Denver Catholic

23 DENVER CATHOLIC | AUGUST 22-SEPTEMBER 18, 2020 God is in the details I think it's safe to say that people have been a little on edge lately. We see it in the macro, in the chaos that has been spilling out into the streets of just about every city in America. We see it in the micro in countless viral videos, shot in countless WalMarts, of countless people pub- licly melt- ing down. Mostly over mask use, or the lack thereof. I saw one last week of a woman lit- erally assaulting a young boy. I saw another one recently of a woman on a rampage, throwing merchandise and screaming as horrified shoppers looked on. None of it is pretty. If we're honest, I think a lot of us would have to admit that the edg- iness has crept into our own lives. I know it has in mine. It has been a very stressful year. I've spent a good part of it alone in my house. It has, to be honest, made me cranky at times. I see it sometimes in how I interact with my mother's caregivers. I'm frustrated that I can't take care of her myself, or even really see her. And so, when I can't see how they are caring for her, or I suspect it isn't the way I would do it, I tend to get a little testy with them. And then I apologize and promise it won't happen again. But it does. And let's not even get started on social media. Suffice it to say I have not suffered fools gladly. Or perhaps I'm the fool. Anyway, a few weeks ago, a meme caught my attention. I don't remem- ber the exact content, but it was something to the effect that one of the criteria for the judgment at the end of our lives will be how we treated people we find annoying. I could be in big trouble. I tend to be a "big picture" person. I don't get overly caught up in a lot of details. That trait has served me well in many ways — particularly in speak- ing and writing. However, I suspect it may not serve me so well when it comes to the Last Judgment. When you look at the Big Picture, I feel like I've done pretty well. Gave a lot of talks, hopefully led at least a few people to Jesus through them. I've tried for the most part to be kind and good to people. Not a bad big picture. But I suspect Jesus is more of a detail guy. It has been occurring to me lately that He really meant all of that stuff He said about loving our enemies, serving the poor, visiting the prisoner, etc. And that it's all going to count in the end. Not in the sense that we will meet with a scowling, nit-pick- ing Judge holding a long list of our infractions and omissions. No, we will meet a loving, merciful Savior, who will show us our lives from His perspective. I believe that, at that time, we will see the consequences down through the ages of all of our good actions. And all of our sins. And all of our omissions. We will see the good that could have happened, had we been more charitable with this person, or reached out to help that person. We will see the difference that we could have made, but didn't. Most of all, we will see how, in missing those opportunities, we missed the chance to increase His love in our hearts. Because doing good begets love, which begets more doing good. All of which draws us closer to Him. I wrote several months ago that "all things work for Good for those who love Him." And that I believe He is using this time of fear and isolation to work in our lives, to bring us closer to Him. And, at least for me, a big part of that is to show me how I react when I'm scared and stressed. And to show me that I'm called to do better. And so, I'm trying. I'm reviewing the spiritual and corporal works of mercy, and trying to incorporate them into my life. I'm also trying to examine my conscience, in a more detailed way, at the end of the day. I'm starting with gratitude and with love, and then asking, with the help of the Holy Spirit, where I failed to respond with love to the gifts and the people God placed in front of me that day. St. John of the Cross said, "At the evening of life, we shall be judged on our love." I believe that is true. We will be judged not just in the big pic- ture, but in the details. And not just when it's easy to love, but when it's difficult — when we're dealing with the less lovable, when we're scared and cranky and irritable. This has been a difficult, stressful, often ugly time. And we can come out of it either bitter, or better. If we can manage, like the Grinch on Christmas morning, to emerge on the other side with our hearts a few sizes larger, it will have been time well spent. Guest Column Mary Beth is a Denver- based real estate agent and syndicated columnist. She is the author of We're on a Mission from God and Real Love. She can be reached via her website at www.mblovesdenver.com. MARY BETH BONACCI is ready to catch every hint and to respond to every hidden harmony" (36). The heroes of the story are Constantine with his great basilicas, the monks illuminating Gospel man- uscripts, the geniuses of the Renais- sance, such as Michelangelo and Raphael, and the Baroque painters Caravaggio and Rubens. These artists attempt the impos- sible: to unveil the mystery of the human person by helping us to see what lies hidden within. It's not enough to follow the general outlines of the story of art to truly enter this unveiling; it's important to get deeper into details of the masterpieces of each age. A new book looks at this portrayal of the person in stone during the Gothic middle ages: Jac- queline Jung 's Eloquent Bodies: Move- ment, Expression, and the Human Figure in Gothic Sculpture (Yale, 2020). The book serves as a manifesto for engaging art in a living, three-di- mensional way through its expression of figure and space in relation to one's own physical presence before it. Jung points out the difficulty of photogra- phy in capturing this experience and tries to overcome it, partially at least, by providing many photographic angles, from different distances, of the art she engages, such as the Pillar of Judgment in Strasbourg and the Wise and Foolish Virgins of Magdeburg. In fact, Jung introduces the works of art themselves as protagonists in the great story. She speaks of the high- point of Gothic sculpture as producing works that were intentionally inter- actional by involving "an awareness of and responsiveness to beholder's movements ... It was a matter of figures simultaneously assuming a greater physical resemblance to real people in their proportions, volumes, and physiognomies, while also becom- ing increasingly assertive in their engagement of beholders and labile in the appearances presented to them ... It is eloquent speech, exceeding the basic facts of its content to engage with its audience, to persuade them that its subject matter is real, relat- able, and relevant. It is charismatic, in the sense that it aims to uplift, and ennoble its audience by dazzling them with its extraordinary grace, beauty, and strength" (19). Jung makes a strong case for the study of art. Not only does it draw us into the drama of the human story, it helps unfold our own story. Christian art in particular seeks just the kind of experience she describes, drawing the view into the transcendent reality of the people and events it depicts. It draws us into the sacred narrative of salvation history, making us a character within the story of salva- tion, meditating upon our entrance into the supernatural realm through grace. Christ is the hero of this story, with the saints serving as supporting characters, but Christian iconogra- phy, music, and literature inspire the Christian to share in the actions of Christ so that they can belong to us as well. Sacred art forms the imagi- nation and emotions so that they can dispose our minds and wills to con- form to the reality of the Word made flesh through the drama of the liturgy and prayer. It provides an important guide as we navigate the story of faith and life.

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