Saturday, February 21, 2009

The Smoke of Satan

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5 comments:

Brother William OFM said...

I didn't realize you have done a piece on our habit.... but can you explain a wee bit why this painting is entitled with PPVI's quote? Are you saying the wearing of habit is burnt with the Council or mal-interpretation of the council, in the same way the liturgy is 'abused'??

Terry Nelson said...

Hi Brother - No - the habits have several meanings but not that, I intended nothing to do with the wearing of them at all. First of all they are meant to represent the decline in vocations after the Council.

In addition, the empty habits serve to image the infiltration of bad theology and spirituality which infected many of the schools of spirituality through novelty and experimentation: thus three major schools are represented by the habits: Franciscan, Dominican, Benedictine.

The angel/demon, looks on with amusement - while the disintegrating fresco of the Madonna weeps.

Brother William OFM said...

Terry - I am not sure if I were one of the culprits who are responsible for "the infiltration of bad theology and spirituality which infected many of the schools of spirituality through novelty and experimentation". If so, actually I may be a victim to start with! (e.g. I favour doing meditation, inter-religious dialogue, ecumenical gathering, doing art work during retreat, singing psalms with guitar...)

In anyway - your comment is rather serious because it reminds me of the expectation of the secular laity from us religious.

>Ouch<

Terry Nelson said...

Oh my - I manage to offend everyone, don't I. My apologies - although I doubt you ascribe to 'bad' theology - and the 'other stuff' is all permissable, isn't it. I painted the panel - "in a moment".

Mind you, the painting is simply my point of view; albeit well and good it might give one pause to consider the high expectations seculars have of religious. Please don't be offended however. God bless you!

Brother William OFM said...

Oh... don't say that! You weren't being offensive at all and it is I who must have sounded unnecessarily defensive when you good self really have a point.
It is I who have a problem - I do try to please everyone. When I was a student in the US, I was living with some rather orthodox (I don't say conservative) religious. They probably thought of me as a raving liberal because I studied at an an ecumenical divinity school, where I was regarded as an icon for ultra-Conservativism! Yet I have been and am the same person!!