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Rest on the Flight into Egypt, 1879 Luc Olivier Merson (French, 1846–1920) DIMENSIONS 71.8 x 128.3 cm (28 1/4 x 50 1/2 in.) ON VIEW Frances Vrachos Gallery (Gallery 144) Fleeing persecution at the hands of Roman authorities, the Holy Family takes refuge in Egypt. Joseph dozes beside a dying campfire while his donkey grazes on sparse desert grass. At left sleep the Virgin Mary and infant Christ, crowned with a halo of light. They lie in the arms of a sphinx, its eyes turned to the heavens, where the first stars begin to appear. A successful Academic artist, Merson...

The Feast of the Ass (Latin: Festum Asinorum or asinaria festa, French: Fête de l’âne) was a medieval, Christian feast observed on January 14, celebrating the Flight into Egypt. It was celebrated primarily in France, as a by-product of the Feast of Fools celebrating the donkey-related stories in the Bible, in particular the donkey bearing the Holy Family into Egypt after Jesus‘s birth. A girl with child on a donkey would be led through town to the church, where the donkey would stand beside the altar during the sermon, and the congregation would “hee-haw” their responses to the priest. Mass...

.. JOSEPH AND MARY ON THE ROAD TO BETHLEHEM . L U K E .. 2 New International Version, emphases added Abrdgd: the complete text is in your Bible . Resources to CLICK: To read LUKE 2 in full To hear MAX McLEAN reading it To hear a DRAMATIZATION of it To see an ANIMATION of Matthew, Mark, Luke, or JohnHarmony of the Gospels 5 B. C. Bible Timeline. LUKE, Chapter 2 1In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. 2 (This was the first census that took place...

.. T H E . H O L Y F A M I L Y F L E E S T O . E G Y P T . MATTHEW 2 New International Version, emphases added Abrdgd: the complete text is in your Bible . Resources to CLICK: To read MATTHEW 2 in full To hear MAX McLEAN reading it To hear a DRAMATIZATION of it To see an ANIMATION of Matthew, Mark, Luke, or JohnHarmony of the Gospels 5 B. C. Bible Timeline MATTHEW , Chapter 2 13 When they had gone, an angel of the Lord appeared to...

.. T H E . H O L Y F A M I L Y F L E E S T O . E G Y P T . MATTHEW 2 New International Version, emphases added Abrdgd: the complete text is in your Bible . Resources to CLICK: To read MATTHEW 2 in full To hear MAX McLEAN reading it To hear a DRAMATIZATION of it To see an ANIMATION of Matthew, Mark, Luke, or JohnHarmony of the Gospels 5 B. C. Bible Timeline MATTHEW , Chapter 2 13 When they had gone, an angel of the Lord appeared to...