Journal of the Universidad Autónoma de Chihuahua / No. 82

XXV Gospel Scenes

Pope Francis says in Evangelium Gaudium: “Every time we try to return to the source and recover the original freshness of the Gospel, new paths, creative methods, other forms of expression, more eloquent signs, words full of renewed meaning for today's world spring forth.” (11)

Some of this is what I try to capture with XXV Gospel Scenes. Celebrating 25 years of priesthood, I took on the task of putting together an exhibition of small-format paintings, which I could do throughout the year, but, above all, which would delve deep within me and bring to light passages from the Gospel with which I identify.

In some cases, it was a matter of facing the canvas without preconceived ideas; letting myself be carried away by the colors, until the shapes suggested to me what passage it might be about. Thus were born, for example: Sacra converzasione, In the storm the Lord is found, Give them something to eat and Do not worry.

It was wonderful to do it as an exercise in prayer, in dialogue, where the voice of the Lord resonates from within and is expressed more eloquently, as Pope Francis says in the Apostolic Exhortation.

Other images came to mind first. Facing the canvas, I knew what I was looking for, and I had to capture it, with freedom of interpretation, since I wasn't literally looking at the text, but it was only in my memory. Thus were born: Annunciation, The Good Shepherd, Lazarus, and Emmaus, among others.

This way of working fixes the Gospel passage in the painting, with features that can speak volumes to one personally. As in the composition of place that Saint Ignatius of Loyola invites us to do, in the method of prayer called Evangelical Contemplation; one allows one's imagination to be guided by the Holy Spirit, to enter into a passage with Jesus. When one prays this type of prayer, one chooses the elements that will come into play, and many of them can be springboards to deeper contemplation.

In the exhibition, each painting has a card with just a few verses from the scene it alludes to, to give space for memory and, if the text is unfamiliar, to encourage a search for the passage. It is also accompanied by a short gloss from the Catena Aurea by Saint Thomas Aquinas, who undertook the task of compiling quotations from the Church Fathers on the Gospel. In the Middle Ages, these types of writings were used to illustrate the Gospel with explanations from the Ancients.

These explanations from the Catena Aurea are very beautiful. Many of them are not understood outside of Christian mysticism. They contain the wisdom of a Christianity lived fully. Thus, this exhibition seeks to show the Gospel through other means, those of art, and in some way to live out the saying: "And he said to them, 'Therefore every scribe who has been trained for the kingdom of heaven is like a householder who brings out of his treasure what is new and what is old'" (Mt 13:52).

Paulo Medina