lent Archives - Page 3 of 4

Lenten Read-Along #3

March 19, 2023

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,

www.sylvainreynard.com

Lenten Read-Along #2

February 27, 2023

Dear Everyone,

Thank you for reading along with me. Last Thursday, Sister Wendy included one of my favourite paintings, “The Return of the Prodigal Son” by Rembrandt. Readers of “Gabriel’s Inferno” will recall mention of this painting as hanging in Richard Clark’s study. He makes reference to it when he calls his son, Scott, into his office to speak about Scott’s attitude toward his brother, Gabriel.

As part of my Lenten reflections, I’ve been looking at the painting Sister Wendy chooses each day and examining it before reading her reflection. After reading her reflection, I look at the painting again.

This past Thursday, on a second look at the painting, I noticed the prodigal son is missing a shoe, or perhaps it has come apart and fallen off. The missing shoe is a small detail but Rembrandt conveys so much with this absence; it marks extreme poverty and desperation. Perhaps it conveys the long walk the son had to make his way home. William Shakespeare mentions “troubling deaf heaven with his bootless cries,” in his Sonnet 29. He uses the adjective “bootless” to indicate that his cries are worthless. Perhaps Rembrandt is communicating a similar thing by removing the shoe of the prodigal.

Then there’s what could be the brother, standing to our right in the painting. He’s looking down at the prodigal. He’s standing apart from him. Those of us whose cries have been bootless understand the prodigal, but the brother doesn’t. He hasn’t found himself in that desperate form and so he keeps his distance. From the story in Scripture, we know that the brother reacts with judgment and condemnation. But those of us who have truly felt desperate or in despair know how the prodigal is feeling. In him, I see myself. O to be able to return to my father’s house and be welcomed with open arms, even though I am impoverished and shoeless …

The painting, like the parable in Scripture, shows us unconditional love and the open arms of God that await us. We are not alone and we are loved.

I welcome your comments below and as we embark on a new week, feel free to comment on any of the paintings we encounter on our journey this week.

Peace be with you all,

www.sylvainreynard.com

Lenten Read-Along Begins

February 23, 2023

Dear Everyone,

Peace be with you all. I wish a blessed Ash Wednesday to everyone who is celebrating. Today, I’m beginning to read Sister Wendy Beckett’s work, “The Art of Lent.” I invite everyone, of all traditions, to join me in reading this book.

Take a moment and examine the first painting chosen by Sister Wendy – “The Great Wave” by Katsushika Hokusai. It’s a beautiful painting but it’s frightening. Spend some time taking a closer look at the details of the painting – the ships, the people, the flecks of foam on the wave …

Then take some time to read and reflect on Sister Wendy’s commentary.

“What we can do, we do. Beyond that, we endure.”

Sister Wendy quotes a Scripture, Romans 8:38-39, reminding us that “Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

The waves may be high, our ship may be fragile, but we are not alone and we are loved. This is a profound thought we can carry with us through the waves and over them.

Thank you for joining me on this journey. I welcome your comments below. I shall probably post once or twice per week, but feel free to comment on any of the readings this week below.

Thank you for reading and Peace be with you all,

www.sylvainreynard.com

Lenten Read – Along

January 26, 2023

Dear Everyone,

Last year, I read NT Wright’s book “Surprised by Hope” during Lent and thoroughly enjoyed it. Reading it was a way to reflect on the Lenten season in anticipation of Easter. I invited you to read along with me and a number of you joined me.

This year, Lent begins on February 22nd and ends April 6th. I’ve chosen to read “The Art of Lent” by Sister Wendy Beckett. Sister Wendy was from South Africa. She studied English at Saint Anne’s College, Oxford, (which you may recall was an important location in “Gabriel’s Redemption”), and she sat for examinations under the supervision of Professor J.R.R. Tolkien. In fact, Tolkien encouraged her to stay on at Oxford and continue her studies, but she chose to live as a contemplative nun.

Sister Wendy was an avid student of art history and eventually became a television presenter for the BBC. Many of you may remember her series on Western art. In “The Art of Lent,” she includes forty paintings, one for each day of Lent, along with her commentary and reflections. This small volume will fit in your pocket, and I think it will offer an interesting journey through art history.

I’m inviting all of you to read along with me. You don’t have to observe Lent in order to read along; I think art speaks to all of us, no matter our beliefs and traditions. Pick up the book and join me by starting with the first painting on Ash Wednesday, February 22nd. We’ll read and reflect on a painting a day for forty days. I’ll post weekly reflections here, and you’ll be able to interact with me on social media. Also, I’ll make a special visit to the “All Things SR” podcast chatroom in order to discuss the readings. The date will be announced.

I’m hoping many of you will join me on this special journey.

All the best and thank you for reading,

www.sylvainreynard.com

Lenten Reflection – #5

May 9, 2022

Dear Everyone,

I spent some time before and after Easter finishing NT Wright’s book, “Surprised by Hope” and reflecting on the book as whole. I have a couple of observations.

First, he emphasizes the importance of the Christian doctrine of the general bodily resurrection. And as he points out, this is what provides hope and comfort for the future. Death is not the end. The tyrants, the genocidaires, the killers cannot end us. Because physical death is not the end. We shall rise again.

Second, God will redeem the cosmos. His redemptive work will extend to the planets, the animals, the very ground on which we walk. Again, this doctrine provides hope and comfort for the future.

Third, as Wright expresses, our creative works will also last into the future: “What you do in the present – by painting, preaching, singing, sewing, praying, teaching, building hospitals, digging wells, campaigning for justice, writing poems, caring for the needy, loving your neighbour as yourself – will last into God’s future. These activities are not simply ways of making the present life a little less beastly …. They are part of what we may call building for God’s kingdom.”

Consequently, as Wright emphasizes, the work of the Church here and now must be conceived of in these terms – in light of the general resurrection, the redemption of the cosmos, and the building for God’s present and future kingdom.

As I continue my writing and creative endeavours, I am going to keep in mind Wright’s exhortation. I’m going to consider how my writing builds God’s present and future kingdom and how it can do so much, much better. I think all of us can approach our creative endeavours, and our ways of doing good deeds and saying good words in the light of God’s kingdom.

Peace be with you all.
Thank you for reading,

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