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Learning through Art: Miniature from the Monastery of St. Dionysius

This is the second of a new series of Learning through Art articles based on the Catechism of the Catholic Church for the Year of Faith. The first of the series looked at the logo that should be, and usually can be, found on the front cover of the Catechism. The next four articles will be looking at the four images that are included to introduce each of the four parts of the Catechism of the Catholic Church.[i]

We are beginning with the image used to introduce Part four, the Part on Christian Prayer.[ii] We begin with Part four, rather than part one, for various reasons:

1) All catechesis is to begin with prayer and is for prayer, that is, it is for that encounter with Christ that changes one’s life for ever, for that longed-for filial relationship with One’s heavenly Father.
2) The picture teaches us the Trinitarian nature of the prayer of a Christian which is with Christ, in the Holy Spirit, to the Father, by which we can cry out Abba!
3) This part introduces us to the Lord’s Prayer which is called a summary of the gospel. We start, therefore, with this image, that sums up prayerfully the whole of the Good News.[iii]

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Caroline Farey divides her time between teaching catechetics and philosophy. She was the Director of the BA in Applied Theology for Catechesis at the Maryvale Institute in England, and is Lecturer in Philosophy at St Mary's College, Oscott, the Seminary for the Archdiocese of Birmingham, where she teaches Metaphysics, Epistemology, and St Thomas Aquinas. She is a regular contributor to The Sower, writing the "Learning Through Art" column and sees The Sower as a key means of ensuring a creative ongoing formation for DREs and key catechists. Her degrees included a MA in Theology and a Licence in Philosophy from the Pontifical University, Maynooth, as well as an S.T.L from the Pontifical University Louvain, and a doctorate from Lateran University in Rome. She was also contributing editor to The Pedagogy of God.

This article is from The Sower and may be copied for catechetical purposes only. It may not be reprinted in another published work without the permission of Maryvale Institute. Contact [email protected]

Categorized Under

Categorized Under:

Catechizing with Art

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33.4

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About Franciscan Catechetics

The Catechetics Degree Programs and the Catechetical Institute (CI) at Franciscan University of Steubenville work in concert to prepare clergy, religious and laity to join the “army of catechists” called for by St. John Paul II, eager to help the Church in her mission of making all nations joyful disciples of Jesus Christ. We combine a thorough formation in Sacred Scripture, Sacred Tradition, and Magisterial documents with training in effective pedagogical techniques to help those we serve to grasp the truth, goodness, and beauty of the Father’s plan, and to bear witness to others faithfully of the wonderful life of grace in the Holy Spirit.

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