Dear Everyone,
As I continue reading “The Art of Lent,” by Sister Wendy Beckett, I’m struck by the range of works she’s including in her discussions.
I’ve never been moved by abstract art, but Sister Wendy found beauty in the abstract and has shared her insights with us. Take, for example, Rebecca Salter’s painting “J1 1994.” In this painting Sister Wendy sees what I do not – silence and the bliss of silence.
But as I take my time and study the painting, eventually I can glimpse what I think Sister Wendy is referring to. I have to be patient. I have to take my time. And I have to be open to the experience.
Part of my Lenten journey this year has been focused on developing patience, and finding silence, and engaging in contemplation. These are spiritual as well as mental disciplines. Sister Wendy has linked them to art appreciation and the enjoyment of beauty.
In her commentary on Sandro Botticelli’s “Annunciation” (1489), Sister Wendy writes, “There is no lasting peace that does not rest upon a sense of life having meaning.” Again, she has seen something profound in this painting and tied it to a wider theme – the faith of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
Finding silence, engaging in contemplation, and taking time for beauty are ways in which we can reflect on what gives our lives meaning. This is both profound and sacred, and it takes time.
I welcome your reflections on any of the artwork or readings below.
Peace be with you all,
SR
I am honoured to have had all three of my novels appear on the New York Times and USA Today Bestseller lists. I was a Semifinalist for Best Author in the 2011 and 2012 Goodreads Choice Awards. {
Thank you for sharing your thoughts & reflection
I find that I need to have patience with myself & open myself up to new experience. Slow down taking time for beauty can be taking time for yourself & recharge & don’t feel guilty when doing so….also slowing down you find peace in the simple things.
Thank you for sharing you thoughts & reflection. I have found i need to have patience with myself. By slowing down & taking time for beauty that surrounds us; we will find peace that will ground us & open us up for new experiences. I have to remind myself that I am worthy……
Silence can be so deafening. My mind will take the space of silence and try to fill it, mundane sounds give way to thoughts deeper in my soul, some very disquieting. Visually, I find no peace in great vista views, I find I need to focus in on one minute detail until all else blurs and fades. I listen to a stream and pick out a single recurring pitch as individual droplets splash over a specific rock and once focused, move onto hearing the current allowing the “un-peace” in my soul wash away. In the Rebecca Salter painting “J1 1994.” I focus on one single pixel and occupy that space until I find my space, before letting the surrounding spaces come into focus. You are so on target with it all taking time, something that is so precious and so fleeting that is can only be a gift from God.
Thank you so much for sharing your reflections, Beth.
All the best, SR
Salter’s painting (and Yuko Shiraishi’s “Three Greys”) speaks to me in unexpected ways. I love everything Sister Wendy says about the painting, about how Salter “seems to have painted silence itself.” I can hear and feel the silence when I look at the painting; it transports me through time, back to the 90s, before I had internet, when I’d turn on the TV late at night and see and hear static noise. I had so much hope then. I knew I wasn’t supposed to be awake, but it was nice to be alone in my quiet bedroom—the static noise a comforting soundtrack to my thoughts and plans.
I love what Sister Wendy says about “The Silence” by Carel Weight: “To isolate oneself is not to be at peace.” As an adult, I’m alone with my thoughts a little too much, as I fear we all are. The world is more connected than ever, yet we’re all so disconnected. I’d love to be the woman in Hammershoi’s “Interior”: seated alone, in a room, before several open doors and a brightly-lit window. She has options; I feel she isn’t alone too much.
Thank you, Larissa, for sharing your reflections, especially your observations about “The Silence.”
Glad you’re part of our community.
All the best, SR
I appreciate you introducing new things to all of us. I feel sure I would not have run across, or be blessed by this book without you introducing it. Thank you for caring about your readers. I have received something new with each page, and I appreciate the artwork with each. I would love to hang out with Sister Beckett and just listen to her and be taught by her. I am a older woman, I thought when your kids get older and leave the nest, maybe your life gets quieter and easier. This is not my life. There is joy in it, but it also feels like a stormy sea I’m trying to get through. I always pray for peace and for God to lift a few things off my shoulders.
The 1st day of the book has reached me more than the others. To be clear every page has reached me thus far. There will always be waves and stormy seas. Endurance is the key. I have decided to stop trying to pray away the waves, and start riding them. I will look for the joy in them and know and trust that I am not alone. Focus on what is true and what really matters. As the book says, fail and humbly begin again, and again. Knowing that nothing will separate us from God’s love and help, and endure. I will do good and trust God.
Thank you so much SR you are a good man, doing good things. 🙂
Lori Eaton
Thank you so much, Lori.
I appreciate these reflections. I’ve been thinking about the nature of joy as we’re doing this read along.
Sister Wendy has really helped shape some new ideas for me.
Peace be with you, SR
One of my favourites so far is “White Lilies” by Edouard Manet and the reflection accompanying it. For me, it represents slowing down, taking a breath, and enjoying the beauty and joy in the humblest of life’s offerings. There have been times when I have had a bad day and decided to buy myself flowers, and their delicate beauty brings me insurmountable joy. In a religious setting, white lilies burst with symbolism, meaning grief, rebirth, purity, and hope, like the Virgin Mary.
Thank you, Kenzie.
That’s one of my favourites as well.
All best, SR