Why "Brushstrokes"?



This blog, titled "Brushstrokes," will mark the journey that the Lord is leading me on as I serve Him through FOCUS. As an artist, the words of His Holiness Benedict XVI, Pope-Emeritus resound in my heart. He states, "Art is like a door opened to the infinite, opened to a beauty and a truth beyond the every day. And a work of art can open the eyes of the mind and heart, urging us upward."

In the Letter of His Holiness Pope John Paul II to Artists, Blessed John Paul II says, "Human beings, in a certain sense, are unknown to themselves. Jesus Christ not only reveals God, but “fully reveals man to man”. In Christ, God has reconciled the world to himself. All believers are called to bear witness to this; but it is up to you, men and women who have given your lives to art, to declare with all the wealth of your ingenuity that in Christ the world is redeemed: the human person is redeemed, the human body is redeemed, and the whole creation which, according to Saint Paul, “awaits impatiently the revelation of the children of God” (Rom8:19), is redeemed. The creation awaits the revelation of the children of God also through art and in art. This is your task. Humanity in every age, and even today, looks to works of art to shed light upon its path and its destiny."

I wish to use my God-given gift so that I may lead others to see themselves and the whole of creation with eyes able to contemplate and give thanks to our Lord, Jesus Christ. I view myself as a paintbrush in the hand of God. Each stroke and blend of colors is guided by the Author of Creation. It is my hope to allow the Lord to use me to inspire the picture painted on the canvases of those I meet. 

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