Our theological roots as a body of artists seeking to praise the Lord through creative expression have a rich tradition in the Church. Who can forget the great cathedrals, paintings, frescoes, statuary and music of Rome once these beauties are beheld? The desire to praise the Lord through artistic expression is engraved on our hearts like the natural law. We are people of flesh and spirit, and thus feel a deep need to communicate spiritual realities in material forms.

This tradition is rich. We consider the great poetry of the Psalms and the rich and beautiful use of literary language that forms the Old Testament. Beauty has been a vital element of the revealing of God’s Covenant with man throughout salvation history. Jesus chose to speak in artistic language through the metaphor of parables when he taught about the realities of Heaven. Parables, and the metaphoric language of expressing spiritual realities through material means, form an implicit part of the artistic process for a Christian artist. It also has been very dear to the hearts of the popes who have been great patrons of the arts over the centuries. The mission of the artist working for the Church is to help as a humble servant to reveal something of the Divine Beauty of the Beatific Vision to a fallen world. This is a grace of participation: “Eye has not seen nor ear heard” the true things of Heaven on this earth, but an essential aspect of the contemplative life is learning how to be receptive through faith, hope and love to these hidden mysteries of the Lord. Aspects of His Glory are revealed in the splendor of holy art, which has formed an important part of Church history as the rich repository of Christian art bears witness.