Is beauty important for prayer?
The answer is yes, according to Ruth Stricklin, the artist behind the beautiful designs for Ascension’s Second Edition of the Liturgy of the Hours. Why is beauty so vital for turning one’s heart and mind to God? Ruth suggests a simple answer: beauty makes prayer easier.
When Praying Gets Tough, Beauty Saves
"Praying is hard work . . . the work of prayer is difficult and we need to be able to lighten that load with beauty,” Ruth shares.
The spiritual life is not easy, and a relationship with God requires effort. Sometimes the Lord communicates to us very clearly, through Scripture, circumstances, or the guidance of others; other times, he is silent. The beauty of art can save us in the more challenging moments, reaching us in a variety of ways in our lives of faith.
Whether beauty comes to us in the form of architecture, music, or paintings, it is very effective when it accompanies important forms of worship, like the Liturgy of the Hours, which is the official prayer of the Church.
As Ruth expresses, “Prayer and beauty work together like a perfect dovetail.”
She believes that pairing artistic designs with the Scriptural texts and prayers that make up the Liturgy of the Hours, the official prayer of the Catholic Church, opens new windows into the richness of prayer.
“My hope is that, the more beauty we can put out there, especially in conjunction with the Liturgy of the Hours, if it’s expressed through the beauty of art at the same time, then maybe someone will pause after reading a passage and they’ll just hover over the artwork and they’ll meditate on that and pray with it.”
Ruth herself experienced the transformative power of beauty, discovering her calling as an artist through it. She speaks of her experience of learning the principles of beauty in art while studying at the Liturgical Institute in Mundelein, Illinois as “life-changing.” While secular art classes taught relativism and encouraged innovative progress in creativity, Ruth preferred the joy and wonder she had experienced while making art as a child. She chose not to go to art school, where she would be pressured to perform a certain way in her work. On the other hand, making sacred art was deeply edifying for her.
Drawn by interests in theology and art, Ruth and her husband founded New Jerusalem Studios to "proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ through the sacramental beauty of sacred art.”
How Does Beauty Evangelize?
Ruth refers to sacred art as “sacramental” because it points us to the heart of the Catholic Faith: the seven sacraments, and in particular, the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. Beauty is meant to bring us deeper into the supernatural realities behind the sacraments. Sacred art helps us realize how close we are to heaven when we participate in prayer, such as through the Mass and the Liturgy of the Hours. With this visual way of entering in, we can pray more effectively.
Most importantly, beauty reveals God more clearly, and Ruth highlights two ways that it accomplishes this. First, through symbolism. Many visual elements in Catholic art hold deep theological meaning and capture the attention of viewers, placing them on a journey to learn more about what they see. Secondly, through truth. Beauty is a natural stepping stone to truth, and therefore to God himself, who is beauty, goodness, and truth.
Ruth believes that beauty holds the power to inspire and completely reorient the lives of many people, as it did for her. “Beauty conveys truth. People resonate with the truth. They’re drawn to beauty, and then it calls you: it challenges you to align your life with those dreams.”
God Works Through Beauty Right Now
In a world of shifting trends, Catholic artists like Ruth Stricklin remind us that beauty is timeless. Much contemporary art today degrades culture and damages society; meanwhile, beauty uplifts, calling us to a higher way of living and slowly transforming the culture.
As Ruth recounts, “I think the beauty of art needs to help us go higher. Even in secular art, if it's beautiful, it resonates with us in that way, calling us higher. I've seen works of art that when I look at them, I feel like I want to be better.”
Sacred art, like Ruth's designs for the upcoming Ascension set of the Liturgy of the Hours, Second Edition, leads us to God through beauty, reverence, and artistic elegance. Sacred art inspires and transforms us by shining light into our interior lives. The light of beauty and truth saves us, improving our spiritual sight so we can know ourselves better and come closer to God. When we have an easier time seeing spiritually, prayer does in fact become easier.
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Will the guide booklet be available to preorder at the same time?