By FR. RICHARD D. BRETON JR.
What is Art? Art is used to inspire us. Every artist begins with a vision and a blank canvas. An artist may begin with a marble block or a mound of clay. Whatever material it is, the beginning may look like nothing special, but soon, there emerges something beautiful. The ordinary is transformed into a masterpiece.
For centuries artists have tried to inspire the human mind. One artist comes to mind. Who is this special person? It is Michelangelo. Michelangelo is known for many masterpieces, but none can compare to the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. Have you ever visited the Sistine Chapel?
As one gazes up at the ceiling, they see the Creation of Adam. This marvelous painting depicts the finger of God touching the finger of Adam. The finger of God touches humanity! In May of 2013, my family and I visited Rome. In Rome we visited many historic landmarks and enjoyed all Rome has to offer.
One of the most memorable moments of our trip was visiting the Vatican Museum and Sistine Chapel. As I entered the Sistine Chapel I was overcome with emotion. I could not believe I was standing gazing up at one of the most beautiful paintings of all time. The ceiling of the Sistine Chapel is a magnificent reminder of God’s love for us and His Church.
God reveals Himself in so many beautiful ways. Every day is a reminder of God’s majesty! It could be the birds singing, the animals around us, it could be the thunder and lightning or the warm breezes that pass by, all of these are reminders of the Lord’s love for us. All of them are gifts for our enjoyment.
Two years ago, I went on a wonderful vacation. This vacation was a real adventure. It was a Land and Sea Tour of Alaska. What a wonderful choice! After the long non-stop flight from Boston, I arrived in Alaska and began my great adventure. I was immediately taken by the beauty all around me. The white-capped mountains were beautiful! I felt like I was looking at a famous painting! As I breathed in the clean air, I could feel my lungs singing for joy! My adventure began in the wilderness. I was able to see and experience the great beauty of God’s creation.
My visit to Denali National Park was very impressive! I saw various animals, including big burly brown bears. I have never been that close to a bear before, or any other wild animals. It was amazing. As I looked at these creatures, I was reminded of how God gave us animals as a gift for our enjoyment. The beauty was unimaginable.
As we concluded the land portion of our tour, we traveled by train down to Whittier, Alaska, by the sea. After arriving in Whittier, we boarded our cruise ship to begin the sea portion of our tour. I really love cruising! It is a great way to vacation, but this cruise was unlike any other I have experienced.
We traveled through Glacier National Park. I saw the amazing glaciers formed hundreds of years ago. One glacier impressed me the most. Hubbard Glacier is a 400-year-old formation of blue ice that has an expanse of six miles. We slowly inched our way toward this majestic creation; I could not believe what I was seeing. I was looking at one of the greatest wonders of the world.
While exploring Glacier National Park we also came upon a school of whales. I stayed on deck and watched the Humpback Whales as they were breaching in the water. So close to another one of God’s magnificent creatures! Absolutely Amazing!
For me the culmination of this exploration was a very simple moment. One night I had trouble sleeping and decided to take a walk up on deck. It was the middle of the night. As I walked around outside, I saw the most picturesque display of the northern lights. The amazing colors danced around the sky. I was viewing a heavenly symphony of divine light! The heavens were dancing with joy! I was reminded of the passage in the Book of Revelation where it says:
“There will be no more night, and they will not need any light from lamps or the sun because the Lord God will shine on them. They will rule forever and ever” (Rev. 22:5).
The beauty of the Northern Lights reminded me that the Light of Christ is always around us.
Worldly distractions can close our eyes to the wonderful artistry God has placed before us. If we could only refocus our eyes to see the hand of God in everything. What if we looked for Him in the once obscure things of life? Then we could recognize the beautiful gifts from God.
Remember how the angels heralded the birth of the Savior? There were trumpet blasts and choirs of angel who sang: “Glory to God in the Highest and on Earth, Peace to People of Good Will.” The sound of the choirs of angels opened the eyes of the shepherds. The shepherds’ hearts were moved, and they sought out the newborn King.
Remember the manifestation of the Star. This Star brought the Wise Men to Bethlehem. It rose before them until it rested upon the place where the Child Jesus was. The Wise Men prostrated themselves and offered their gifts to the newborn King.
During the struggles, there is beauty all around us. We are never alone! The Lord uses ordinary things to remind us of His extraordinary care for us. He may use Michelangelo’s Creation of Adam to remind us of the finger of God touching humanity. It may be in the beauty of the white-capped mountains of Alaska. Mountains remind us that life isn’t always easy. Sometime life has ups and downs; like the ups and downs of a mountain range. The Humpback Whales that appear and disappear in an instant remind us of how we sometimes fail to see the beauty of God around us.
Today I would like to close by sharing with you a beautiful poem by James Weldon Johnson entitled, The Creation:
…And far as the eye of God could see
Darkness covered everything
Blacker than a hundred midnights
Down in a cypress swamp.
Then God smiled,
And the light broke,
And the darkness rolled up on one side,
And the light stood shining on the other,
And God said: That’s good!
SPACE
Then God reached out and took the light in his hands,
And God rolled the light around in his hands
Until he made the sun;
And he set that sun a-blazing in the heavens.
And the light that was left from making the sun
God gathered it up in a shining ball
And flung it against the darkness,
Spangling the night with the moon and stars.
Then down between
The darkness and the light
He hurled the world;
And God said: That’s good!…
SPACE
Then the green grass sprouted,
And the little red flowers blossomed,
The pine tree pointed his fingers to the sky,
And the oak spread out his arms,
The lakes cuddled down in the hollows of the ground,
And the rivers ran down to the sea;
And God smiled again,
And the rainbow appeared,
And curled itself around his shoulder.
Then God raised his arm and he waved his hand
Over the sea and over the land,
And he said: Bring forth! Bring forth!
And quicker than God could drop his hand,
Fishes and fowls
And beasts and birds
Swam the rivers and the seas,
Roamed the forests and the woods,
And split the air with their wings.
And God said: That’s good!…
SPACE
Up from the bed of the river
God scooped the clay;
And by the bank of the river
He kneeled him down;
And there the great God Almighty
Who lit the sun and fixed it in the sky,
Who flung the stars to the most far corner of the night,
Who rounded the earth in the middle of his hand;
This Great God,
Kneeled down in the dust
Toiling over a lump of clay
Till he shaped it in his own image;
Then into it he blew the breath of life,
And man became a living soul.
Amen.
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