The power of preaching the word of God through sacred art ...
Among the many participants at the 2009 General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops
on the Word of God in the life and mission of the Church was Monsignor Timothy Verdon,
Professor of Sacred Art at the Theological University of Central Italy. In an interview
with Veronica Scarisbrick he begins by defining sacred art : "....any kind of art
that deals with the transcendent seeks to make the invisible visible, to help us see
in art what human eye can't see and in music what human ear cannot hear but that
which the spirit, as Saint Paul says, puts into our sensitivity.." Sacred art
Monsignor Verdon explains is almost a technical term, usually it means works of painting,
mosaic, glass work , goldsmith work, sculpture made specifically for the sacred places
of the liturgy.However he remarks there's also a broader category not to be confused
with sacred art and that's art that deals with religious subject matter.Such as for
example many of Caravaggio's paintings that were made for private patrons. Monsignor
Verdon also highlights how Benedict XVI has expressed his wish to re- invigorate
a fruitful alliance with artists , following in the footsteps of his predececessors
to the See of Peter, John Paul II and Paul VI, before explaining how powerful it
is to preach the word of God though sacred art .. Listen :