PETOSKEY – September 26, 2025 – St. Michael High School (SMHS), the only Classical high school in Northern Michigan, is very pleased to invite you to An Evening with Icons – Saturday, October 4 at 6:30 pm at Holy Childhood of Jesus Parish Hall, 150 W. Main St., downtown Harbor Springs. The event is free of charge.
Renowned iconographer Mrs. Jane Cardinal, whose exquisite work will be featured at the event, stated, “We invite you to join us for an evening of exploration, of the oldest and most sacred of Christian imagery. Timeless and sacramental, icons are written and venerated within an immersion of prayer, providing escape from the relentless noise of our modern world. Join us and see the intense beauty that can emerge from the silence of an icon.”
The evening will commence with an entrance procession and remarks from Fr. Mitch Roman, followed by brief presentations from Mrs. Cardinal and her understudies, Mrs. Elizabeth Molosky, and Mrs. Kathy Potts. The event will conclude with a social hour as attendees enjoy elegant desserts with coffee.
The event will also conclude the silent auction of featured icons, which are displayed on the AUCTION webpage where you can view and learn about them, and place bids. These hand-written icons make unique and unforgettable Christmas gifts! All auction proceeds will support St. Michael High School.
Please RSVP for An Evening with Icons at info@stmichaelchesterton.org or 231-489-3302.
Sacred art transcends fleeting emotion, human drama, and artistic novelty. It’s created for worship, rising above the clutter and clatter of daily life, inspiring silence, peace, contemplation, and adoration of the eternal. The supernatural essence of sacred art raises the eyes and the soul to God, providing a glimpse into heaven.
In the words of Catholic writer Aidan McIntosh, “A form of sacred art less known among Latin Catholics is the icon, usually a two-dimensional painting on wood. While icons are most frequently associated with Eastern Christianity, they are not uncommon in the Latin Church. Icons are different in many ways from Latin Catholic art. One important difference is the set of rules an iconographer must follow to ensure great symbolism. … The call to live an intense lifestyle devoted to Jesus Christ must be matched with intense prayer and contemplation.”
Other major distinctions of icons from Western art, and which are strikingly clear to the viewer of an icon, are their simplicity, stoicism, and understated action. Figures are simple and rigid, but their colors are deep and rich, tinted only with natural materials. The simplistic beauty of icons is intended not to evoke a sentimental response, but rather to draw the viewer into stillness and silent meditation.
Mrs. Cardinal continued, “Icon writing goes as deep as the writer (or viewer) is able to offer. Through the eyes of the venerated image, you’re drawn to that cathedral within you, focused on their holy acts of faith. You can then contemplate these in your mind and walk with them in your heart. Icons are evangelization at a different level, not to be thought of as wall decoration, but as the presence of God. They’re suspended within you.”
SMHS Executive Director Larry Rudnicki added, “The contrast between our vain pursuit of validation and bemusement via social media, electronic devices, and ’24/7 entertainment’ – and the gentle, quiet consolations of iconography – couldn’t be more stark. What if we gazed more at holy icons… and less at our various screens?”
“At St. Michael High School, from our outstanding Philosophy & Theology offerings, to our celebrated sacred music program, to our daily commitment to school-wide prayer, we revel in the unchanging and intentionally counter-cultural nature of Christendom and the kingdom of God. Through events like this one, we seek to sidestep the incessant noise and distraction of our secular world, seeking rather to be more firmly grounded in all that matters – the essential, the eternal.”
“What a tremendous blessing it is to SMHS and our local Catholic community to host this event, led by Jane, Elizabeth, and Kathy. To what more can we aspire than to help our students and their families, as well as our supporters, deepen their faith, spreading the timeless joy and beauty of sacred art and Catholic tradition?”
Come, Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful and kindle in them the fire of your love! We hope you’ll join us on October 4 for at An Evening with Icons!
You can bid on featured icons at the AUCTION webpage.
St. Michael High School is High School with a Higher Purpose and a proud member of the Chesterton Schools Network. Established in 2013, the St. Michael mission is to nurture and elevate a new generation of joyful leaders educated in the Classical tradition and truth of the Catholic faith. For more information, please visit our website at stmichaelchesterton.org.