Gospel in Art: From 'believing in art to the art of believing'

24 June 2023. Westminster Cathedral. l-r: niece Alexandra, and fiancé, niece Charlotte, Bishop of Bruges, Lode Aerts, sister-in-law Christine, Cardinal Nichols, brother Benedikt, mother, me.

Source: Christian Art

Gospel of 25 June 2023
Matthew 10:26-33

Jesus instructed the Twelve as follows: 'Do not be afraid. For everything that is now covered will be uncovered, and everything now hidden will be made clear. What I say to you in the dark, tell in the daylight; what you hear in whispers, proclaim from the housetops.

'Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul; fear him rather who can destroy both body and soul in hell. Can you not buy two sparrows for a penny? And yet not one falls to the ground without your Father knowing. Why, every hair on your head has been counted. So there is no need to be afraid; you are worth more than hundreds of sparrows.

'So if anyone declares himself for me in the presence of men, I will declare myself for him in the presence of my Father in heaven. But the one who disowns me in the presence of men, I will disown in the presence of my Father in heaven.'

Reflection

I am delighted to share a photograph with you, taken yesterday at Westminster Cathedral on the occasion of my ordination to the priesthood. It was a most wonderful, powerful and amazing day. I will properly comment on the day in some later writings.

Today, at 10.30am I will celebrate my First Mass of Thanksgiving at the Church of the Holy Apostles, Pimlico, London. You can follow the Mass live via this link: www.churchservices.tv/pimlico

This is the speech I gave last night at a celebratory dinner with friends and family:

I want to say a few words to thank you for all your love, your laughter, your kindness, your generosity, trust… for even the more difficult times we have shared together, as all these experiences have "shaped" me so I can stand here before you now, as a newly ordained priest, ready to serve the people of God.

And the word 'shaping' is a good word. I don't know if you have ever seen a potter at work in his studio, but a potter does exactly that: shape the clay with his hands. He tears, moulds, cuts, sculpts… to end with something beautiful.

That is how I like to think of God: THE master artist, the divine potter who continues to shape us throughout our lives.

And I feel that his hands have been upon me all these years, shaping me to bring me to the altar this morning at the Cathedral. What a beautiful, powerful moment it was when God and ask me: do you love me and do you want to be one of my priests. And I finally said "yes".

And YOU ALL have helped me to get there. So I thank you!

Some may think that it was a rather extreme choice for me to leave the artworld and my old life behind. But to me it doesn't feel like a break with the past… it is just the next step, a continuation of a path I embarked on some 30 years ago.

In fact, working in the art-world has actually led me to the priesthood. For what does art do in its essence? Art has the power to transcend the barriers of time, language, and culture, speaking directly to the depths of our souls, and revealing glimpses of the divine.

Throughout the ages, artists have sought to capture and express the beauty, mystery, and wonder of the world around them. They engage playfully with what has already been created around them. In that sense, they imitate God and they participate in God's creative powers.

Think of it, when God created the world, he didn't just 'create the world', but he also 'playfully interacted' with it, just as artists do. Think of the Garden of Eden. God didn't create the Forrest of Eden of the Field of Eden, no he created the Garden of Eden, which means that just like what a gardener does, he made what was already beautiful, even more beautiful.

Think of the eucharist, which I will have the privilege to celebrate for the very first time tomorrow. During the Last Supper Jesus did not just take water and wheat; no he took bread and wine, made by human hands. Thus in the very essence of the eucharist Jesus embraces our culture and our artistic creativity. Beautiful.

So these past 30 years, God gently, but surely, through art, through beauty, pulled me closer and close to his priestly altar.

An ex Sotheby's colleague of mine wrote me a card as I entered seminary and summed it up well: Patrick… you will now go from 'believing in art' to the 'art of believing'….

And all this could not have happened without all your support, love and friendship. So I thank you that I can stand here before you filled with pure, endless and heavenly joy.

However, there is one person here, whose joy is incomparably greater than anyone else's, whose heart is literally bursting with pride and love, whose eyes spill over with tears of joy, whose lips burn to tell everyone 'my son is now a priest'…. and that is my mum. With these few words I would like to embrace my mother who always has been watching over me since the first moment of my life. Like only a mother can, she has been there every step of the way. So I thank you for all the sacrifices you have made, and I thank you primarily, for your faith, a lived faith, a loving faith, which you lovingly grafted onto my heart. Because of you, I have not only heard the call of God in my heart, but because of you, I mustered up the courage to put myself forward for the priesthood. So mum, I love you and I thank you.

Thank you for listening and may God protect you, guide you and bless you.

LINKS

Gospel in Art: https://christian.art/
Today's reflection: https://christian.art/daily-gospel-reading/matthew-10-26-33-2023/