Summon the more, the maybe, and the not yet in me. The heart waits and waits. Inspiration comes as the words, “Now, more than ever” surface to awareness. What could these words mean? Curiosity and wonder builds. Might they be related to my unnamed sketch of the Nativity, my Advent Journey or simply be a reminder of how to live more deeply in the “now” moment, like there is no tomorrow?
The above sketch is as simple as a stable, yet can unfold in profound meaning. The multiple consecutive circles invite the viewer into the picture and to engage, to wonder and ponder in the heart, the Mystery of mysteries. Through flowing line, which overlaps in places and sometimes one behind the other, there is suggestion about the relationships between Jesus, Mary and Joseph. If colors were introduced here and there I muse, how might that impact the image? Is this another example of “Word” being made flesh” and “flesh” becoming word, image or symbol?
Eventually, after much reflection, it feels imperative to title this contemporary work, Now, More Than Ever. It is written that Mary pondered “all these things in her heart” and Saint-Exupéry, author of The Little Prince, proclaimed, “It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye.” The Incarnation changed the world then and now, more than ever. The role of art in society is, writes Pat Bergen csj* that “artistic works are capable of evoking what is stirring in the soul and awakening a more expansive knowing.” Hence, art is key in the “informing, forming and transforming of society” by awakening and evolving consciousness in the process of ongoing revelation.
TRANSFORMATIVE ACTION:
Add words, (3 different times) to the phrase, Now, More Than Ever, …….............
MUSIC VIDEO: Da Pacem Domine - Arvo Pärt - https://youtu.be/wUC4_GCSJno (6 minutes)
WHILE WE WAIT – ADVENT REFLECTIONS 2016
Spiritual Ministries Network of the Sisters of St. Joseph and Associates of the Congregation of the Sisters of St. Joseph in Canada – London Site
ART and TEXT: Sr. Patricia St. Louis, csj
*Bergan, Pat, Visual, Musical, and Poetic Art as Transformative Agents, in LCWR Occasional Papers: Summer 2012: Leadership and the Evolution of Consciousness, Pages 16-18, found at: https://lcwr.org/publications/occasional-papers