To me, Art has the power to convey complex and abstract ideas in a way that words sometimes cannot, and it allows artists to explore and express their spiritual experiences in a visual, tangible form through meditation, reflection, and contemplation.

By engaging with works of art, we can experience a sense of comfort and peace, as well as feelings of unease and being challenged. ‘Art invites us to an encounter, which is a gift—a spiritual gift that might bring us into a deeper relationship with God.’

In addition to finding God in all things, another important theme is imaginative prayer.  That brings to mind many questions: Who am I in the broader scene? How can a much better understanding of our relationship with God, self, and others can be derived? And this form of imaginative prayer works very well with all forms of arts. Imagine standing before a abstract work of art, One way of entering into this painting is to consider how the splatter mark-making and colours appeal to your senses. While engaging those senses, maybe you begin to notice that you feel anxious due to the apparent chaos on the canvas—what do you want to do? Do you seek to avoid chaos and go look at a different painting or sculpture? Do you allow yourself to be challenged by feeling anxious in the face of this chaos? What is your life-pattern in how you deal with feelings of anxiety and chaos? Do you turn to prayer during such times?

For me, if I remain with this painting long enough, the anxiety I feel slowly gives way to a still and quiet spirit, spirit that is omnipresent in the forms of rows of birds sitting and flying with other rising spirits going upwards to meet the ultimate creator, something that always surprises me from this encounter. By being open and attentive to finding God in all things and by engaging in imaginative prayer, art can draw us more deeply into our hearts and minds—and into an encounter with God. Let us pray for the grace to have eyes that see and ears that hear the stirrings of God’s Spirit within such encounters so that we respond in love.

Amargeet Chandok