A transformative journey that combines traditional Catholic spirituality with holistic artistic formation and is offered to everyone. Become the creative you were meant to be. Designed by David Clayton, Artist-in-Residence at the Scala Foundation and Provost, Pontifex University
The Vision for You is a process by which we discovered our true calling in life—what we call our ‘personal vocation’; and through which we discovered the Great Fact—that we have a choice in life: WE CAN CHOOSE TO BE HAPPY OR TO BE MISERABLE.
Stories serve us on many levels. They invite us to consider situations by drawing us in, making us part of the story, making us feel like we are experiencing the struggles and challenges of the protagonist first hand. They may teach us small lessons about life or they may invite us to consider ourselves as part of the bigger picture of the story of our salvation.
In the Western/Christian tradition meditation and contemplation are two different things and often misunderstood. As a result of the The Beatles and the Maharishi Yogi, the words are often used interchangeably to apply to meditative practice of Eastern religions, which is different and less effective, in my experience, than the methods of Christian mysticism.
God is patient with us. He gives us time. He gives us time to explore our gifts and perhaps even misuse them. But always God is there calling us to discover the proper use of those gifts, to put the past behind us and move forward in our proper work. Whatever your situation is now, whatever mistakes you have made in the past, they are in the past, resolve to put them behind you and go forward, finding the role God has put you here to fulfill.
We can distinguish two movements in prayer: one is passive (or receptive) by which we listen to what God is saying to us. The other is active, albeit responding to the prompts of the Holy Spirit, by which we might, for example, give praise or thanks to God or ask something of him. A well-painted piece of sacred art will include stylistic elements (ie going beyond content) that engage the viewer in such a way that it promotes both attitudes of prayer, active and passive,
The short answer to this question is just this: pray as you would normally, but look at sacred art as you do it. Good sacred art will promote a right attitude through the combination of content, compositional design, and stylistic elements. In this sense, the artist does the hard work in advance to make it easy and natural for us.
The problem with the modernists is not their emphasis on utility, but rather that they have a diminished sense of what utility is. If they are true to their ethos, their motto should not be 'form follows function', but rather 'form follows dysfunction'! And the ugliness of their buildings is all the evidence we need that there is no order outside God's order, only disorder.
These books offer a formation that is more likely to help children retain their faith even through the teenage years. This goes further than simply teaching the truths of the Faith. Those that develop this way of thinking will be inclined, for the rest of their lives, to read the Book of Nature and the culture with delight, so that all they see points to the unseen, and all that is good points to God.
What is Beauty? Is it objective or subjective? Is beauty really in the eye of the beholder?It has been said that we fear what we do not understand. We grow to hate what we fear. And we destroy what we hate. In many ways we do not understand Beauty, and we have tried to destroy it. We try to destroy Beauty by robbing it of power. We do this by trivializing it. We make beauty something "pretty" with no power to speak to us.
The state of "Christian art" is frequently, and not without reason, criticized as being substandard but the solution is simple. If you want art that "leads to God through the appreciation of beauty, harmony, goodness, truth and love, respect, unity and the transcendent," then patronize that type of art. If you have the means, commission that type of art.
This program designed by The Way of Beauty's David Clayton gives you a unique formation in beauty and a Catholic inculturation. For artists of any creative disciplines, catechists and all who love beauty. Learn more at www.Pontifex.University.
