue from a watery death. The event is described beautifully in the book Father Price of Maryknoll: The book tells of Price’s inability to swim and of his prayers for the Blessed Virgin’s intercession. The text continues: “At once he seemed lifted up, and as he rose to the surface he grasped a spar that floated near. Another survivor grasped the other end of it and began to curse most horribly. He was ordered [by the young Fred Price] to stop and to thank God for the chance to escape. Clinging to the plank, the two drifted for several hours. Then, when almost overcome with exhaustion, they were picked up. Young Price was believed to be dead, but restoratives brought him to, and he was able the next day to return to Wilmington and his family. The Star of the Sea, so fervently addressed in that hour of anguish, had come to the rescue of her loving son.”

The drawing depicts the young Price gratefully gazing heavenward, to his Heavenly Mother and intercessor. (As a rule, Father Price very rarely – if at all – spoke of this incident in his life, but he did confide to a friend in another account of the tale that he in fact saw the Blessed Mother, or at the very least believed that he did) This work is especially dedicated to my friend, Philip Gerard Johnson, whose devotion to Father Price has been strong from his youth. My prayer for him and for all who face dark times is that, as they are cast about in the violent sea of life, they may be able to gaze heavenward, and find that same providential care (and peace!) that young Freddie Price experienced on that fateful day in September of 1876.

Father Thomas Frederick Price: "Tarheel Apostle" and Servant of God

These drawings, taken from different points in the life of Father Thomas Frederick Price, are the first in a series of drawings honoring the life of a great North Carolinian Priest and possible saint. I intend to eventually include scenes illustrating important points in his life (A Mass said atop Mt Mitchell, a shipwreck during his youth-see text post below) and including portraits of people who figured prominently in his own vocation journey (James Cardinal Gibbons, his mother and father, Bishop Leo Haid, OSB). Father Price is a great personal hero of mine whom I have studied, written about, and drawn much inspiration from. I hope that you will enjoy learning a little bit about his life with me as I continue this work during the coming weeks. Father Price's cause for canonization is under way, and is being pursued by the Catholic Foreign Missionary Society of America, which he co-founded. Father Price was the first native North Carolinian to be ordained a priest, and was tireless in his service to people of all faiths, both in our state and in the far east. The following are texts from a book about Father Price, which I included on the back of holy cards made from two of the images above.