Any one who has followed this Blog, knows that I love to promote new Catholic art, from all cultures and all countries. Interestingly enough the intention of prayer for the month of August
from the Holy Father is Artists: That artists of our time, through their
ingenuity, may help everyone discover the beauty of creation.
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| St. George - Nikola Saric (Serbia- Germany) |
“The
heavens declare the glory of God, and the firmament proclaims his handiwork”
(Psalm 19: 1). As creation reveals God’s beauty, so humans, made in God’s image
and likeness, create works that give glory to God. The great Russian novelist
Dostoevsky wrote that “beauty will save the world.” How? At the end of the
Second Vatican Council the bishops told artists: “This world in which we live
needs beauty in order not to sink into despair. It is beauty, like truth, which
brings joy to the human heart and is that precious fruit which resists the wear
and tear of time, which unites generations and makes them share things in
admiration.”
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| Moses- Dr. He Qi- USA |
Beauty lifts the heart and brings people together. Pope Francis
spoke of “the important and necessary task of artists: to create works of art
that bear through the language of beauty a sign, a spark of hope and trust
where people seem to give in to indifference and ugliness.” He went on to say:
“Architects and painters, sculptors and musicians, filmmakers and writers,
photographers and poets, artists of every discipline, are called to make beauty
shine, especially where darkness and greyness dominate everyday life; they are
custodians of beauty, heralds and witnesses of hope for humanity, as my
predecessors have repeated many times.
I invite them, therefore, to care for
beauty, and beauty will heal the many wounds that mark the heart and soul of
the men and women of our times.” However, artists can be tempted to create what
is fashionable or shocking in order to make money or a name for themselves.
They can create works that degrade humanity and foster conflict. We pray that
artists use their gifts to heal and to give glory to God.
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| Mother of God- Olga Kovtun- Ukraine |
Thank you for these beautiful words! I did not know about Pope Francis making this a month of prayer for artists. I am one! I have wanted to visit your monestery since I heard of you from Abbot Neal at St Martin's. I'd like to bring tools and paper and do "ora et labore" in color and line and calligraphy. What are your arrangements for retreats? Blessings on your good work.
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