An Epiphany

Epiphany: a sudden, intuitive perception of or insight into the reality or essential
meaning of something, usually initiated by some simple, homely, or commonplace 
occurrence or experience.

(Thanks, Dictionary.com) 

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I think it is best to be specific in prayer.

Last year, I hoped God would give me the answer to some important questions for Christmas.  The answer finally came this Christmas.  

For the past couple of years, I have been wrestling with the role of faith as an artist.  Pope Benedict XVI has spoken of the artist’s “great responsibility to communicate beauty (Meeting with Artists, 11/21/2009).”  Many of the Church documents talk about the importance of true art.

I appreciate the vote of confidence.  But I wonder what it means for me specifically.  And am I a “Catholic artist” or an artist who is Catholic?

That’s the question I hoped God would answer last year.  Instead, He gave me more time to ponder. Finally, this Christmas Season it dawned upon me after I tucked our daughter in for the night.  The answer is (drum roll, please): both, and.  

How Catholic is that?  Our faith is full of mind-boggling paradoxes, like how we describe Jesus Christ:

True God, True Man

Word made Flesh

The Beginning and the End

The First and the Last

I suppose being a “Catholic artist” and an artist-who-happens-to-be-Catholic isn’t so baffling.  It is not the black-or-white answer I anticipated, but I tend to overanalyze.  (I’m writing a song with that title, by the way.) 

Apparently, I need to relax.  Sometimes God might call me to stand under a spotlight and speak about the beauty of Catholicism.  At other times, He might lead me to sing some love songs with the love of God in my heart.  In both circumstances, I live out my vocation as an artist, embracing my responsibility to communicate beauty.

I’m grateful to begin 2013 in the beauty of a simple epiphany.  It was worth the wait.

After Christmas Mass with the fam!  Photo courtesy Deanna Rae Photography 

Happy New Year from my family to yours!

Amanda, David, Jamal & Chiara