{"id":49438,"date":"2019-10-04T08:31:22","date_gmt":"2019-10-04T13:31:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/praytellblog.com\/?p=49438"},"modified":"2019-10-07T09:36:01","modified_gmt":"2019-10-07T14:36:01","slug":"a-st-francis-day-memory","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/praytellblog.com\/index.php\/2019\/10\/04\/a-st-francis-day-memory\/","title":{"rendered":"A St. Francis Day Memory"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

I\u2019m terrible at remembering what year specific events occurred. I know the year I was born, and\u2014usually\u2014what year it is right now. Most everything else, no matter how significant the event, will likely take a strenuous recall effort and\/or some research.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yet I remember twenty years ago\u2014St.\nFrancis day of 1999\u2014due to what still remains with me as a Paraclete-brushed occurrence:\nreceiving a commission for a creation-based hymn text to celebrate the Jubilee\nYear\u2019s day for artists at Chicago\u2019s Cathedral of the Holy Name. If you recall, during\nthe Jubilee year 2000 (even I remember that year!) there were specific days set\naside to celebrate individual ministries within the church. So I invoked the\nSpirit, St. Cecilia, and St. Francis the mystical hymnist of creation, as I turned\nto the opening of Genesis:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

God, your vast, creating breath swept out chaos, banished death;<\/em>
\u201cLet there be!\u201d you gave command, life and light flashed from your hand;<\/em>
Starlight danced and planets twirled, colors, creatures filled the world,<\/em>
You, in marvel at their play, thundered \u201cIt is good!\u201d each day.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I knew that the hymn would not have a disengaged \u201cUnmoved Mover\u201d deity, but one in a delighted relationship with the creation. There was discussion about which arts and artists to incorporate, and the ways they built up the church and the world. To this day, when I look at the opening stanza (above), I recall the caution not to mention\/include liturgical dance or dancers on the roster; Chicago\u2019s Francis Cardinal George was among dance\u2019s opponents in the bishops conference. So I decided that the celestial bodies themselves would lead off, dancing and twirling in the heavens.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

God, your graced, creating word spoke through prophets, you were heard;<\/em>
Thrilled their tongues with joy\u2019s delight, bursting quills with wisdom\u2019s might.<\/em>
You\u2014the psalmists\u2019 voice\u2014were near in melodious praises clear;<\/em>
Ageless, saving song they shared: Challenge, courage, comfort, care.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I was the one to propose writers\nand artful preachers\/speakers for the list, since the commissioners seemed to\nbe largely focused on visual\/graphic and sonic\/performative arts. It seemed odd\nto me that a hymn text written specifically for the occasion would not include\nwriters. Of course, we also have the Spirit\u2019s great gift of scripture, and its\npre-written origins in the proclamations and songs of Israel and nascent\nChristianity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

God, bestow creative gifts, through the senses, souls uplift;<\/em>
Here anoint as earthly saints all who sculpt, design, or paint;<\/em>
Craft our talent, skill, desire, actors\u2019, poets\u2019 rhymes inspire;<\/em>
For your sanctuaries, hone those who fashion wood and stone.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

While I worked on the text, I\ncouldn\u2019t help but reflect on the fact that part of the divine design that makes\nartistic, creative activity possible is the endowing of humans with senses and\nsouls. The wonders around us can only be grasped and given meaning in this way.\nAs the text progressed, I found myself striving to include, name, or allude to\nthe myriad ways that the arts and artists contribute to our spiritual lives. I\nwould have needed at least twice as many stanzas to include the whole array!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

God, sustain creative hearts, heaven\u2019s reign in human arts;<\/em>
May vocations vivid weave symbols speaking \u201cWe believe!\u201d<\/em>
Lyrics to you let us raise, never blaring our own praise,<\/em>
Help our halting, babbling speech chant, proclaim, imagine, teach.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

From my years as an ecclesial artist, I know that working and\/or ministering in and through the church in the arts can be challenging when our work is not valued, or appreciated, or utilized. The experience can leave one with a heavy heart. I also have often known the temptation to think that what I do points to me,<\/em> in which case it will not serve to strengthen faith. In my PrayTell reflection on the fourth day<\/a> of creation, I pointed out that artists don\u2019t truly create, but merely re-organize what God has already created. Nevertheless, those of us in the arts can, along with everyone else (sometimes, it seems, more readily than everyone else), stumble over pride, the sin of Eden.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

God, Creator, by your will, shape us in your image still;<\/em>
Uncreated Word-made-Flesh, Jesus Christ, reveal, refresh;<\/em>
Holy Spirit, Advocate, come, instruct, illuminate;<\/em>
Grant us artful ministry, great creating Trinity.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

One of the stipulations of the\ncommission was that it had to have a concluding doxology. As it turned out, this\ndoxology was the first stanza to be written down, reaching its final form\nbefore the others. It was here that I sought the expansive vision of St. Francis,\nwho saw and understood all creation giving itself back to its Creator in beauty\nand wonder. I knew that I wanted to use the doxology to expand on the rather\nlimiting \u201cjob description\u201d use of the term Creator<\/em>\nfor the first person of the godhead, to emphasize our own imago Dei <\/em>when we do God\u2019s will,<\/em>\nand to include the creative roles of the other two persons of the Trinity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Looking back at things we did\ntwenty years ago doesn\u2019t always yield happy results. If you\u2019ve ever encountered\na picture of yourself with that haircut from sophomore year, you know what I\u2019m\nreferring to. I am relieved that my experience re-visiting this text qualifies\nfor the \u201chappy memory\u201d category\u2014save, perhaps, the text\u2019s over-fondness for\nalliteration.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the interest of full disclosure,\nI did <\/em>do a brief version of this trip\ndown memory lane in 2015 when Laudato si\u2019\n<\/em>was issued by Pope Francis, so this twenty-year remembrance did have a\njumpstart a few years back. As we continue to celebrate St. Francis, and\ncontinue the crucial work of tending to the creation we have driven into\ncrisis, it\u2019s my hope that we can occasionally look around and still encounter\nthat flash of the original divine, creating spark in the lives and work of the artists\naround us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Blessed Saint Francis Day!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

An Artists\u2019 Hymn
<\/em>Alan J. Hommerding<\/p>\n\n\n\n

77.77D Common tune: Salzburg<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Copyright \u00a9 2002, World Library Publications.\nAll rights reserved. Reprinted with permission.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It is my hope that we can occasionally look around and still encounter that flash of the original divine, creating spark in the lives and work of the artists around us.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":63,"featured_media":49443,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[3119],"tags":[1391,3360],"class_list":["post-49438","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-plaza-new-ws","tag-creation","tag-st-francis"],"yoast_head":"\nA St. Francis Day Memory - Home<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/praytellblog.com\/index.php\/2019\/10\/04\/a-st-francis-day-memory\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"A St. Francis Day Memory - 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