The Unifying Role of the Arts

"The arts are perhaps the most universal language we have."

The love between God the Father and God the Son is so strong that it forms a third person, the Holy Spirit. As the Son is the one who reveals to us the Father, Jesus is our entrance into this love.

The Holy Spirit is the most mysterious person of the Holy Trinity. It reveals Itself to us in many forms. At Pentecost It is wind and fire but It can also come to us by stirring our hearts with a quiet inner voice. In whatever form we encounter It, the Spirit always leads us to a deeper understanding of Christ, His word, His suffering, and His life.

John tells us, like the wind, the Holy Spirit blows where It will, we can perceive It but we do not know from where It comes or to where It goes. The Spirit is the fire and storm that burns our hearts and sets our souls alight with love for God. It impels us to speak, to spread the Truth as we have received it and in turn ignite the hearts of those who hear us.

Through us the Holy Spirit works to bring all of humanity back to God. What was dispersed at the Tower of Babel is brought back together at Pentecost. Each person heard the apostles speak to him or her in a language they knew by heart.

The Arts

The arts are perhaps the most universal language we have. They are able to reach across cultural boundaries and have a unique ability to bring together those that have been scattered. As each person has unique gifts, so the expression of those gifts is equally unique. Every artist expresses the Truth in a way that no one else can, whether it is a song, a poem, a painting or any of the divers ways in which artists employ their gifts. For every artist, and every work of art, there is someone who desperately needs to hear that Truth expressed in that unique way. More than one person, for example, has experienced a conversion of faith when confronted with the combined beauty of art, architecture and music, that contributes to the liturgy of the sacrifice of Holy Mass.

In our own journey of faith, we take many twists and turns. We navigate through dangers and sometimes have to backtrack from dead-ends. It may seem at times that we have wasted time if we had only taken this or that path sooner. But God wastes nothing. And wherever we are in our journey, we have a singular voice, the sum of our experiences, filtered through our talents, that must be heard.

Each of us have the ability to convey God's message to someone else in a way that no one else can. It may be that our purpose here on Earth is to save one soul, bringing that one person to eternal life. It is worth all the sacrifices we may have to make, to save that one soul.

Pax Vobiscum
The Solemnity of Pentecost

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© Lawrence Klimecki

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Deacon Lawrence draws on ancient Christian tradition to create new contemporary art that seeks to connect the physical and the spiritual.. For more information on original art, prints and commissions, Please visit www.DeaconLawrence.org 

Lawrence Klimecki, MSA, is a deacon in the Diocese of Sacramento. He is a public speaker, writer, and artist, reflecting on the intersection of art and faith