His Artistry; His Imagery: Visuality, spiritual formation, intercession

This presentation, which is in part also a visual workshop, focuses on forms of spiritual formation and intercession that are grounded not only in the written or spoken Word of God (scripture) but, more expansively, also in the Word made Flesh, here and now: the embodied word, especially in its visual and material forms. Taking initial inspiration from ‘Paint the Heart’ an image by the 17th-century Italian engraver, author and illustrator Alberto Ronco found in his Fortezza reale del cuore humano (True Fortress of the Human Heart) of 1628, we reflect on the idea of our hearts as Christ’s studio, and consider the images He has been creating, and continues to create, therein. We also draw on insights from John Main’s book Word into Silence (1980/2017) notably his reflections on St Augustine’s claim that “Our whole business in this life is to restore to health the eye of the heart whereby God may be seen' (Serm. de Script, NT, 88 v 5).” Main continues: “This eye is our spirit. Our first task, in the realization of our own vocation and in the expansion of the kingdom among our contemporaries, is to find our own spirit because this is our life-line with the Spirit of God. In doing so, we come to realise that we participate in the divine progression and that we share the dynamic essence of God's still point: harmony, light, joy and love.” (Main, 28.