At our wonderful parish retreat this past weekend, our leaders Sean and Kate gave us opportunity for deep reflection, conversation, and prayer. One of the main methods they used was art. On Saturday afternoon, they invited each of us to produce our own collage from magazine cuttings. The collage was to be a“self-portrait,” not of our visual appearance, but of our understanding of our own souls.

At first, I was unsure how on earth I would produce such a picture of myself. My initial problem was simply that I couldn’t find quite the right magazines. There were some advertising priest clothing – a bit too predictable... Or magazines advertising industrial manufacturing equipment – pictures of mobile bulk bag dischargers didn’t seem quite right either (although perhaps this could illustrate Confession?!).

But as we traded magazines with other tables, I was gradually able to put something together. A chair: a sign of my desire for rest after a grueling semester of writing and teaching. A fireplace: a symbol of a “fire in my bones,” as the prophet Jeremiah said, to fulfill the Lord’s call in my life. A budding flower that matched exactly the kind of flowers that emerge right outside my bedroom window in the spring: a consistent reminder to me of new warmth and life after cold and dark seasons. Some baked goods: a reflection of my desire to return to my old hobby of bread baking. Statues of two saints: St. Michael, patron of my home parish, and St. Catherine of Siena, whose feast day is on my birthday. A picture of the Cat in the Hat: children’s books aren’t just for kids, you know.

The exercise was very enjoyable and illuminating for me. I got to use my hands to craft something – often a meditative activity in itself. But it was especially enriching to do this while examining my own inner state at the present time. We generally think of Lent as a time of self-examination, but why not Easter, too? We who believe in a Risen Savior should always be on the lookout for how the joy of his Gospel intersects at any given season with the deep longings of our hearts. Christ is my rest when I am weary, my fire when I am cold, my flower when I am withered, my nourishment when I am weak, my supreme intercessor before the Father, my source of childlike levity when things are heavy.

And so there was one last thing that I put on my collage: a picture of the Paschal Candle, which is lit in church every Sunday of the Easter season. Christ is Risen, and it is he alone who ultimately teaches us who we are, and how we can thrive in him forever.

God bless you!

Fr. Mac