The importance of art in teaching the Catholic faith is far more significant than people realize. There must be something that art does to the human soul.
From the earliest days of the Church. Christians have been sharing their faith through art. We can see these first images in the catacombs of Rome of Jesus, Mary and angels. Merely mentioning Michelangelo and your mind can recall the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel or his Pietà. These works of art that have come to inspire worship and religious practices have been labeled sacred art. Many are devotional images such as icons and are meant to inspire us to prayer. Sacred art is crucial to praising God and comprehending and retaining the knowledge found in our Catholic Tradition.
Within our God created soul is the ability to create and appreciate beautiful things in the world. We area able to see the wonder of creation in the landscapes. Here we have been able to witness the splendor of the natural world. Those fine details in the shape of each plant. The characteristics of each animal to function in its climate the vastness and vibrance of color. Oh the colors! This list could go on infinitely. When our eyes behold something truly beautiful we are captivated by it and drawn to it. Think of how a rainbow has a way to stop us in our motion to pause and take it in. Anyone with young children can assure you of how enchanting a rainbow is to children for they remind us of the special beauty of our world.
How do you feel when you encounter a priceless work of art inside of a Cathedral? Does its beauty lead you to contemplation? Does this not lead you into the beauty of the divine mysteries?
In 787 A.D., the Second Council of Nicea affirmed the importance of sacred art in the life of the Church and individual Christians:
We… define with all certitude and accuracy that just as the figure of the precious and life-giving Cross, so also the venerable and holy images, as well in painting and mosaic as of other fit materials, should be set forth in the holy churches of God, and on the sacred vessels and on the vestments and on hangings and in pictures both in houses and by the wayside, to wit, the figure of our Lord God and Savior Jesus Christ, of our spotless Lady, the Mother of God, of the honorable Angels, of all Saints and of all pious people. For by so much more frequently as they are seen in artistic representation, by so much more readily are men lifted up to the memory of their prototypes, and to a longing after them…
Art is immensely valuable in the Church and in our spiritual lives. By choosing to study sacred art with our children we are subtly forming them toward what is truly good and beautiful. Art has been the anchor for our faith at times being the visual reminder to regain our focus to lead us back to Christ. How many stories have there been of people who in the midst of deep and harrowing struggle have been given a renewed inner strength to persevere all through the simple act of seeing sacred art? Countless stories. When we see beautiful art depicting the figures of our Faith, we are inspired, encouraged, and lifted up. We see the truth of our God and Savior.
One ancedote I will share is about a mother. She is a professed atheist and has been known as being very vocally anti-religious. She was sharing with us her perplexity regarding her young teenage son. He came across a Miraculous Medal. She explains he found it on the ground on the baseball diamond during a game in which he was playing. By the time she had noticed he had been wearing this Mary necklace for weeks. When she inquired as to why he would be wearing a “religious necklace” he told her more about the discovery. He told her that he found it in the outfield. It was covered in mud and the chain was broken. He explained that initially he picked it up thinking it belonged to a player. After the game he asked the players if anyone lost a necklace. Once he determined it did not belong to any of the players on the field he just assumed it had been there for a while. He brought it home and cleaned it up. It sat on his desk for a week before as he told his mother “felt called to put it on and wear it.” He found a chain and began wearing it every day. At first he said it was just a necklace to him thinking very little of it. However, it was after week two that he noticed feeling better while wearing the miraculous medal. He began to tell his mother that he found himself noticeably less stressed out about school, baseball, and his social life. He began to feel better. All he attributed to wearing this miraculous medal every day. The mother began to explain how she felt he was being ridiculous that a “silly necklace” can’t make you feel better. She continued to tell us how she was trying to convince him to stop wearing it and throw it away because it’s just another piece of junk. In the end her son declined to stop wearing it and vowed he would never stop his devotion to wearing the miraculous medal every day. It became apparent that this mother was seeking support in her opinion and tips for getting her son to get rid of the medal. All this to say that even in a small Miraculous Medal, a tiny piece of sacred art, a teenage boy found something good and beautiful. (Note: they did not know that this Mary necklace has a name of Miraculous Medal, referring to it as a Mary necklace or medal.I’m using the proper name in retelling this story.)
We can take this guidance from the Second Council of Nicea to heart and bring this practice into our homes. Catholic families should begin embracing the presence of sacred art in our homes. It seems that this practice has been lost over the years to the various forms of home decor trends. The secularization of artwork has put much of the breathtaking sacred art into the shadows. If we want our homes to be a place where our children are encouraged to reflect on the images within sacred art we should find ways to bring that art back into our homes.
If you like us had no sacred art in our home or had any older family member pass any artwork down you may be wondering: “how do I find art?” and more importantly, especially if you have seen the cost of artwork recently: “how can I afford paintings of sacred art?”
The most affordable option is to go to the National Gallery of Art website and look for their Free Images and Open Access to download free images that you may print at home. There you will be able to look up artwork in the search box. Keywords, specific names of paintings or artist names are helpful to know. Simply putting “sacred art” in the search box will yield many results. When you find an image you like see if it is available to download by looking for the download icon on the image. Not all are available to download so you may end up having to look around for the image you like best. It’s as simple as finding the image you like, download, print, and frame. Most of the images will print to a standard 8.5″x11″ sheet of paper. If you adjust your printer settings and/or reduce the image size you will be able to print a lovely piece of art to fit an 8″x10″ frame. In this way you can make a small sacred art gallery in your home with these printed images. It’s a great start!
There are many other ways to acquire artwork and that will require you to do your own research on sources for sacred art images. Posters, old art books, Catholic calendars, estate sales, second hand stores, antique shops…many places. My only advice is to be open minded. Start small and fit your find to your budget. And sometimes you will get lucky and find an affordable, beautiful, painting in the most unexpected places.
*To assist in the longevity of this helpful tip to access the NGA open access I’ll indicate how to get to the page from their home page. Over the years they have made it a bit tricky to get to the Free Images and Open Access page, my guess it to help keep it from being overused in the wrong ways.
In case the direct link for the Free Images above does not work you will begin on the NGA main page. Next you will click on the “Art & Artists” header. Next click on “Artworks”. The search box will allow you to search using your keywords. I will note that they alter this website frequently so these instructions may even be incorrect at some point. Either way clicking around on the NGA website is rather fun so perhaps you will find the joy in the art quest adventure.
The Small Pencil Catechist 