A Stirring of a New Renaissance
To claim humankind’s entry into a New Renaissance might seem like a high-flown claim, and to be honest (or rather to clarify), I must say I do not claim it for all of humankind. Men and women who live in and of the world sadly do not see a need for art that engages beauty. This recognition of the need for beauty must come from the heart, placed there and stirred up by God. It is not a worldly need, but a personal need. The renaissance itself is personal. It is a call from the Lord into the heart to seek out beauty, and if the heart does not find it… to make it. Not for its own distinction, but for the sake of the beauty which is absent. This is why a renaissance is awakening - not in the world at large, but in the individual hearts of those seeking and yearning for beauty, and it is why I am so bold as to claim a New Renaissance - because it is a stir and call in my own heart. Is it stirring in your own?
Wise and Foolish Artists
No artwork, done for its own sake, is worthy of a Catholic artist. Only that which is dedicated to the glory of God, and which deepens our own virtue and relationship with Him is worthy of our time, for everything we create here will pass away, even if it is the greatest artistic achievement of all time! And yet, your soul will not pass away. I do not mean you must become a Doctor of the Church, writing only of mystical and doctrinal truths, but that even if you are called to fashion a countertop for your neighbor’s kitchen, the activity and completion, when done in humility and obedience, must bring you deeper into the service and love of God. This progress you can only achieve interiorly, and it will not be visible to others. To others you appear to be nothing but a songwriter, a carpenter, or an author like anyone else, but within, you are daily and humbly growing your heart for God…
Cultivating Imagination through Family Structure
Bridging the Divide between Culture and the Church
Reclaiming Beauty, Art, and Language
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