Patience

For one reason or another, the word that keeps coming back to me is "patience."
With so many things "suspended, blurred or nebulous," the biggest challenge to me now is to exercise "wisdom waiting" and to repeat this poem of G. Manley Hopkins often:

Patience, hard thing! The hard thing but to pray,
But bid for, Patience is! Patience who asks
Wants war, wants wounds; weary his times, his tasks;
To do without, take tosses, and obey.

Rare patience roots in these, and, these away,
Nowhere. Natural heart’s ivy, Patience masks
Our ruins of wrecked past purpose. There she basks
Purple eyes and seas of liquid leaves all day.

We hear our hearts grate on themselves: it kills
To bruise them dearer. Yet the rebellious wills
Of us we do bid God bend to him even so.

And where is he who more and more distils
Delicious kindness?—He is patient. Patience fills
His crisp combs, and that comes those ways we know.

Giving Hope Through Beauty

As I do some research on the theme of “Sacred and Liturgical Art” I took hold of John Paul II’s Letter to Artists (April 1999). Towards the end of this Letter, John Paul makes an appeal to Christian artists “to use your creative intuition to enter into the heart of the mystery of the Incarnate God and at the same time into the mystery of man.” Indeed, it is a lofty vocation for the artists not only to be true to themselves in manifesting their talent and genius but also to go beyond all that and bring us all into some experience of transcendence. John Paul challenges them: "it is up to you, men and women who have given your lives to art, to declare with all the wealth of your ingenuity that in Christ the world is redeemed: the human person is redeemed, the human body is redeemed, and the whole creation which, according to Saint Paul, “awaits impatiently the revelation of the children of God” (Rom 8:19), is redeemed. The creation awaits the revelation of the children of God also through art and in art. This is your task. Humanity in every age, and even today, looks to works of art to shed light upon its path and its destiny. "
Serendipitously, as I reflected on these words, I also chanced upon a news article from zenit.org reporting a recent interview with Dony Mac Manus, founder of the Irish Academy of Figurative Art in Dublin and the Dony Mac Manus Studios In Florence, Italy. In this interview, Mac Manus admits that the theology that most informs his art is John Paul II's theology of the body. Here are some excerpts of the interview:

ZENIT: Has John Paul II's theology of the body continued to inform your work?
Mac Manus: When I first was introduced to theology of the body, I started to understand what it meant to be a man, to be fully human, and how this identity is fundamental to how I relate with other men and women, and how I relate to God as a Christian. Since that introduction to theology of the body in 1999, it continues to inform my work.In the words of John Paul II, "Christ reveals man to man." I think, as an artist, I could not possibly ask for more. If an artist sees that his mission is to reveal man's worth, dignity and destiny, as I believe it is, then this short revelation of John Paul II is all you need to put yourself on the right track.If Christ reveals man to man, and he does this through his own body and our own bodies, then this explains why Christ has been the central figure of art for so long. It also explains why it is necessary to return Christ to that central place if we are to reclaim our own true culture and identity.

ZENIT: On your Web site you state that the human body is the most expressive tool to communicate the human condition. What do you mean by that?
Mac Manus: With this expression I mean to depict every aspect of being human. I see the human body as the ideal instrument to communicate this condition, as the body is designed to do just that.I understand my own condition, and the condition of other humans, in and through my own body and theirs. As an artist, I strongly believe in the communication of what it means to be human. I realize it is my responsibility to finely tune my capacities to communicate this reality in my work, with maximum fluidity, so as to minimize the interference of artistic incompetence -- be it anatomical, sculptural, drawing -- in the communication of the message.

ZENIT: One of the key themes of John Paul II's writing was that a person must never use or treat another as a mere means to an end. How do you, as an artist, whose favorite subject is the human body, guard that your models, whether a man or a woman, do not experience being used to further your art?
Mac Manus: This is a very interesting question and I am very glad you asked it because it forces me to think about it. I think it is purely a question of intentions, which is an overflow of an interior disposition. One can see another human person with purity of heart and not objectify the person. That positive intention is also communicated through our body language and is perceived by the other with great clarity. This is the manner I believe that both professional and personal relationships can be built.

ZENIT: Is art becoming, or has it already become, merely the superficial consumption of impressions? If so, how can those of us who are not fine artists, educate our own eyes and the eyes of others, especially youth, to look for art worthy of the human observers that we are?
Mac Manus: A lot of art has become very superficial and relativistic, leading to a lot of boring self-referential navel gazing. This results from a loss of a true focus on the only source of "the way, the truth and the light." It has led to truly tedious artistic manifestations.
Put it this way, if I were to describe my exhibition either as "Dony Mac Manus: An Artistic Self-Exploration of a 38-year-old Guy From Dublin," or as "A Contemporary Artistic Exploration of the Human Condition Through the Works of the Greatest Artists in History," by Dony Mac Manus, most sane people, if they could choose, would choose the latter.
They would do this as it invites one to explore the vast richness of our collective cultural heritage, and in this way to learn what one can, and apply this to what is relevant to the present.In other words, art is first and foremost a language. Language is born from thought. If we are to understand true art, we need to understand true thought. A healthy grasp of philosophy and theology can go a long way in penetrating the meaning of who we are.With this understanding of the human condition we can aspire to reaffirm this vision of the human in cultural life, whether it be in the production or consumption of art.
(…)

ZENIT: John Paul II wrote in "Laborem Exercens" (On Work), that all human work is a moment of revelation of the person, and is a natural way in which all persons can build him or herself up and to make a world worthy of himself. Do you see your work as an artist in this way? Specifically, what does your work tell the world about Dony Mac Manus?
Mac Manus: Yes, I do see my work this way. My work tells the world that Dony Mac Manus does not really care what people think about his art. The only thing I care about is that I can articulate what I believe the world needs from the collective heritage we have. I want to sensitize myself to what is most beautiful and draw it out of this vast wealth and have it communicate with a contemporary audience so as to give hope through beauty.

Of Darkness and Light

Today's world news highlighted the total solar eclipse that was seen all over Asia and which will not happen again till the next 150 years, according to scientists. The best views appeared in China and India though the event was also experienced in Southeast Asia. The photo I copied here was actually taken in Varanasi, India today.
The evening news here in Italy mentioned the death of 2 women among the crowd of Indians who flocked by the great river Ganges to rid themselves of the "impurities" believed to come with the experience of a total solar eclipse. Yes, there are still many superstitions attached to this scientifically explainable event. Unfortunately, we here in Italy did not have a chance to experience the eclipse -- it was 2 a.m. here when that happened in the other side of the world.

Liturgically though, I re-lived the historic and sacred event of "darkness and light" in today's feast of one of my favorite saints: St. Mary Magdalene. Known as the "apostle to the apostles," Mary was among the women who ran to the tomb of Jesus early morning, before the sun was up, with the intent of anointing the dead body of the Lord (cf. Jn 20:1-18).

While searching for a fitting painting to accompany this short write-up, I chanced by a web page which shares beautiful paintings of biblical characters. Of the many choices in there, I picked out this one of italian painter, Gian Girolamo Savoldo (1535-40) depicting Mary while she was on her way to Jesus' tomb. The commentary on the painting goes: "It is very early in the morning, and at the left of the picture dawn is breaking over the horizon. But a much stronger light seems to be coming from behind Mary's left shoulder, lighting up her whole body. Her cloak is shimmering - Savoldo suggests the light behind her is stronger than even the light of the sun - and of course the viewer knows that this light is Jesus, resurrected."
Continuing with my meditation on Mary, I was also inspired by the patristic reading of today from St. Gregory the Great. This gives us a glimpse of Mary's "experience of darkness and light" as she searched for the Lord, the love of her life! This is a very good piece also in discerning whether our desires are holy ones or not. Read on and be inspired:

"When Mary Magdalene came to the tomb and did not find the Lord’s body, she thought it had been taken away and so informed the disciples. After they came and saw the tomb, they too believed what Mary had told them. The text then says: The disciples went back home, and it adds: but Mary wept and remained standing outside the tomb. We should reflect on Mary’s attitude and the great love she felt for Christ; for though the disciples had left the tomb, she remained. She was still seeking the one she had not found, and while she sought she wept; burning with the fire of love, she longed for him who she thought had been taken away. And so it happened that the woman who stayed behind to seek Christ was the only one to see him. For perseverance is essential to any good deed, as the voice of truth tells us: Whoever perseveres to the end will be saved.
At first she sought but did not find, but when she persevered it happened that she found what she was looking for. When our desires are not satisfied, they grow stronger, and becoming stronger they take hold of their object. Holy desires likewise grow with anticipation, and if they do not grow they are not really desires. Anyone who succeeds in attaining the truth has burned with such a great love. As David says: My soul has thirsted for the living God; when shall I come and appear before the face of God? And so also in the Song of Songs the Church says: I was wounded by love; and again: My soul is melted with love.
Woman, why are you weeping? Whom do you seek? She is asked why she is sorrowing so that her desire might be strengthened; for when she mentions whom she is seeking, her love is kindled all the more ardently.
Jesus says to her: Mary. Jesus is not recognized when he calls her “woman”; so he calls her by name, as though he were saying: Recognize me as I recognize you; for I do not know you as I know others; I know you as yourself. And so Mary, once addressed by name, recognizes who is speaking. She immediately calls him rabboni, that is to say, teacher, because the one whom she sought outwardly was the one who inwardly taught her to keep on searching."